BBC Proms: Ten artists aged 30 and under

Every year, The BBC Proms showcases some of the world’s most talented young musicians each year, highlighting the brightest rising stars on the international stage.

Here's our pick of the exceptional artists aged 30 and under who will be stepping into the spotlight at the iconic Royal Albert Hall this season from 18 July to 13 September.

The Great American Songbook and Beyond with Samara Joy | 19 July

Samara Joy © AB + DM

Only a few years into her career, American jazz vocal powerhouse Samara Joy already has a stellar five Grammy awards to her name and is quickly gaining superstar status in the jazz world.

Samara grew up in the Bronx, New York City, where she went to a specialist arts secondary school before studying jazz at Purchase College, New York. She tours internationally with her own band, headlining major jazz festivals and performing a mix of timeless jazz standards and her own original songs.

As part of her Proms performance on 19 July, Samara will perform songs from her recent acclaimed albums Portrait (2024) and Linger Awhile (2022). The concert is a special tribute to the Great American Songbook, a celebration of the most iconic songs and jazz standards to come out of the United States.

Vivaldi and Bach | 20 July

Théotime Langlois de Swarte © Marco Borggreve

Bringing his Baroque ensemble Le Consort to the BBC Proms on 20 July is the French violin soloist, chamber musician and conductor Théotime Langlois de Swarte.

Théotime’s specialism is in performing Early and Baroque music, having studied at the Paris Conservatoire and was a regular member of Les Arts Florissants while he was still a student.

His Prom is dedicated to the music of Vivaldi and Bach and includes the ‘Summer’ of Vivaldi’s famous The Four Seasons.

French Night with the Orchestre National de France | 23 July

Randall Goosby © Kaupo Kikkas

American violinist Randall Goosby makes his BBC Proms debut on 23 July with the Orchestre National de France playing a programme of French favourites.

Randall made his debut with the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra at 9 years old, and later studied at the prestigious Juilliard School in New York City. He now tours the world as a soloist, having played this year with the Chicago Symphony, LA Philharmonic, London Philharmonic and Montreal Symphony Orchestras.

Randall features on the soundtrack recording of Chevalier (2022) playing Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-George’s Violin Concerto in G major Op. 8 No. 2, the same piece that he performs this year at the Proms.

Yunchan Lim Plays Rachmaninov | 1 August

Yunchan Lim © James Hole

The youngest of our BBC Proms soloists is Yunchan Lim, the South Korean pianist who has been described by critics as a once-in-a-generation talent.

Yunchan was the youngest pianist ever to win the prestigious Van Cliburn International piano competition in Texas in 2022. His winning performance playing Rachmaninov’s Third Piano Concerto launched his rapid rise to stardom, which has seen him perform with leading international orchestras and sell out concerts around the globe.

He made his debut at the BBC Proms in 2024 playing Beethoven’s Fifth Piano Concerto, the ‘Emperor’. This year, Yunchan returns to the BBC Proms playing Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 4.

From Dark Till Dawn | 8 August

Anna Lapwood © Charlotte Levy

One of the best-known faces at the BBC Proms is Anna Lapwood, the organist, conductor and broadcaster. This season she is curator of From Dark Till Dawn on 8 August, the first all-night Prom in over 40 years.

Anna is the official Organist of the Royal Albert Hall and is an Artist in Association with the BBC Singers. She made her debut at the BBC Proms in 2021 playing in Saint-Saëns’s ‘Organ’ Symphony with the Hallé and Sir Mark Elder. Since then has made extraordinary musical collaborations at the Royal Albert Hall with Florence + The Machine, RAYE, Bonobo, AURORA and Jules Buckley.

Anna has a huge following on social media, with over a million followers each on Instagram and TikTok where she has popularised the hashtag #PlayLikeAGirl, inspiring girls and women all over the world to play the organ and have fun making music.

Relaxed Prom: The Planets | 10 August & Mozart, Arvo Pärt and Gavin Higgins (Bristol) | 23 August

Tess Jackson © Benjamin Ealovega

British conductor Tess Jackson is the Associate Conductor of the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain and Emerging Conductor Fellow with the Chromatica Orchestra.

Named as a 2023 Classic FM Rising Star, Tess studied Music at Cambridge University and conducting at the Royal Academy of Music. She made her BBC Proms debut with the NYO in 2024, performing the new commission Three, Four AND… by British composer Dani Howard.

Tess appears in two Proms this year: conducting the NYO in their Relaxed Prom at the Royal Albert Hall and Gavin Higgins’s Rough Voices at the Bristol Beacon.

Edward Gardner Conducts the LPO | 10 August

Aigul Akhmetshina © Beata Nykiel

Aigul Akhmetshina is the mezzo-soprano who’s currently taking the opera world by storm – with a fully fledged operatic career that many can only dream of, critics have already compared her exquisite singing to the voice of Anna Netrebko.

From rural Bashkortostan in Russia, the singer has established herself as the world’s ‘go-to’ Carmen, the eponymous heroine and main protagonist of Georges Bizet’s ever-popular tragic opera of 1875. In this role at New York’s Metropolitan Opera, Aigul was nominated for the 2025 Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in Opera.

She makes her BBC Proms debut on 10 August, singing Maurice Ravel’s mystical Shéhérazade with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Edward Gardner.

Mäkelä Conducts Mahler’s Fifth | 23 August & Mäkelä Conducts Mozart, Prokofiev & Bartók | 24 August

Klaus Mäkelä © Marco Borggreve/Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra

Klaus Mäkelä is a Finnish conductor who's fast becoming the favourite, dazzling guest conductor of orchestras all over the world.

He made his conducting debut at 18 years old with the Helsinki Philharmonic, followed only a few years later with appointments as Chief Conductor of the Oslo Philharmonic and Music Director of the Orchestre de Paris. He will take up new positions at the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and Chicago Symphony Orchestra in 2027.

His bumper Proms weekend on 23–24 August sees him conduct the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in performances of Mahler’s Fifth Symphony, Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra and Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No. 1 with Janine Jansen.

Rattle Conducts Folk Songs and Dances | 30 August

Peter Moore © Benjamin Ealovega

A former BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist, trombonist Peter Moore is one of the leading brass players on the international music scene.

Peter grew up in the brass banding communities in the North of England. His prodigious talent saw him become the youngest ever winner of the 2008 BBC Young Musician of the Year competition at only 12 years old. He was appointed Principal Trombone of the London Symphony Orchestra at 18 and has premiered a number of pieces written especially for him.

He left the LSO in 2024 to embark on his solo playing career, and he now travels the world performing and giving recitals at prestigious venues and festivals. At the BBC Proms this year he performs Gunther Schuller’s Eine kleine Posaunenmusik (A Little Trombone Music) with Sir Simon Rattle and the wind, brass and percussion sections of the LSO in a unique Folk Songs and Dances Prom on 30 August.

Pekka Kuusisto and Katarina Barruk | 31 August

Katarina Barruk © Sara Berglund

Katarina Barruk is a singer and songwriter from Sámbie, northern Sweden, who is bringing music in her critically endangered mother tongue Ume Sámi to new audiences around the world.

Her musical identity blends pop, electronica and improvisation with yoik (traditional song), which has been celebrated on her recordings Báruos (2015) and Ruhttuo (2022). Katarina has performed at many prominent European festivals and has in recent years established a performing partnership with the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra.

She joins Pekka Kuusisto and the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra for a special Prom on 31 August in a programme exploring themes of human injustice with music by Katarina, Shostakovich, Philip Glass and many more.