Guildhall Alumni at the BBC Proms 2025

28 April 2025

Guildhall School of Music & Drama is thrilled to celebrate the exceptional talent of its alumni and staff featured throughout the upcoming Proms season.

From orchestral showcases and opera highlights to innovative contemporary commissions, this year’s festival once again demonstrates the extraordinary impact of Guildhall artists across the classical and contemporary music world.

The season opens with Caspar Singh (Tenor 2018) performing at the First Night of the Proms in Vaughan Williams's oratorio Sancta civitas. Later that weekend, Nicholas McCarthy (Junior Guildhall Piano) makes his Proms debut performing Ravel’s Piano Concerto for the Left Hand.

On 22 July, Guildhall School Guitar professor Sean Shibe performs in the premiere of ZEBRA, a new concerto by Mark Simpson (Composition 2012) inspired by the writings of Philip K. Dick. Sean returns to lead the Pierre Boulez centenary celebrations in Sean Shibe and Friends on 27 July, featuring a host of Guildhall alumni: Ema Nikolovska (Soprano 2019), George Barton (Percussion 2014), Sam Wilson (Percussion 2015), Matthew Hunt (Clarinet 1994) and Colin Alexander (Cello & Composition 2008).

Conductors, composers and soloists with Guildhall ties continue to take centre stage across the season. Ryan Wigglesworth (Repetiteur 2002) features as both composer and conductor in two separate Proms, while Dinis Sousa (Piano 2019) conducts Mendelssohn’s radiant Hymn of Praise on 26 July alongside Benjamin Hulett (Tenor 2003). Jules Buckley (Trumpet 2006) returns to the Proms for high-profile collaborations with both Arooj Aftab and St. Vincent, merging orchestral forces with boundary-breaking contemporary artists.

Vocal excellence runs throughout the festival. Natalya Romaniw (Soprano 2012) and James Newby (Baritone 2018) feature in Mahler’s Das klagende Lied; Francesca Chiejina (Soprano 2016) performs Górecki’s Symphony of Sorrowful Songs; and Roderick Williams OBE FGS (Opera 1995) is a soloist in Delius’ A Mass of Life.

A major highlight arrives on 1 September with Shostakovich’s gripping opera Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, showcasing no fewer than six Guildhall alumni: John Findon (Opera 2017), Thomas Mole (Baritone 2021), Nicky Spence OBE FGS (Tenor 2009), Ronald Samm (Voice and Piano 1991), Alaric Green (Baritone 2024) and Chuma Sijeqa (Baritone 2021).

Thomas Adès CBE FGS (Piano Opera and Percussion 1989) conducts a storm-inspired programme featuring suites from both his own opera The Tempest and Sibelius’ original score for the same play, while Jess Dandy (Mezzo-soprano 2019) and Ashley Riches (Bass-baritone 2012) appear together in Brahms’ Symphony No 2 on 11 September.

At the Last Night of the Proms, Alison Balsom OBE FGS (Trumpet 2001) returns as a soloist in the iconic end to the festival.

Check out the full schedule for this year’s festival here.