Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra

The Bournemouth Municipal Orchestra was founded in 1893 by Dan Godfrey as a group of 30 wind players and a drummer, though several of the instrumentalists were proficient in both wind and string instruments. This flexible approach meant that the musicians could form a military band for open-air concerts or a more formal classical ensemble for indoor programmes.

The band quickly expanded to become a full orchestra. Edward Elgar and Gustav Holst conducted the orchestra in their own works.

The first recording by the Bournemouth Municipal Orchestra was made in 1914 and occasional records were issued during Godfrey's tenure. Godfrey remains the longest serving principal conductor of the orchestra, and his stewardship ensured that the Bournemouth Municipal Orchestra established an ongoing tradition of music making.

After Godfrey's retirement, the task of sustaining the orchestra fell to Richard Austin. At the outbreak of war, the orchestra was cut from 61 to 35, and then in 1940 to only 24 players. Austin resigned in the same year and Montague Birch helped keep the orchestra going during the war.

After the end of the war, the orchestra found a new home at the 'new' Winter Gardens. In 1947, Rudolf Schwarz was appointed Musical Director of a re-formed orchestra of 60.

Charles Groves took over as Musical Director in 1951, but a rising annual deficit and termination of players' contracts caused a crisis, averted only by support from the Winter Gardens Society. In 1954, the orchestra changed its name to the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra.

In 1962, Constantin Silvestri became Principal Conductor and raised the standard and profile of the orchestra, with an appearance at the Edinburgh Festival in 1963, a first European tour in 1965, notable recordings and regular radio broadcasts. His tenure was cut short by his death from cancer in 1969.

Paavo Berglund's tenure as principal conductor from 1972 to 1979 included commercial recordings such as the complete symphonies of Jean Sibelius for EMI. Berglund led the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra with distinction, significantly raising the performing standards.

Marin Alsop, principal conductor from September 2002 to 2008, was the BSO's first female principal conductor and the first female principal conductor of a UK orchestra. Her time with the orchestra continued the programming of American repertoire from Litton's tenure, which she often introduced to the audience from the podium in the style of her mentor Leonard Bernstein. Wikipedia