The BBC Concert Orchestra was formed in 1952. It has a wide and flexible repertoire, ranging from classical works and musical theatre to light music and film scores, and appears with a huge range of artists every year. Its Conductor Laureate is Barry Wordsworth and Principal Guest Conductor is Charles Hazlewood. Anne Dudley was the Orchestra’s first Composer-in- Association; and Jonny Greenwood has now taken on that rôle as Composer-in-Residence. The Orchestra has close links with BBC Radio 3 which broadcasts the majority of its concerts and with BBC Radio 2 where it is featured on the weekly programme Friday Night is Music Night. On BBC television the BBC Concert Orchestra has appeared in several programmes and can be heard on countless BBC TV soundtracks including the award-winning natural history series Blue Planet and Planet Earth on BBC 1. The Orchestra performs annually at the BBC Proms, makes regular visits to the Royal Festival, Royal Albert and Barbican halls in London and appears throughout Britain and abroad. It has made many recordings, with recent releases on Chandos, ASV White Line, Dutton Epoch and Naxos. The Orchestra is resident at Chichester Festival Theatre and Watford Colosseum.
The BBC Concert Orchestra is a uniquely versatile ensemble, offering a broad repertoire and particularly well known for its popular Friday night series for BBC Radio 2. Formed in 1952, the orchestra has worked with very distinguished conductors, including Sir Adrian Boult, Sir Malcolm Sargent and Sir Charles Groves. Its founder-conductor was Gilbert Vinter and Principal Conductors since have been Sir Charles Mackerras, Vilem Tausky, Marcus Dods, Ashley Lawrence and, currently, Barry Wordsworth. Broadcasts by the orchestra include work for Radio 3, with appearances on television and annual concerts in the London Promenade Concerts. Commercial recordings by the BBC Concert Orchestra include performances of music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Stanley Black and concert tours have taken the orchestra to other countries of Europe, to North America and to the Far East.
