CBC Radio Orchestra
| Company type | Orchestra |
|---|---|
| Industry | Music |
| Founded | 1938 |
| Headquarters | Vancouver , Canada |
| Products | Classical music performances and recordings |
Number of employees | 45 |
| Parent | Canadian Broadcasting Corporation |
The CBC Radio Orchestra was a Canadian orchestra headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, and operated under the auspices of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Prior to the early 1980s, CBC supported orchestras in Winnipeg, Toronto, Montreal, and Halifax; however, federal budget reductions led to their disbandment, elevating the CBC Vancouver Orchestra to a nationwide role. In 2000, it was renamed and became the CBC's only broadcast orchestra as well as the final remaining radio orchestra in North America.
History
Established in 1938 as the CBC Vancouver Chamber Orchestra,[1][2] its origins trace back to the Canadian National Railway Radio Orchestra, which was conducted by Henri Miro during 1931–32.[3]
The orchestra welcomed numerous distinguished guest conductors such as Franz Breuggen, Sir Neville Marinner, Alan Hovhaness, Raffi Armenian, Kees Bakels, Michel Corboz, Victor Feldbrill, Kazuyoshi Akiyama, Serge Garant, Monica Huggett, Milton Katims, Sir Ernest MacMillan, Geoffrey Moull, Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Georg Tintner, Simon Streatfeild, Bernard Labadie, Helmut Rilling, Keri-Lynn Wilson, Pinchas Zukerman, Jacques Lacombe among others. The ensemble also collaborated with many of Canada's foremost soloists.[4]
At the time of its closure, the orchestra comprised 45 musicians and had been led by only four conductors: its founding leader John Avison (until 1980), succeeded by John Eliot Gardiner for two years, then Mario Bernardi from 1984 to 2006, and lastly Canadian trombonist Alain Trudel, who took over as musical director in 2006.
The orchestra generally offered two to three concert series each season and was a regular participant in Festival Vancouver. It undertook tours including trips to Arctic locations in 1973 and between 2004 and 2008 visited Yellowknife and Iqaluit. Its primary venues were the Chan Shun Concert Hall at the University of British Columbia with occasional performances at Vancouver's Orpheum Theatre. For seven decades, it functioned chiefly as a studio orchestra for broadcasts and recordings with a strong emphasis on commissioning and showcasing new Canadian compositions. In 2004, one of its albums received a Juno Award for Large Ensemble Classical Recording.[5] Subsequent organizational changes limited public performances to broadcast concerts at Chan Shun Concert Hall while continuing studio recordings from Vancouver.
In addition to this ensemble, CBC established the CBC Symphony Orchestra in Toronto in 1952 by drawing heavily from musicians of the Toronto Symphony. This orchestra maintained weekly broadcasts until it was disbanded in 1964.[6]
Closure
The orchestra officially ceased operations on November 16, 2008, marking the end of its seven-decade legacy with a final performance. This closure sparked significant resistance among classical music enthusiasts and attracted widespread media attention, including prominent coverage in the Vancouver Sun, Georgia Straight, and The New York Times. Demonstrations took place outside CBC offices across the country. During a House Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage session held on May 2, 2008, multiple Members of Parliament from different political parties expressed their disapproval, among them Bill Siksay (NDP), Denis Coderre (Liberal), Joyce Murray (Liberal), and Ed Fast (Conservative).
National Broadcast Orchestra
On November 1, 2008, Alain Trudel, then musical director of the CBCRO, revealed plans to establish an independent ensemble named the National Broadcast Orchestra of Canada (NBO). The vision included presenting between six and ten concerts annually with a roster of 35 to 50 musicians. The NBO anticipated operating on a $1 million budget sourced through fundraising efforts and aimed to obtain government financial support. Its programming focus was intended to highlight North American repertoire alongside new Canadian works, utilizing multimedia platforms such as webcasting and broadcast initiatives. Despite these ambitions, the project did not progress further, with no additional communications from either the NBO or Trudel. By 2010, based in Vancouver, the orchestra was preparing for its inaugural concert featuring The Sparrow’s Ledger, a composition commissioned by CBC from Michael Oesterle.
External links
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
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<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedlast - ↑ "Henri (Enrique) Miro, composer, conductor and critic (1879-1950)"Template:Fix/category[permanent dead link], Library and Archives Canada, accessed January 22, 2008
- ↑ CBC Radio Orchestra - The Canadian Encyclopedia
- ↑ "CARAS Scores A Hit With 2004 Juno Awards" Archived 2016-08-15 at the Wayback Machine. Soul Shine. 2004-04-05
- ↑ CBC Symphony Orchestra, The Canadian Encyclopedia, accessed January 22, 2008
- Former CBC orchestras
- Disbanded orchestras
- Musical groups established in 1938
- Musical groups disestablished in 2008
- Orchestras from Vancouver
- 2008 in Canadian music
- Juno Award for Classical Album of the Year – Large Ensemble or Soloist(s) with Large Ensemble Accompaniment winners
- 1938 establishments in British Columbia
- 2008 disestablishments in British Columbia