A Summer Promenade

Saturday, June 7, 2008, 6:30 pm
On the lawn at Miss Porter's School
60 Main Street
Farmington, Connecticut

Our Summer Promenade concert features music for England’s greatest composers and is a tip of the hat towards the Promenade concert series held each summer at the Royal Albert Hall in London. The Proms, as they are now known, were founded in 1895 by the English conductor Sir Henry Wood and include over 70 concerts each summer. Promenade concerts were held in London as early as 1838, following the French practice of presenting concerts to strolling audience members. These first concerts took place in the winter and struggled to gain popularity. In 1895 the series moved to the Queen’s Hall under the direction of Sir Henry Wood and began a new life. Summer concerts were presented in which the first half of each concert contained more serious music and the second half featured lighter fare. In 1941 the Queen’s Hall was destroyed in an air raid and the series moved to the Royal Albert Hall the following year.

The Last Night concert that concludes each season is one of Classical music’s great events. Audience members queue overnight to stand in the vast section of the hall in front of the stage (the orchestra seats are removed for the entire summer series). At Last Night concerts the Promers have a tradition of wearing outrageous outfits and waving national flags during patriotic numbers. They are raucous between pieces, sometimes chiding the musicians in a friendly and respectful manner, but are silent when listening unless encouraged to join in singing when the music allows.