The orchestra will be performing six times at the 2024 BBC Proms under its principal conductor Anna-Maria Helsing, among others. But who are the BBC Concert Orchestra?
Who are the BBC Concert Orchestra?
The BBC Concert Orchestra is a British orchestra based in London, and one of the BBC’s five orchestras – alongside the BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Philharmonic, BBC National Orchestra of Wales and BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra.
With around 50 players, the orchestra is the smallest and most accessible of the five BBC orchestras, performing a range of repertoire including classical, light and popular music.
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As a broadcasting orchestra, the ensemble can be heard on BBC Radio 2’s Sunday Night Is Music Night. For BBC Radio 3 it explores a wide selection of music, ranging from classical to contemporary.
The orchestra appears annually at the BBC Proms and regularly at the Southbank Centre, London, where it has been associate orchestra since 2014.
When was the BBC Concert Orchestra formed?
The orchestra was originally formed as the BBC Theatre Orchestra in 1931, based in Bedford, and was occasionally also billed as the BBC Opera Orchestra. In 1949, the ensemble was formally named the BBC Opera Orchestra. This was disbanded in 1952 and the BBC Concert Orchestra was formed from its players.
Who are the orchestra's past conductors?
The orchestra’s former conductors are:
Gilbert Vinter (1952–1953)
Charles Mackerras (1954–1956)
Vilém Tauský (1956–1966)
Marcus Dods (1966–1970)
Ashley Lawrence (1970–1989)
Barry Wordsworth (1989–2006)
Keith Lockhart (2010–2017)
Bramwell Tovey (2018–2022)
Anna-Maria Helsing (2023–present)
Who is the BBC Concert Orchestra's current chief conductor?
Anna-Maria Helsing has been chief conductor of the BBC Concert Orchestra since 2023, and from 2010-2013 she was chief conductor of the Oulu Symphony. She was also principal guest conductor of the BBC Concert Orchestra from 2020-23. Helsing is the first female conductor to be named chief conductor of the BBC CO and the first female conductor to be named chief conductor of a BBC orchestra.
Edwin Outwater is the orchestra’s principal guest conductor and Barry Wordsworth is its conductor laureate.
Who is the concertmaster of the BBC Concert Orchestra?
The orchestra’s leader is violinist Nathaniel Anderson-Frank; its associate leader is Charles Mutter.
Where is the orchestra based?
The orchestra appears annually at the BBC Proms in London’s Royal Albert Hall and regularly at the Southbank Centre, London and various venues across the UK.
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Who has the orchestra worked with?
The orchestra has performed on many soundtracks, including Blue Planet, Serengeti and Wild Isles for BBC One, and Isobel Waller-Bridge's score for Charlie Mackesy’s Oscar winning animated film, The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse.
The orchestra has worked with a number of pop artists, including Stormzy and P!nk, and with such composers as Anne Dudley, Jonny Greenwood, Guy Barker and Dobrinka Tabakova.
When is the BBC Concert Orchestra performing at the BBC Proms this summer?
The BBC Concert Orchestra appears six times at The Proms in 2024:
Prom 2: Sat 20 July, Royal Albert Hall, London
Everybody Dance! The Sound of Disco, including hits from Chic, Gloria Gaynor, Diana Ross, Boney M. and Walter Murphy, conducted by Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser.
Prom 13: Sun 28 July, Royal Albert Hall, London
Sarah Vaughan – If You Could See Me Now, in which a starry line up of singers celebrate an iconic 20th-century talent and one of the greatest jazz singers of all time. Trumpeter and composer Guy Barker conducts.
Prom 18: Fri 2 August, Royal Albert Hall, London
Sam Smith – In the Lonely Hour, revisiting the singer’s debut solo album 10 years after its release, conducted by Simon Hale.
Prom 57: Mon 2 Sept, Royal Albert Hall, London
Ultra Lounge – Henry Mancini and Beyond, marking a century since the composer’s birth, conducted by Edwin Outwater.
Proms Nottingham: Sat 7 Sept, Albert Hall, Nottingham
BBC Young Composer, featuring pieces composed by the most recent winners of the BBC Young Composer competition, conducted by Hugh Brunt.
Proms Nottingham: Sun 8 Sept, Albert Hall, Nottingham
Music of Sherwood Forest. Anna-Maria Helsing leads the BBC Concert Orchestra in a celebration of local Nottingham hero Robin Hood, featuring works by Doreen Carwithen, Korngold, Sibelius and Rachmaninov – plus a world premiere from local composer Elizabeth Kelly.