On Sunday 27 November, BBC Radio 3 will replace its usual schedule with 12 hours of live concerts, features and interviews to showcase the work of the BBC Orchestras and Choirs.
‘[The BBC ensembles] have been at the forefront of bringing great music to millions of listeners, live and broadcast, for many years,’ said controller of BBC Radio 3 Alan Davey. ‘Collectively they are one of this nation's cultural treasures and it's right that we celebrate them and the huge pleasure they bring.'
The day will kick off with a celebration of the BBC National Orchestra and Chorus of Wales. Chief executive of the Arts Council of Wales Nick Capaldi, and composer Huw Watkins will join Nicola Heywood Thomas as she presents past their recordings. Then, at 10am, principal guest conductor Xian Zhang conducts the ensembles in a live performance that will include music from the BBC Ten Pieces project.
Next up are the BBC Singers, who will perform a live concert from BBC Maida Vale Studios presented by Sean Rafferty. Then the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra perform live from Glasgow’s City Halls, conducted by Sir James Macmillan in a programme of music by living Scottish composers.
While they perform, the BBC Singers will nip across London to the Barbican in London, where at 4.30pm they will perform with the BBC Concert Orchestra in a concert of music by Richard Rodney Bennett. There’s more music by Rodney Bennett at 7.30pm, this time performed by the BBC Symphony Orchestra. BBC Philharmonic are the last live performance of the day at 8.30pm, alongside graduate singers from the BBC New Generation Artist Scheme.