From Horrible Histories to Doctor Who, Clare Stevens takes a whistlestop tour of children’s Proms through the last 30 years
Children’s Proms
‘Children are welcome at the Proms, but in consideration of our audience and performer, children under the age of five are not allowed in the auditorium,’ stated the 1996 edition of the BBC Proms prospectus, firmly. These days the wording is gentler: ‘We recommend that children … are aged five and over’. And there are two exceptions: the hour-long programme of music by Walton, Mozart, Rachmaninov and the Ukrainian composer Myroslav Skoryk given by Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra; and the Horrible Histories: ’Orrible Opera Prom, given by the chorus and orchestra of English National Opera.
Both are Relaxed Proms, a concept introduced in 2017, primarily for people with autism, sensory or communication impairments and learning disabilities, whatever their age. But they are also suitable for children and anyone who finds it difficult to stay still or silent for an extended period. The doors to the auditorium are left open so that audience members can come and go as they please, and there are ‘chill-out’ areas in the foyers for anyone who needs some quiet time before or during the performance – ideal for a family that has to bring a baby or toddler along to a concert aimed at its older siblings.
If you live in the north-east of England or south-east Scotland, you can even bring your toddler to a concert aimed especially at them, as part of the Proms at Sage Gateshead weekend. CBeebies: Ocean Adventure invites children aged up to five to ‘search for endangered creatures, find out fascinating facts and collect sounds and pictures for your very own musical ocean scrapbook’, led by BBC children’s television presenters, with music performed by the Royal Northern Sinfonia, conducted by Kwamé Ryan.
Children’s Proms are a surprisingly recent innovation. They do not feature in Nicholas Kenyon’s The Proms: A New History until the 1990s; the issue of attracting younger audiences is discussed by David Wright in his chapter on ‘The Sixties’, but he means young adults, not children. It was another 30 years before Kenyon, taking over as controller in 1996 from John Drummond, began to make changes aimed partly at making the Proms feel more inclusive and representative. His first season ended with the first outdoor Prom in the Park, an event to which children can easily be brought; but it also included a Junior Prom on the last Monday afternoon of the seaso
