C Major

As the China Philharmonic Orchestra prepares to make its debut at the BBC Proms in London, Chen Jie speaks with key figures from the event and finds the excitement is building.

The China Philharmonic Orchestra will make its debut at this year's British Broadcasting Corporation Proms at the Royal Albert Hall in London. It is also the first orchestra from China to play at the Proms, an annual summer presentation of classical music concerts by the BBC. On July 19, the second night of the Proms this year, the China Philharmonic Orchestra will join Chinese pianist Zhang Haochen and English trumpet soloist Alison Balsom to open this year's "global classical music" series.

"Global classical music is at the heart of the 2014 Proms with 10 international orchestras performing - much more than ever before," Roger Wright, director of BBC Proms, says by telephone from London.