With the summer nights fading fast, the Proms season is coming to its close for 2014. This year, we are returning to lovely Singleton Park in Swansea for Proms in the Park and I am really excited that we will be joined by Welsh bass-baritone legend Bryn Terfel. I think he is one of the real greats of the opera world, and we will also be working with him later in the year.
Bryn Terfel. Photo courtesy of Brian Tarr
Proms in the Park is a celebration, not just of the Proms season, but of music making within each region, and this year we will be joined by a young artist from the BBC Cymru Horizons roster.
This is an important venture by BBC Cymru and the Arts Council of Wales that is giving a great platform for exposure to fresh Welsh talent. Casi is a singer-songwriter from Bangor, singing in both Welsh and English. Her voice is hauntingly beautiful, and you can get a taste of her music on the Horizons website.
Casi singing Hela at the 2014 National“ Eisteddfod of Wales
Playing outdoors presents many challenges to a musician. When one plays in a studio or a concert hall, the sound of the instrument is reflected off the walls and surfaces of the venue, and one works with the room's natural acoustic.
For example, the Brangwyn Hall has a very resonant acoustic: sound travels in it very easily and stays 'alive' for a long time, so in order to maintain clarity you have to play notes a lot shorter than in the Grand Theatre, Swansea, which has a very dry acoustic and so requires you to play notes longer.
When one plays outside however, there is no natural acoustic really to speak of. The space is simply too big, and it feels a little bit like you are working very hard and the notes are just travelling two inches out of your instrument before plopping onto the stage by your chair.
For this reason, at the Proms in the Park the orchestra will be mic'd up, so the audience will be able to hear everything perfectly. Each string player will have a little individual microphone attached to the bridge of their instrument. The challenge here is to remember that the microphone is there, and not walk away still attached to the microphone lead, consequently chancing damaging your instrument's bridge!
Proms in the Park, Swansea
The weather can be an issue, even when it's dry, as playing when it's cold is not particularly pleasant. In particular I find the infamous Hornpipe in the traditional segment of the Last Night of the Proms programme difficult with cold, stiff fingers. I shall be wearing many layers, and I might invest in a little pair of those pocket hand warmer things to help keep my fingers mobile.
There are other things to look out for - flying insects, colleagues attaching pegs to the back of your concert clothes (they're supposed to be for keeping the music on the stand when it's windy) - but in general, Proms in the Park always has a wonderful atmosphere and, even in slightly soggy conditions, it is a lovely shared experience between musicians and audience.
My favourite bit is the sing-a-long at the end - who doesn't love a sing-a-long, I ask you?! It's not just the singing that I love though. I think there's something very special about that moment when there is the live link up between Glasgow, Belfast, Swansea and the two London venues. For that moment there is such a lovely warmth, solidarity and shared joy right across the country and, for me, that is one of the moments which best captures the spirit of the Proms.
Proms in the Park, Swansea, takes place on Saturday 13 September at Singleton Park. For more information visit the BBC Proms website.
