BBC Television Orchestra
Encyclopedia
Radio orchestra
A radio orchestra is an orchestra employed by a radio network in order to provide programming as well as sometimes perform incidental or theme music for various shows on the network. In the heyday of radio such orchestras were numerous, performing classical, popular, light music and jazz...
founded in 1936 by violinist and composer Hyam Greenbaum and led by Boris Pecker. Hyam Greenbaum's wife Sidonie Goossens
Sidonie Goossens
Sidonie "Sid" Goossens OBE was one of Britain's most enduring harpists. She made her professional debut in 1921, was a founder member of the BBC Symphony Orchestra and went on to play for more than half a century until her retirement in 1981.- The Goossens Family :She was a member of the famous...
was the first solo harpist with the Orchestra in that year. It was disbanded in September 1939 when the outbreak of the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
caused the BBC Television
BBC Television
BBC Television is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation. The corporation, which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927, has produced television programmes from its own studios since 1932, although the start of its regular service of television...
service to be suspended so as not to create a VHF beacon for German bombers.
The Orchestra played on the first ever programme broadcast when regular British television broadcasts commenced on 26 August 1936 to an estimated 123,000 viewers. The Orchestra also played on the opening day of BBC Television high-definition
High-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
broadcast on Monday, 2 November 1936.