Pass the Baton: Meet the musicians

From symphony orchestras to songsters, here are the musicians who'll be racing through Radio 3's airwaves on Sunday 27 November.

Listen live or online for 30 days

Founded: 1928 (orchestra), 1983 (chorus)

In charge: Thomas Søndergård (Principal Conductor of BBC National Orchestra of Wales), Adrian Partington (Artistic Director of BBC National Chorus of Wales)

Home turf: BBC Hoddinott Hall, Cardiff

Repertoire/scope: BBC National Orchestra of Wales is one of the UK’s most versatile orchestras. They perform to tens of thousands of people across Wales and the UK each year; and can be regularly heard across the UK on television and radio, as well as performing annually at the Proms and every two years at BBC Cardiff Singer of the World. One of the UK’s foremost soundtrack orchestras, you can hear them playing on programmes including BBC One’s recent adaptation of War and Peace.

Meanwhile, the BBC National Chorus of Wales is one of the leading large mixed choruses in the UK with over 120 singers, a mix of amateur choristers alongside students from both the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama and Cardiff University. The Chorus performs annually at the BBC Proms: highlights of last season included First Night of the Proms for the second year running alongside the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus and BBC Proms in the Park with Tony Hadley in Colwyn Bay.

Did you know?

• BBC NOW is the Doctor Who house band – they’ve recorded the soundtrack for the last 10 years

• The Chorus are great in an emergency, with some of them having double lives in the police and fire services (as well as multiple doctors)

Learn more about the BBC National Orchestra of Wales on their website.

Listen live or online for 30 days

Founded: 1924 (the eldest sibling of the BBC orchestras and choirs family)

In charge: David Hill (Chief Conductor)

Home turf: London. Maida Vale Studios for rehearsing and occasional performances, and Milton Hall, St Paul’s Knightsbridge and St Giles’ Cripplegate for regular performances.

Repertoire/scope: The BBC Singers hold a unique position in British musical life. Performing everything from Byrd to Birtwistle, Tallis to Takemitsu, their versatility is second to none.

The choir’s expertise in performing contemporary music has brought about creative relationships with some of the most important composers and conductors of the 20th and 21st centuries. They’re committed to sharing their enthusiasm for music and creative expertise through a nationwide outreach programme.

Did you know?

• The BBC Singers are the only full-time professional choir in the UK

• They performed the first ever music commissioned by the BBC – the 1927 world premiere of Holst’s The Morning of the Year

• Former members include Sir Peter Pears, Sarah Connolly, Judith Bingham and Harry Christophers

Find out more about the BBC Singers on their website.

Listen live or online for 30 days

Founded: 1935

In charge: Thomas Dausgaard (Chief Conductor)

Home turf: City Halls, Glasgow

Repertoire/scope: The BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra is renowned for playing anything you can throw at it – to the highest of standards! In the last few months the orchestra has tackled huge symphonies by Mahler and Bruckner and a four-hour Beethoven marathon, as well as performing unclassifiable new music by US avant-garde composer Anthony Braxton and supporting Susan Boyle at a concert for BBC Children in Need.

As well as regular concerts in Glasgow, Aberdeen, Edinburgh and across Scotland, the BBC SSO appears regularly at the BBC Proms and Edinburgh International Festival and at other major festivals and venues throughout the world, recently touring to China and India and the Isle of Skye.

Did you know?

• The BBC SSO is the oldest professional orchestra in Scotland

• During World War Two, the orchestra made 30 hours of studio broadcasts per week on the BBC Home and World Services, including live broadcasts to Latin America in the small hours of the morning

• Sir Simon Rattle was their Associate Conductor from 1977 – 1980

Find out more about the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra on their website.

Listen live or online for 30 days

Founded: 1952

In charge: Keith Lockhart (Chief Conductor)

Home turf: Watford Colosseum for recordings, rehearsals and concerts. They’re also the Associate Orchestra of London’s Southbank Centre and perform a number of concerts there each year.

Repertoire/scope: The mission of the BBC Concert Orchestra is to bring inspiring musical experiences to everyone, everywhere. It’s a regular visitor to the BBC Proms and an Associate Orchestra at London's Southbank Centre, and can also be heard regularly on BBC Radio 2’s Friday Night Is Music Night.

For BBC Radio 3 it searches out the unusual and quirky, profiling classical masterpieces in an entertaining way. For TV, the orchestra has performed on the soundtracks of The Hunt, The Paradise and Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, among others.

Did you know?

They're the people behind the soundtracks for Salmon Fishing in the Yemen and Lady in the Van – plus the jingles for BBC News

Find out more about the BBC Concert Orchestra on their website.

Listen live or online for 30 days

Founded: 1928 (Chorus), 1930 (Orchestra)

In charge: Sakari Oramo (Chief Conductor)

Home turf: London. Maida Vale for recordings, rehearsals and concerts. The BBC SO is also Associate Orchestra at the Barbican and performs an annual season of concerts there, often with the Chorus. And of course both ensembles return to the Albert Hall each year for about a dozen Proms.

Repertoire/scope: The BBC Symphony Orchestra’s distinctive concerts offer a huge range of music, from popular classical works to the very best of new music. As well as its successful partnership with Chief Conductor Sakari Oramo, the orchestra works closely with conductors Semyon Bychkov, Sir Andrew Davis and Jiří Bělohlávek, as well as Artist in Association Brett Dean. Their ongoing education projects include the BBC’s Ten Pieces, Journey Through Music and the BBC SO Family Orchestra and Chorus. And, of course, nearly all concerts are broadcast on BBC Radio 3.

Then there’s the BBC Symphony Chorus, one of the UK’s finest amateur choirs. The Chorus performs a wide range of challenging repertoire, most of which is broadcast on BBC Radio 3. As the resident choir of the BBC Proms, it gives a number of concerts there each year with the BBC SO and with other orchestras, always including the famous Last Night seen by millions around the world.

Did you know?

• Founded in 1928 as the National Chorus, the BBC Symphony Chorus is actually older than the orchestra!

• The BBC SO was the first permanent salaried orchestra in London

• The composers Webern, Berg, Stravinsky, Bartok and Falla have all conducted the orchestra

Find out more about the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus on their website.

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Founded: 1934

In charge: Juanjo Mena (Chief Conductor)

Home turf: Salford/Manchester, with a base at BBC Philharmonic Studio in Salford’s MediaCityUK and a main concert series at The Bridgewater Hall in Manchester.

Repertoire/scope: With strong roots in the city of Manchester, the BBC Philharmonic began life in 1934 as the BBC Northern Orchestra, changing to its current name in 1982. The orchestra champions British composers but also works with world-class artists from a range of genres and styles. Its radio series, BBC Philharmonic Presents, has seen a plethora of original collaborations, from Clean Bandit (Radio 1) to Jarvis Cocker’s Wireless Nights (Radio 4) and Kermode and Mayo’s Film Review on Radio 5 live.

The orchestra has a commitment to nurturing musical talent across the North of England, and much of its learning and outreach work is aimed at bringing new musical opportunities to new audiences. This year it starred in the BAFTA award-winning Ten Pieces film for secondary schools.

Did you know?

On 30 January 2009 the orchestra performed a concert in the Beijing National Aquatics Centre on a stage that was specially built over the diving pool. No-one fell in.

Find out more about the BBC Philharmonic on their website.

Now you've met all the BBC Orchestras and Choirs, don't forget to cheer them on as they Pass the Baton! Listen live on 27 November and online for 30 days at the Radio 3 website, and follow the action on social media using #PasstheBaton.