On Wednesday 5 August, the Hallé Orchestra welcomed their Patron, HRH The Duchess of Edinburgh to their performance at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

Returning for his second appearance at the BBC Proms, Principal Conductor & Artistic Advisor, Kahchun Wong, led the Hallé in a very special performance of Rachmaninov’s Symphony No.2, alongside Ravel’s La vallée des cloches and Nadia Boulanger’s fantasy for piano and orchestra, featuring acclaimed pianist, Alexandra Dariescu in her Proms debut. 

Following the performance, Her Royal Highness met some of the players, as well as Kahchun Wong and Alexandra Dariescu. 

The Duchess has a long-standing relationship with the Hallé, having been Patron since 2003. In recent years, Her Royal Highness has visited Manchester to support various Hallé projects, including formally opening The Oglesby Centre and The Victoria Wood Hall – an award-winning space built to grow the Hallé’s community and education projects.  

The Duchess also visited the Hallé last year, meeting musicians, sponsors and patrons, as well as attending Sir Mark Elder’s first concert as Conductor Emeritus. Her Royal Highness was also present at Sir Mark’s finale concerts as Music Director in both Manchester and at the Edinburgh Festival to enjoy a wonderful and emotional end to Sir Mark’s 24-year tenure in this critical role.