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Proms conductors we salute you!

You'll see them standing usually on a raised podium at the front of the Royal Albert Hall stage, waving a baton or their hands at the performers and superb music happens. It's like watching magic and it can take your breath away.

A great conductor inspires fantastic performances; as you're listening the music comes to life. has been full to the brim with world-class conductors. Here are some snapshots of a few of these great conductors in mid-flow, producing some of the best performances we've had the pleasure of hearing at the Proms. Encore!

Look sharp! It's Sakari Oramo conducting First Night of the Proms

The ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ Symphony Orchestra Principle Conductor Sakari Oramo kicked off proceedings in and returned twice more during the season to conduct and .

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Susanna MΓ€lkki conducting The Planets

Susanna Mälkki initially trained as a cellist before switching to conducting. We're very happy because we had the absolute treat of watching her conduct the ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ Symphony Orchestra through Holst's epic The Planets, as well as works by Pierre Boulez and Luca Francesconi in .

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Shostakovich's dark Eighth Symphony in Vladimir Jurowski's hands

Grandson of a Soviet film music composer, son of a conductor, Vladimir Jurowski followed in his family's footsteps and studied conducting at the Moscow Conservatory. In he took charge of Shostakovich's dark and mighty Eighth Symphony, alongside a rare Schoenberg piano concerto and a Beethoven overture.

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John Wilson with gems of Sinatra and Bernstein

John Wilson founded his own orchestra, surprisingly enough called the John Wilson Orchestra, who have performed two fantastic Proms this year celebrating musical greats - the 'Sultan of Swing' Frank Sinatra in and musicals composer-extraordinaire Leonard Bernstein in .

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Xian Zhang conducting the ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ National Orchestra of Wales

When she was a child, Xian Zhang learned music with her mother on a piano built by her father. She is now the Music Director of the Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi. Xian Zhang conducted the ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ National Orchestra of Wales in through a wide-ranging repertoire of Prokofiev, Qigang Chen and Rachmaninov.

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Edward Gardner conducting big brass in JanÑček's Sinfonietta

Proms pro Edward Gardner pulled out all the stops during the recent . He conducted the ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ Symphony Orchestra in a vivid performance of Leoš Janáček's Sinfonietta, full of big brass fanfares.

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Michael Tilson Thomas conducting Beethoven's emotionally charged 'Eroica'

Michael Tilson Thomas has been celebrating his 20th season as Music Director of the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, currently the longest-tenured music director at any major American orchestra! After almost a decade since last visiting the Proms, Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Orchestra returned to perform two brilliant Proms covering music by Schoenberg, Cowell, Mahler, Ives, Bartók and Beethoven.

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Eric Whitacre leads the charge in the performance of his composition Equus

Composer Eric Whitacre conducted a fantastic range of modern pieces in , including the European premieres of two works - his own called Deep Field inspired by images taken by the Hubble Space Telescope and a piece by composer Jonathan Newman.

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Tadaaki Otaka conducting Vaughan Williams's rarely heard Concerto accademico

Tadaaki Otaka conducted an evening of British composers in , including music by Walton, Vaughan Williams, Elgar and Grace Williams. Tadaaki Otaka has been the chief and principal conductor of several orchestras over the years, including the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ National Orchestra of Wales and Sapporo Symphony Orchestra.

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Keith Lockhart dialing-up Orff's explosive Carming burana

Keith Lockhart conducted a huge star line-up of vocalists, soloists, boys' and girls' choirs, two choruses and the ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ Concert Orchestra in with Saint-Saëns's devilish Danse macabre, a world premiere of a trumpet concerto by Guy Barker and Orff's monumental Carmina burana. No mean feat.

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Marin Alsop conducting an all-Brahms evening ahead of Last Night of the Proms

Marin Alsop will soon be making her second appearance conducting Last Night of the Proms. Ahead of this exciting engagement she conducted a complete Brahms-fest in with the German composer's Academic Festival Overture, Alto Rhapsody, Triumphlied and First Symphony. We can't wait to see her again on !

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