A radio orchestra (or broadcast orchestra) is an

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

employed by a

radio network There are two types of radio network currently in use around the world: the one-to-many ( simplex communication) broadcast network commonly used for public information and mass-media entertainment, and the two-way radio ( duplex communication) typ ...

(and sometimes

television network A television network or television broadcaster is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, where a central operation provides programming to many television stations or pay television providers. Until the mid- ...

s) 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 Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...

. However, in recent decades, broadcast orchestras have become increasingly rare. Those that still exist perform mainly classical and contemporary orchestral music, though broadcast light music orchestras, jazz orchestras and

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s ...

s are still employed by some radio stations in Europe. Famous broadcast orchestras include the NBC Symphony Orchestra (1937–1954) conducted by

Arturo Toscanini Arturo Toscanini (; ; March 25, 1867January 16, 1957) was an Italian conductor. He was one of the most acclaimed and influential musicians of the late 19th and early 20th century, renowned for his intensity, his perfectionism, his ear for orche ...

, the five orchestras maintained by the BBC, particularly the

BBC Symphony Orchestra The BBC Symphony Orchestra (BBC SO) is a British orchestra based in London. Founded in 1930, it was the first permanent salaried orchestra in London, and is the only one of the city's five major symphony orchestras not to be self-governing. T ...

founded in 1930, the MDR Symphony Orchestra founded in 1923, the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra founded in 1949, the Tokyo-based NHK Symphony Orchestra, the Danish National Symphony Orchestra founded in 1925, the

Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra The Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra (German: ''ORF Radio-Symphonieorchester Wien'', or RSO Wien) is the orchestra of the Austrian national broadcaster Österreichischer Rundfunk (ORF). Unlike most other Austrian orchestras, the RSO Wien has a sub ...

founded in 1969 and the Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra of Moscow Radio (formerly the USSR State Radio and Television Symphony Orchestra among other names) founded in 1930. Germany has an especially large number of radio orchestras. Twelve radio orchestras perform and produce classical as well as contemporary music and jazz for Germany's public broadcasters. North German Broadcasting (

NDR NDR may refer to: Computing * Non delivery report, a return email message to a sender indicating failed message delivery * Network Data Representation, an implementation of the OSI model presentation layer Science and technology * Negative differ ...

) has two orchestras in Hamburg and Hanover as well as the NDR Big Band also in Hamburg. West German Broadcasting (

WDR WDR may refer to: * Waddell & Reed (stock ticker: WDR), an American asset management and financial planning company * Walt Disney Records, an American record label of the Disney Music Group * WDR neuron, a type of neuron involved in pain signall ...

) has two orchestras in Cologne and a Big Band, Southwest German Broadcasting ( SWR) with two orchestras and the SWR Big Band in Stuttgart and Baden-Baden/Freiburg, Bavarian Broadcasting ( Bayerischer Rundfunk) with two orchestras in Munich, Central German Broadcasting (

MDR MDR may refer to: Biology * MDR1, an ATP-dependent cellular efflux pump affording multiple drug resistance * Mammalian Diving reflex * Medical device reporting * Multiple drug resistance, when a microorganism has become resistant to multiple drugs ...

) with one orchestra in Leipzig, Saarland Broadcasting ( SR) with one (2006 merged) orchestra in Saarbrücken/Kaiserslautern, Hessian Broadcasting ( HR) with one orchestra in

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its ...

and the ( Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra), Berlin. The

British Broadcasting Corporation #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

operates five full-time permanent orchestras, as well as a full-time chamber choir, the BBC Singers and the BBC Big Band. Denmark also maintains orchestra in the form of the Danish National Symphony Orchestra, the

Danish Radio Big Band The Danish Radio Big Band (aka: DR Big Band), often referred to as the Radioens Big Band is a radio ensemble and big band founded in Copenhagen in 1964 at the Danish Broadcasting Corporation (DR). Band history Originally called the New Radio ...

, Chamber Orchestra and Radio Choir. In Norway NRK runs the Norwegian Radio Orchestra (Norwegian, Kringkastingsorkestret, abbreviated as KORK). The orchestra specializes in classical music as well as popular music. This makes it quite unique in that the musicians are trained both classically and rhythmically too a high degree. The Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra and Stavanger Symphony Orchestra also have agreements with NRK too make a number of broadcast recordings a year. In the Netherlands, the Muziekcentrum van de Omroep (''Broadcasting Music Centre''), an umbrella organization of the

Netherlands Public Broadcasting (; abbreviated to NPO ; literally "Dutch Public Broadcaster") or Dutch Foundation for Public Broadcasting () is a Dutch public broadcasting organisation that administers public broadcasting services in the Netherlands. The NPO is also the owner ...

associations, supports the Radio Filharmonisch Orkest, the Radio Kamer Filharmonie, the Groot Omroepkoor (''Netherlands Radio Choir''), and the Metropole Orkest, the world's largest professional pop and jazz orchestra. The last surviving broadcast orchestra in North America was the CBC Radio Orchestra founded in 1938. On March 28, 2008 the

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the governme ...

announced that the orchestra would be dissolved at the end of November.Lederman, Marsha
"CBC Radio Orchestra to be dismantled"
''Globe and Mail'', March 27, 2008 The ensemble has continued independent of network affiliation as the

National Broadcast Orchestra The National Broadcast Orchestra is a Canadian radio orchestra based in Vancouver, British Columbia. Created after the CBC Radio Orchestra was disbanded in November, 2008, the National Broadcast Orchestra (NBO) was founded by conductor Alain Trud ...

based in Vancouver. The

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-own ...

(ABC) in Australia operates six state radio symphony orchestras through its subdivision Symphony Australia. The

house band A house band is a group of musicians, often centrally organized by a band leader, who regularly play at an establishment. It is widely used to refer both to the bands who work on entertainment programs on television or radio, and to bands which ...

for the ''

Late Show with David Letterman The ''Late Show with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by Letterman's production c ...

'' whimsically called itself the CBS Orchestra though it was not a classical musical orchestra and did not perform on CBS outside of the ''Late Show''. The last permanent studio orchestra in America was The Tonight Show Band, also known as the NBC Orchestra, a big band led by trumpeter Doc Severinsen.

References

{{Orchestra * Orchestras

See also

References