Leaf 143 – Reflections
Founded in 1895, The Proms – short for ‘promenade concert’ – is a summer festival of classical music held every year at the Royal Albert Hall in London. Since 1927 the concerts have been broadcast by the BBC, and in recent years the music has been diversified beyond classical music to include other genres as well. Given its long history the festival has developed a number of quirky traditions. One such example is when the grand piano is rolled out onto the stage and the lid is lifted, which prompts a spontaneous call and response which the ‘Prommers’ or ‘Promenaders’ (ordinary concert goers) make – a moment captured in this little poem:
Grand opening –
Promenaders calling
“heave, ho!”
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| Pianist Yuja Wang (photograph by Kylie Northover) |
