Until now, for 118 years, BBC Proms has never been led by a female conductor.  American born, premiere conductor Marin Alsop will be the first woman to do so. 

The festival will have over 92 concerts including The Doctor Who Proms as part of the fiftieth anniversary of the show. With so many concerts, over 50 conductors will be participating. 5 of those are women.

Alsop will be conducting the closing night of the Proms. She commented on changing this history.

I think the fact that I’m an American woman, conducting the last night of the Proms is really a statement. I’m extraordinarily proud to be the first woman, but I’m also sad that it’s 2013 and there still can be firsts for women.

Director of Proms and BBC Radio 3 Controller, Roger Wright says that conducting has always been a man’s world. But it’s time to move on.

There are some of us who are moving that on – not least the women artists themselves.

The BBC Proms runs from July 22 to September 7. 

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