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Little Prommers dive under the sea for an Ocean Adventure CBeebies Prom

The family-friendly relaxed Prom on Saturday includes two new commissions and features an appearance from Hey Duggee and JoJo & Gran Gran.

BBC Proms has announced the full programme for Saturday’s CBeebies Prom at the Royal Albert Hall, which will also be broadcast on Radio 3 and recorded for future broadcast on CBeebies.

Titled ‘Ocean Adventure’, the ‘relaxed’ Prom at the classical music festival will be performed by the Southbank Sinfonia and guest steel pan players under Kwamé Ryan, and will include animations of popular CBeebies characters Hey Duggee and JoJo & Gran Gran.

Dedicating his first commission for the Proms to Sir David Attenborough, Mason Bates will perform on electronics alongside the orchestra during the world premiere of his piece, and Dominique Le Gendre’s new commission Dolphin Dance will also receive its first performance. 

Bates said: ‘When Kwamé Ryan asked me if I’d be interested in composing a piece for the BBC Proms on the topic of oceans for CBeebies audiences, I was immediately intrigued. The theme Ocean Adventure is crucial if we want to keep the oceans of our future healthy. I've created Whalesong, which integrates actual recordings of whales into the orchestra.’

Le Gendre said: ‘I was thrilled to receive this CBeebies Prom commission for a new work conceived as an ocean journey through the waters and sea life of St. Lucia. 

‘It has been great fun to come up with a palette of instrumental colours and music that vividly bring to life the warm, transparent waters of the Caribbean and its dynamic energy that have all been a constant presence throughout my life.’

As a relaxed Prom, audience members will be free to leave and re-enter the auditorium during the performance, and there will be ‘chill-out areas’ for those needing ‘quiet time’ before or after the concert.

Other composers featured in the concert include Eleanor Alberga, Dani Howard, Telemann, Ravel, Elgar and Britten, as well as a medley of CBeebies theme tunes arranged by Daniel Whibley.

The Prom will be presented by CBeebies presenters Nigel Clarke, Rory Crawford, Andy Day, Chantelle Lindsay, Maddie Moate and Puja Panchkoty.

Ocean Adventure will take place at the Royal Albert Hall on Saturday 23 July at 11am and 3pm. The 3pm concert will be broadcast live on BBC Radio 3 and recorded for future broadcast on CBeebies. 

More information about the 11am Prom.

More information about the 3pm Prom