91Èȱ¬

Violinist Nicola Benedetti makes a musical homecoming for this year's Scottish celebrations of 91Èȱ¬ Proms In The Park at Glasgow Green on Saturday 12 September 2009.

Presented by 91Èȱ¬ Radio Scotland's Jamie MacDougall (Caledon), the free event will also feature performances from Scottish mezzo-soprano Karen Cargill and the National Girls' Choir of Scotland.

Celebrated conductor Robert Zeigler will command the evening's entertainment alongside the 91Èȱ¬ Scottish Symphony Orchestra.

Further artists will be announced in due course.

Ayrshire-born Nicola Benedetti was named the 91Èȱ¬ Young Musician of the year in 2004 and has gone on to captivate audiences with her performances across the globe. Most recently, Nicola won the Young British Classical Performer Award at the 2008 Classical Brit awards.

The critically-acclaimed musician is looking forward to her Scottish Proms In The Park performance: "I am absolutely thrilled to be invited to perform at Proms In The Park this year.

"For me, there is no audience quite like a Scottish one, and playing at home is always such a special occasion. The excitement of playing in Scotland, combined with the grand nature of 91Èȱ¬ Proms In The Park, will make for an unforgettable evening for me!"

According to Proms presenter Jamie MacDougall, this year's event is not-to-be missed: "It's the gig all the big names want to do and in this year of 91Èȱ¬coming we have two of our finest classical artists heading home to celebrate big time with the 91Èȱ¬ Scottish Symphony Orchestra.

"Violinist Nicola Benedetti and mezzo-soprano Karen Cargill have established themselves on the world stage, and on September 12th that stage will be Glasgow Green, home of Scotland's Proms In The Park."

Each year, 91Èȱ¬ Proms In The Park brings the magic of the Last Night Of The Proms to tens of thousands of people throughout the UK in five large-scale outdoor shows in Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales and England.

Each event is centred on a live concert, with its own high-profile artists, orchestra and presenters, culminating in a live link-up to the Royal Albert Hall for the traditional festivities rounding off the world's biggest music festival.

NS&I (National Savings and Investments), the Government-backed savings and investments provider, is supporting the Proms In The Park events at all five venues.

The 91Èȱ¬'s Glasgow Proms In The Park event is mounted in association with Culture and Sport Glasgow and Glasgow City Council. Funders of the event include Glasgow City Council and Glasgow City Marketing Bureau. Logistical support in mounting Glasgow's Proms In The Park event is provided by events management staff from Culture and Sport Glasgow.

Bailie Liz Cameron, Chair of Culture and Sport Glasgow, and Vice Chair of Glasgow City Marketing Bureau, says: "Proms In The Park is an unforgettable evening of song, music and colour and proves, once again, that Glasgow has more than won the right to be a UNESCO City of Music.

"I'm delighted that the city has thrown its full support behind what promises to be an outstanding programme of entertainment at Glasgow Green."

Tickets for Glasgow's Proms in the Park event are free and are available from Monday 1 June online from bbc.co.uk/tickets or by calling 03709 011227. Ticket requests are limited to six per caller.

This year's concerts are broadcast live on 91Èȱ¬ Radio and Television – 91Èȱ¬ Radio 2 broadcasts live from London's Hyde Park; 91Èȱ¬ Radio Manchester, 91Èȱ¬ Radio Ulster, 91Èȱ¬ Radio Scotland and 91Èȱ¬ Radio Wales broadcast their events from Salford, Belfast, Glasgow and Swansea.

The concert from Hillsborough Castle will be broadcast live on µþµþ°äÌý¹ó´Ç³Ü°ù and highlights of all five Proms In The Park concerts are shown as part of 91Èȱ¬ One, 91Èȱ¬ Two and 91Èȱ¬ HD live coverage of the Last Night Of The Proms.

Digital TV viewers can press the red button to watch a selection of Proms In The Park coverage from around the UK.

Viewers in Scotland will also have a chance to see highlights of the event later in the year on 91Èȱ¬ Two Scotland.

For full listings of all events please go online at bbc.co.uk/proms.

Notes to Editors

Proms In The Park: Glasgow Green, Glasgow, Saturday 12 September 2009
Featuring Nicola Benedetti (violinist), Karen Cargill (mezzo-soprano), the National Girls' Choir of Scotland, 91Èȱ¬ Scottish Symphony Orchestra conducted by Robert Zeigler
Tickets 03709 011227 (standard geographic charges apply and calls may be included in your telecom provider's call package. Charges from mobiles may be higher).

JW4