Prom 61 – Chineke! Perform Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony

Part of the BBC Proms.

Praised for the ‘special electricity’ of its 2021 Proms performance, the Chineke! Orchestra – Europe’s first majority-Black and ethnically diverse orchestra – returns to tackle one of the greats of the concert repertoire: Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. The orchestra is joined by newly formed sister ensemble Chineke! Voices – which makes its Proms debut – as well as soloists including Grammy-winning American bass-baritone Ryan Speedo Green and former BBC Cardiff Singer of the World winner Nicole Cabell. The concert opens with music by centenary composer George Walker – the first African American to win a Pulitzer Prize. Walker’s Lilacs, which won him the award, is a setting of Walt Whitman and sees the composer at his most painterly and sensuous.