BBC Orchestras and Choirs

BBC Orchestras and Choirs

Published: 22 November 2017

Christmas 2017 with BBC Orchestras and Choirs...

Music from Film Noir

Monday 11 December, 7.30pm, BBC Radio 3

The BBC Concert Orchestra performs a dramatic evening of music from the Film Noir greats. Hits from Laura, Sunset Boulevard and Rebel without a Cause meet a ‘new noir’ genre with Badalamenti’s Fire Walk With Me from Twin Peaks. Presented by leading film critic Mark Kermode and led by acclaimed film music conductor Robert Ziegler, the concert will see an appearance from singer Hannah Waddingham who joins to help illustrate the depths of this enduring genre.

  • BBC Concert Orchestra
  • Mark Kermode - presenter
  • Hannah Waddingham - singer
  • Robert Ziegler - conductor
  • Recorded on Friday 8 December, 7.30pm at Royal Festival Hall, London
  • Producer: Neil Varley for the BBC

Temple Church Winter Festival

Friday 15 December, 2pm, BBC Radio 3

Owain Park makes his conducting debut with the BBC Singers and organist Roger Sayer in a programme of contemporary Christmas carols in the beautiful setting of Temple Church, including music by Judith Bingham, Joanna Marsh, Carl Rutti, Howard Skempton and Owain Park.

  • BBC Singers
  • Roger Sayer - organ
  • Owain Park - conductor
  • Broadcast live
  • Producer: Jonathan Manners for the BBC

A Celebration of J.S Bach

Wednesday 20 December, 2pm, BBC Radio 3

A live broadcast for BBC Radio 3’s Afternoon Concert programme will see a performance of music inspired by composer J.S Bach and his inspirational legacy. Presented by Tom Redmond, the concert will feature a performance from violinist Michael Barenboim who returns following a performance with the BBC Philharmonic last December. Bach’s O Mensch, bewein' dein' Sunde gross (arr. Reger) and Fantasia and Fugue in C minor are paired with Berg’s Violin Concerto and a recent work from Steve Elcock - Choses renversees par le temps ou la destruction, Op. 20.

  • BBC Philharmonic
  • Michael Barenboim - violin
  • Tom Redmond - presenter
  • Moritz Gnann - conductor
  • Broadcast live from MediaCity UK, Salford
  • Producer: Mike George for the BBC

BBC Radio 3 Breakfast Carol Competition 2017

Friday 22 December, 6.30am, BBC Radio 3

The BBC Singers lend their voices once again to BBC Radio 3’s annual Breakfast Carol Competition. Launched on Friday 1 September, the 2017 competition challenges amateur composers to create a brand new carol for SATB choir (a cappella or with piano accompaniment) set to the words of Sir Richard Smerte’s Sir Christemas, a text thought to be written in the late 15th century. The six shortlisted carols will be performed live on Radio 3’s Breakfast programme in the lead up to Christmas by the BBC Singers, directed by David Hill. The winning carol - also sung by the BBC Singers - will be announced live on Breakfast on 22 December, and played throughout Christmas day on BBC Radio 3.

  • David Hill, former Chief Conductor of the BBC Singers - panel Chair
  • Judith Weir, Master of the Queen’s Music and Associate Composer with the BBC Singers - adjudicator
  • Jonathan Manners, BBC Singers Producer - adjudicator
  • Margaret Cameron, BBC Singers alto - adjudicator
  • Griselda Sherlaw-Johnson, choral Promotion Manager with Oxford University Press - adjudicator

Christmas with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra

Christmas Eve, 10pm, BBC Radio Scotland

On the final Friday of advent, the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra performs a concert filled with seasonal songs and orchestral favourites. Wintry music by composers such as Prokofiev and Korngold will be wrapped-up with orchestral versions of carols and popular Christmas songs. Tenor and BBC Radio Scotland presenter Jamie MacDougall hosts the celebration, spreading festive cheer with London West End performer Anita Louise Combe and conductor Stephen Bell.

  • BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
  • Jamie McDougall - singer and presenter
  • Anita Louise Combe - singer
  • Stephen Bell - conductor
  • Recorded on Thursday 21 December, 7.30pm at Town Hall, Ayr and Friday 22 December, 7.30pm at City Halls, Glasgow
  • Producer: Douglas Templeton for the BBC

Carols for Christmas

Christmas Eve, 11pm and Christmas Day, 2pm, BBC Radio Wales

BBC Wales’ annual festive concert in aid of BBC Children in Need returns to St David’s Hall. Conducted by Adrian Partington, the concert features a massed children’s choir from schools in Cardiff, Swansea and Torfaen, performing alongside the BBC National Chorus of Wales. Readings by BBC Wales presenters will compliment a selection of popular carols.

  • BBC National Orchestra of Wales
  • BBC National Chorus of Wales
  • Adrian Partington - conductor
  • Recorded on Saturday 16 December, 3pm at St David’s Hall, Cardiff
  • Producer: Dean Craven for the BBC

Christmas Celebrations

Christmas Day, 5am and 5pm, BBC Radio Wales

Award-winning jazz singer and BBC Radio 2 presenter Clare Teal joins the BBC National Orchestra and Chorus of Wales for an evening of popular festive tunes, jazz classics and a sing-along for all the family! Drawing inspiration from some of the world’s jazz greats, Clare performs a swinging programme filled with evocative seasonal classics that will have the concert and radio audience truly dreaming of a white Christmas.

Clare Teal says: “Christmas is always such a special time of the year and what better way for me to spend it this time round than with the BBC National Orchestra and Chorus of Wales. As a singer, it’s always wonderful bringing to life Christmas classics old and new, especially when they are influenced by the truly nostalgic essence of big band and swing. With many seasonal favourites - including an homage to Ella Fitzgerald’s Christmas in the centenary year of her birth - I hope this concert will evoke the fondest of memories of Christmases gone by for families and friends who come along and for those who listen at home on BBC Radio Wales”.

  • BBC National Orchestra of Wales
  • BBC National Chorus of Wales
  • Clare Teal - singer and presenter
  • Gavin Sutherland - conductor
  • Recorded on Thursday 14 December, 19.30pm at Brangwyn Hall, Swansea and Friday 15 December, 7.30pm, St David’s Hall, Cardiff
  • Producer: Dean Craven for the BBC

BBC Symphony Chorus at Maida Vale for Christmas

Christmas Day, 3.45pm, BBC Radio 3

The BBC Symphony Chorus and chorus director Neil Ferris perform an afternoon of Christmas delights at the iconic BBC Maida Vale Studios. Well-known festive classics appear alongside lesser-known Christmas choral works for a wonderful seasonal celebration. Amongst the programme will be Morten Lauridsen’s O Magnum Mysterium and Cheryl Frances-Hoad’s There is No Rose.

  • BBC Symphony Chorus
  • Neil Ferris - conductor
  • Recorded on Sunday 17 December, 3pm at BBC Maida Vale Studios, London
  • Producer: Ann McKay for the BBC

Simon Callow’s Dickensian Christmas

Christmas Day, 5pm, BBC Radio 3

Charles Dickens did much to shape the traditions of modern Christmas. Actor Simon Callow, who has written about and portrayed Dickens extensively, joins the BBC Singers for a unique seasonal celebration where Dickensian Christmas readings will be paired with carols from the era. The concert takes place against the Victorian splendour of St Luke’s Chelsea - the church in which Charles Dickens married - and is conducted by Ben Palmer.

  • BBC Singers
  • Annie Lydford - organ
  • Simon Callow - actor
  • Ben Palmer - conductor
  • Recorded on Thursday 21 December, 2.30pm at St Luke’s Church, Chelsea
  • Producer: Jonathan Manners for the BBC

Logical Family: An Evening with Armistead Maupin and the BBC Symphony Orchestra

Christmas Day, 5pm, BBC Radio 4 and New Year's Day, 9pm, BBC Radio 3

Armistead Maupin, legendary chronicler of San Francisco life, whose Tales of the City have been loved by millions, reads from his forthcoming funny, poignant and unflinchingly honest memoir Logical Family. Armistead and the BBC Symphony Orchestra will be joined on stage by special guests for musical interludes by Bernstein, Gershwin, Puccini, Noel Coward and more.

  • BBC Symphony Orchestra
  • Armistead Maupin - author
  • David Parry - conductor
  • Recorded on Tuesday 19 December, 7.30pm at Barbican Concert Hall, London
  • Producer: Ann McKay for the BBC

Christmas at the Movies

Christmas Day, 5pm, BBC Radio Scotland

In a musical matinee of movie magic for all the ages, singer and presenter Jamie McDougall joins the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and conductor Roderick Dunk for a concert celebrating some of the best-loved film scores throughout the ages. Alongside a number of the most acclaimed soundtracks of recent years will be themes from the Golden Age of Hollywood and classics by John Williams in his 85th birthday year.

  • BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
  • Jamie McDougall - singer and presenter
  • Roderick Dunk - conductor
  • Recorded on Sunday 17 December, 3pm at City Halls, Glasgow
  • Producer: Douglas Templeton for the BBC

BBC Philharmonic Christmas Concert

TBC, BBC Radio Manchester

For one special Christmas evening, the BBC Philharmonic welcomes back its former Principal Flute Richard Davis - now making waves as a conductor - for a concert of festive favourites and a few surprises on the final Wednesday before Christmas. Broadcast on BBC Radio Manchester, this seasonal takeover will take place at the home of the BBC Philharmonic at MediaCity UK, Salford.

  • BBC Philharmonic
  • Richard Davis - conductor
  • Recorded on Wednesday 20 December, 4pm at MediaCity UK, Salford
  • Producer: Mike George for the BBC