[AMS-announce] CONF: The Proms and British Musical Life, British Library, London, 23-25 April 2007

[ams-announce-admin at list.bowdoin.edu]

THE PROMS AND BRITISH MUSICAL LIFE

23-25 April 2007, The British Library Conference Centre, 96 Euston Rd,
London, UK.

The British Library, King's College London and the BBC are pleased to
announce details of the first international conference devoted to the
Henry Wood Promenade concerts.

Historians, musicologists, practitioners, media commentators, cultural
authorities, concert-goers and those interested in the Proms as an
influential cultural phenomenon are invited to come together to consider
the role the Proms play in British musical life, the history of musical
performance, changing audience behaviour, patronage, cultural politics,
and the BBC. More generally, the three-day conference provides an
opportunity to reflect on the current status of classical music.

There will be lectures, discussions, demonstrations and papers on such
subjects as the history of the Last Night; what the Proms sounded like
in the early years; the build-up to the BBC taking over the running of
the Proms in 1927; the wartime years; the Proms as a historic media
event that is part of national life; the changing visions of the Proms
on radio and television; legacies from Malcolm Sargent to William Glock;
the cultural politics of the BBC; Englishness and multiculturalism; the
impact of technology on the Proms and the future.

Speakers include Georgina Born, George Benjamin, Asa Briggs, David
Cannadine, John Deathridge, Jenny Doctor, Ivan Hewett, Nicholas Kenyon,
Norman Lebrecht, and Paddy Scannell.

Oliver Knussen conducts the BBC Symphony Orchestra in a concert at the
BBC's Maida Vale studios featuring music introduced to the British
public at the Proms, including works by Julian Anderson, Frank Bridge,
Benjamin Britten, Alexander Goehr, and Arnold Schoenberg.

A detailed programme and booking form may be found on the BBC Proms
website, at http://www.bbc.co.uk/proms/conference2007/

Enquiries should be directed to Jonathan Tyack -
jonathan.tyack at kcl.ac.uk