Proms in The Park. Belfast Sept 8th.

[jimg]

The BBC are reporting that Hayley will be performing at The Proms in the park, Belfast, on Sept. 8th. This is part of the last night of the proms and broadcast by BBC Ulster.

Date: 31.08.2012Last updated: 31.08.2012 at 09.22
Category: Northern Ireland; Proms

A stellar line-up of international and home-grown artists will come together on Saturday 8 September to make this year’s BBC Proms in the Park in Northern Ireland an evening of ‘Titanic’ proportions.

Staged at the iconic Titanic Slipways in Belfast, the event will be BBC Northern Ireland’s biggest outside broadcast event of the year. The concert will boast performances from internationally acclaimed tenor Noah Stewart, superstar soprano Hayley Westenra, Bangor-born troubadour Foy Vance, award-winning flautist Eimear McGeown and renowned folk act McPeake (formed by Francis McPeake IV from the legendary McPeake Family). Each of these stars will perform alongside the Ulster Orchestra under the baton of conductor Christopher Bell.

BBC Proms in the Park in Northern Ireland is now in its 11th year and this year’s concert at the Titanic Slipways will be the first time the event has been in Belfast since 2008. Staged with the stunning backdrop of Titanic Belfast and the Harland and Wolff cranes, the event will both celebrate Northern Ireland’s achievements in industry and culture and commemorate the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic through classical, contemporary and traditional music.

The event is part of the BBC's prestigious Last Night of the Proms celebrations across England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales who host ambitious live events to mark the end of the world's largest classical music festival.

BBC Proms In The Park in Northern Ireland will be hosted by Noel Thompson and Claire McCollum.

The event will be recorded for broadcast on BBC Northern Ireland television later in the year. On Saturday September 8, the concert will be broadcast live on BBC Radio Ulster from 7.30pm, presented by John Toal. A selection of television viewing options will also be available via the red button for digital TV viewers.

Complimentary tickets for the event, which were issued through a random draw, have all been allocated. For those attending the event full details of terms and conditions will be included with tickets.

Peter Johnston, Director, BBC Northern Ireland, said: "In what is proving to be a momentous year for Northern Ireland, we are very excited to bring the 2012 BBC Proms in the Park in NI back to Belfast and stage it at the newly transformed Titanic Slipways. This event is one of the most prestigious and large-scale events we undertake each year. Music lovers can be assured of a very special evening of music and celebration from an eclectic line-up of local and international talent - all set against the stunning backdrop of Titanic Belfast."

JM

[Dave]

Hi Jim,

I have confirmation of this appearance from Hayley's management (you just beat me to it ) - which is excellent news!

Not so good is the information about the ticket allocation having already been done, but at least there seem to be plenty of opportunities for us to see/hear and record it either live or later, hopefully to include Hayley's songs.

The BBC report is at www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-18761107

Cheers, Dave

[jimg]

Hi Dave,

Yes it's sad that fans of the acts that are appearing will not be able to buy tickets. (I had thought Paul and Paddy might have made the trip. I had not read the bit about tickets.)

The last night has been automatic viewing (along with some of the other Prom programmes) for many years now but I have never tried the red button. I wonder if I will be able to pick up Hayley's performance here in Kent.

I am sure, if it is possible, you will record it for posterity and HWI.

Jim

[Dave]

Hi Jim,

You probably will, I recorded Hayley's appearance at Proms in the Park in the rain in Manchester from the red button, a few years ago. I'm sure it was uploaded to HWI - but oh, I can't find it! Must be one of the 'lost' 2005 videos, something I need to find and restore pronto!

You'll probably have to connect a separate video recorder to record it though, I don't think red button programmes can be recorded on a PVR such as Sky+ or Freesat+ - so prepare for that! There's always ways and means of doing these things...

Cheers, Dave

[martindn]

It should at least be possible to listen to it using the player on BBC Radio Ulster, so we will get the audio. Perhaps I'll have a go at that!

Martin D

[Libby]

I could be mistaken, but weren't there some tweets a while back that seemed to indicate Hayley was going to be at this event? Or was that something different? I remember one of the tweets was by Paul Potts.

[Dave]

Hi everyone,

I don't know about the tweet thing Libby, but I've just discovered from the BBC Radio Ulster interview I just posted in the Media board that Proms in the Park from Belfast on Saturday will re recorded for broadcast in its entirety on BBC Ulster TV later in the year. This will be handy if we mess up on Saturday's live 'red button' recordings, which are sometimes tricky!

Cheers, Dave

[Joe]

I was thinking the BBC Red Button was like a video on demand feature or even a digital video recorder (DVR). en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBC_Red_Button

Nothing like that here in the States!

[I-H-F]

Sept 4, 2012 22:17:44 GMT Dave said:

Hi everyone,

I don't know about the tweet thing Libby, but I've just discovered from the BBC Radio Ulster interview I just posted in the Media board that Proms in the Park from Belfast on Saturday will re recorded for broadcast in its entirety on BBC Ulster TV later in the year. This will be handy if we mess up on Saturday's live 'red button' recordings, which are sometimes tricky!

Cheers, Dave

Dave and everyone,

You can listen to BBC Radio Ulster on Sky (and on some Freeview boxes, Freeview-enabled TV's).

PS. Ulster Television (UTV) is the North's regional ITV channel. BBC One NI and BBC Two NI are the BBC regional channels here (which are also available on Sky/Freeview).

[Dave]

Hi Joe and IHF,

Thanks for the extra information, I will record everything I can on the night, the radio broadcast is no problem but the red button feeds are.

In this case, the BBC will provide via the "red button" on satellite TV remote controls, two and only two extra TV channels - neither of which can be recorded on the PVR they are received on. The only way to record them is via an external DVD recorder using a "video out" cable on the main PVR, or via a TV capture card on a PC. I have both, which is just as well because I may have to record both red button channels simultaneously (as well as the BBC NI radio channel) because there four different Proms in The Park concerts and only two extra channels. So we could miss some of Hayley's performances anyway as they will have to chop and change betwen venues. The BBC red button page with what details we have is here: www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/bbcinternet/2012/09/whats_on_bbc_red_button_proms_sept.html

If they announce beforehand which concerts will be on which red button channel, that will simplify matters. But if all else fails, they say that each concert will be on BBC iPlayer in full, starting on Sunday, so that's our fall-back position.

Could be an interesting weekend!

Cheers, Dave

EDIT

I've worked out that I can now record both red button video streams at the same time on my computer, so that will simplify things. It will still be hit-and-miss how much of Hayley they decide to show though, but luckily we will have the more complete recorded internet streams on the following day, to fill in any missing bits.

[Dave]

Hi everyone,

I have now sorted out what's on and where, regarding the Proms and NI Proms in the Park. The main Proms broadcasts from the RAH in London are on BBC2 and BBC HD from 7:30 and on BBC1 and BBC1 HD from 9:15, also on BBC Radio 2 from 7:30. There may be occasional highlights of Proms in the Park acts included, but we'll be very lucky if Hayley appears. The following applies to all UK listeners but it's possible the Internet radio broadcast will be available in other Countries too.

Proms in the Park - Television

Sky

You can watch highlights of the four Proms in the Park from 7:30pm on two "red button" interactive TV channels. Hopefully it will be two concerts on one channel and the other two on the other but they haven't said that, so far. Sky viewers won't be able to record the interactive channels except via a video out lead and external recorder.

Freesat

You can watch highlights of the four Proms in the Park from 7:30pm on two "red button" interactive TV channels. Hopefully it will be two concerts on one channel and the other two on the other but they haven't said that, so far.

Viewers with a Freesat+ PVR may or may not be able to record the interactive channels internally - it depends on the manufacturer and model. If not, you'll need an external recorder. Luckily, my Panasonic Freesat PVR/recorder lets me record them.

Freeview

Freeview/+ viewers will be able to watch highlights of all four concerts from 7:30pm on a single red button interactive channel but as with Freesat, they will only be able to record them on an external device unless they are lucky (so it's worth a try).

Internet

Only the normal TV channels will be broadcasting live online as far as I can tell, not the four Proms in the Park concerts (but occasional highlights of them will be shown).

All four Proms in the Park concerts will be available in full on the iPlayer starting on Sunday.

Proms in the Park - Radio

The Belfast concert will be broadcast live on BBC Radio Ulster from 7:30pm, which is available on all digital platforms including BBC Internet at www.bbc.co.uk/radio/player/bbc_radio_ulster , and should be recordable on PVRs (manual recording on Sky).

QUALITY

Video: The TV "red button" streams are in SD and should be of reasonably good quality, just not HD.

Audio: The red button streams and BBC Radio Ulster "over the air" will all be at 128kbps, 48Khz, .mp2 - which is an old standard, I'd describe it as medium quality in this day and age. But the Internet broadcast will be better (in the UK) if you have a good connection.

BBC Radio Ulster via the website is available at the higher bitrate of 150kbps and uses more modern and much better AAC encoding. So for the best available audio quality, go for the BBC Radio Ulster Internet broadcast. BBC Radio Ulster

THat's all for now but if anyone discovers any mistakes above, please say so!

Cheers, Dave

[martindn]

Thanks for the research and the info Dave. I will try to record from the BBC Radio Ulster website. I downloaded a later version of my recrding software the other day, and I tried it out on Hayley's Radio Ulster interview the other day, so hopefully should be OK.

Martin D

[Jillian]

8 September 2012

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-19530842

Proms time at Belfast's Titanic Slipways



Soprano Hayley Westenra and American singer Noah Stewart with hosts Noel Thompson (left) and Claire McCollum (right) at the Titanic Slipways, Belfast. where tonight’s event will be staged.

Thousands of people are expected to enjoy a magical evening of music at the Titanic Slipways in Belfast on Saturday at this year's BBC Proms in the Park.

BBC Proms in the Park in Northern Ireland is in its eleventh year and all tickets for the free event have been allocated.

This year BBC Proms in the Park teams up once again with the Ulster Orchestra under the baton of Christopher Bell for what will be a spectacular night of popular classical and contemporary music.

The event is part of the BBC's prestigious Last Night of the Proms celebrations as once again Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and England host ambitious live events to mark the end of the world's largest classical music festival.

Proms in the Park from the Titanic Slipways, Belfast, is hosted by BBC Northern Ireland's Noel Thompson and Claire McCollum.

It is the first time Proms in the Park in Northern Ireland has come from Belfast since 2008.

'Sinking'

The event will feature performances from renowned musicians and singers from the worlds of classical and contemporary music including internationally acclaimed tenor Noah Stewart, superstar soprano Hayley Westenra, Bangor-born troubadour Foy Vance, award-winning flautist Eimear McGeown and renowned folk act McPeake (formed by Francis McPeake IV from the legendary McPeake Family).

Ahead of his performance at BBC Proms in the Park, Noah Stewart said: "'I am delighted to be coming to Northern Ireland for the first time and to be visiting the H&W dockyard during centenary year of the sinking of the Titanic."

Francis McPeake IV says: "It's the best feeling in the world to be coming home from a US tour to perform in our home town.

"It couldn't be nicer to celebrate both the 60th Anniversary of my great-grandfather's song 'Will Ye Go Lassie Go' and the centenary of the Titanic at such a historic site.

"It will be a great night for everyone."

Staged with the stunning backdrop of Titanic Belfast and the Harland and Wolff cranes, the event will both celebrate Northern Ireland's achievements in industry and culture and commemorate the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic through classical, contemporary and traditional music.

For those who did not get tickets, the event will be broadcast live on BBC Radio Ulster from 19:30 BST, presented by John Toal.

Titanic slipways
A selection of television viewing options will also be available via the red button for digital TV viewers.

The programme will be recorded by BBC Northern Ireland to be shown on television later in the year.

For those attending the concert, access to the Titanic Slipways will be from 17:30 BST.

As this is an outdoor event, audiences are advised to dress for the weather.

Public transport, train and bus services will operate as normal.

There is car parking signage within the Titanic Quarter and on approach roads and Queens Road.

Car parking will be available in the Titanic Belfast basement car park, Titanic surface car parks and the Belfast Met basement car cark.

The parking charge is expected to be £5.00 and exits from these car parks will be restricted after the event until the Queens Road is clear of pedestrians.

Peter Johnston, Director BBC Northern Ireland, said: "Proms in the Park is one of the most significant events the BBC undertakes each year and we are really looking forward to bringing it for the first time from the Titanic Slipways in Belfast. Everyone can be assured of a very special evening of great music with a great mix of talented local and international artists."

Incidentally, I have just bought Noah Stewarts new album and I am really enjoying it!

[Dave]

Hi everyone,

Thanks to Hayley's tweet yesterday evening, I was able to catch her interview from the BBC iPlayer so here it is, on our new Proms in the Park news page:

Short Hayley interview, BBC N.I. on 7 September

Complete with Hayley's twitpic as below.




Cheers, Dave

[Dave]

Am recording and monitoring everything at the moment, BBC R Ulster is broadcasting the whole NI concert which started at 8pm, half an hour later than London and Glasgow.

The red button feeds showed London and Glasgow for the first 50 minutes, then switched to recordings of the first solo acts in Belfast and Glasgow - flautist Eimear McGeown in the NI case. Noah Stewart is live now on R. Ulster and wow, what a voice he has!

It will be interesting to see if they manage to cram all the songs of all the solo performers from all the Park concerts into the two TV channels available - so far so good but Hayley hasn't been on yet.

Meanwhile, in the main Proms at RAH, Nicola Benedetti, Joseph Calleja, wow, so much good music tonight!

Cheers, Dave