Last night’s grand final of Maestro live on BBC Two saw Sue Perkins triumph in the public vote and win the right to take to the stage at BBC Proms In The Park on Saturday to conduct the BBC Concert Orchestra and soloist Lesley Garrett in front of an audience of 30,000 happy revellers.

The once-in-a-lifetime chance to conduct the orchestra at the event in Hyde Park, London will be broadcast live on BBC Two and BBC Radio 2 as part of the Last Night Of The Proms celebrations.

Immediately after winning, Sue Perkins said: “Winning has been an extraordinary and exhilarating experience, so thank you.”

Over the course of a tense and dramatic evening, Sue Perkins performed alongside fellow finalists, Goldie and Jane Asher, who had all set out to prove to the public that they had what it takes to direct a world class orchestra.

But in the end there could only be one Maestro and Sue Perkins took to the podium one final time before performing in front of a live audience of thousands in just four days’ time.

She will be conducting Pomp and Circumstance March No.4 by Elgar, Merce, dilette amiche by Verdi and The Impossible Dream performed by Lesley Garrett and the BBC Concert Orchestra.

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The students step up to the podium to conduct music for film and television in front of the panel of expert judges: Sir Roger Norrington (conductor of this year’s Last Night Of The Proms at London’s Royal Albert Hall), composer and cellist Zoë Martlew, conductor Simone Young and double bassist Dominic Seldi.

Once the final note is played, the Orchestra votes, deciding which one of the students will be taking their final bow as they are knocked out of the competition for good.

Tuesday 19 August
9.00-10.00pm BBC TWO

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Eight famous amateurs with a passion for classical music will do battle this summer for the chance to conduct the BBC Concert Orchestra in front of a live audience of 30,000 in BBC Two’s Maestro.

The show sees a diverse range of personalities – including hiphop star Goldie, Blur bassist Alex James and actress Jane Asher – competing to perform at BBC Proms In The Park, held in London’s Hyde Park, as part of the BBC Proms’ world-famous Last Night celebrations on 13 September 2008.

Others striving to command the respect of one of the country’s leading orchestras include newsreader Katie Derham, broadcaster Peter Snow, actor David Soul, comedian Sue Perkins and actor and comedian Bradley Walsh.

The eight students face a gruelling summer as they attempt to prove that they are worthy of taking to the stage in front of tens of thousands of people.

In the first stage of preparation the celebrity students will enter into a week-long Baton Camp in the final week of May, where they will each be assigned their own mentor.

Each mentor – all of whom are established professional conductors – will work intensively with their student in helping them to master the disciplines of orchestral, choral and operatic music.

Rehearsals will continue throughout the summer as the celebrity students learn how to inspire and engage with the orchestra and the music.

Grasping the baton, the students will then take to the conductor’s podium in August, where, in front of a studio audience and an international judging panel made up of leading musicians, they will conduct the BBC Concert Orchestra in a weekly show broadcast on BBC Two.

Maestro will be presented by Clive Anderson.

The panel is led by Sir Roger Norrington – who will be conducting the Last Night Of The BBC Proms 2008 at the Royal Albert Hall – and also includes composer and cellist Zoë Martlew, conductor Simone Young and double bassist Dominic Seldis.

At the end of each show the judging panel and members of the BBC Concert Orchestra will decide which student will be voted off.

Under constant scrutiny, from both the judges and the orchestra they are conducting, the students will have to show beyond any doubt that they have the talent, passion and nerves of steel necessary to conduct a full orchestra as part of one of the most famous events in the classical music calendar: BBC Proms In The Park, part of the Last Night Of The Proms.

Peter Maniura, Head of BBC Classical Music Television, says: “Maestro will take the audience on a fascinating, surprising, thrilling and informative journey into the heart of music-making. It will delve into the practicalities, magic and mystery of what a conductor actually does to make great music happen.”

View the original post Sue Perkins and Bradley Walsh bid to become BBC Two’s Maestro on Unreality TV