The annual classical music festival known as the Proms is almost upon us again. Of the 76 concerts taking place at the Royal Albert Hall, those on 1st and 2nd August may be of particular interest, with a pair of proms themed around Darwin…

Conductor Charles Hazlewood leads us from prehistoric Earth to outer space in John Williams’s soundtracks to Jurassic Park and Star Wars – and we uncover the bird kingdom (with Delius’s On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring) and insect life (in Arvo Pärt’s If Bach Had Been a Beekeeper). Britten’s ‘Storm’ interlude from his opera Peter Grimes represents the primal elements before the arrival of animals, while Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man anticipates the collective human spirit.

A little contrived, but you’ve got to admire the sentiment. The concert will be capped with a specially composed arrangement by Goldie (the DJ, not the Blue Peter dog), his first composition for classical orchestra. Looks like even drun and bass stars evolve.