BBC Proms appoints director of artistic planning

BBC Proms has today announced the appointment of Hannah Donat to the role of director of artistic planning. Donat moves to her new role from her current position as artistic producer of the Proms which she has held for the last seven years.

Officially taking up her new role on 1 May, Donat will work closely with Radio 3 and BBC Proms controller Sam Jackson to ‘shape and deliver’ the annual Proms season, with events taking place in London and across the UK. The BBC has confirmed that recruitment will begin shortly for a new artistic producer.

Jackson said: ‘Hannah is a brilliant colleague and is highly respected across the industry. I’m thrilled she will be stepping up in this new role, working closely with me to deliver the very best classical music to the widest possible audience. We have an ambitious and exciting 2024 season ahead of us, and I look forward to working on future seasons with Hannah and the wider team. A huge thank you goes to David Pickard, whose invaluable work and dedication has driven the BBC Proms forward for nearly ten years, and who leaves us in October.’

Donat’s appointment follows a ‘highly competitive’ recruitment process and comes after the announcement in November 2023, that Proms director David Pickard will step down from the role in October 2024 after this year’s Proms season.

To her new role Donat brings broad experience gained in roles with organisations including Britten Sinfonia, and the Philharmonia Orchestra. As artistic producer Donat has worked to build partnerships with orchestras across the UK and beyond and helped create innovative programmes and themed Proms. The full programme for this year’s BBC Proms will be announced on Thursday (25 April).