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2017 EVERGREEN 23<br />

Few radio<br />

or television<br />

programmes<br />

achieve 1,000<br />

performances,<br />

but Friday Night<br />

is Music Night<br />

managed it<br />

without any<br />

trouble and is still<br />

going strong 45<br />

years later!<br />

Back in 1953<br />

the programme<br />

was set up to<br />

showcase the<br />

newly formed<br />

BBC Concert<br />

Orchestra,<br />

at the time<br />

one of many<br />

BBC music<br />

ensembles but<br />

the only one<br />

now left devoted to this particular<br />

genre, although regional orchestras<br />

The Aeolian Hall in<br />

London was used<br />

by the BBC for<br />

recordings after St.<br />

George’s Hall was<br />

bombed in 1943.<br />

also played lighter music, leaving<br />

the BBC Symphony Orchestra to<br />

concentrate solely on more serious<br />

works. Sadly, all the regional<br />

orchestras were disbanded in 1979<br />

which caused a furore, followed by<br />

the BBC Radio Orchestra and the<br />

BBC Northern Dance Orchestra,<br />

better-known as the NDO (see<br />

<strong>Evergreen</strong>, Summer 2012). The BBC<br />

Northern Orchestra metamorphosed<br />

into the BBC Philharmonic while<br />

the BBC Big Band is allowed to tour<br />

as a semi-independent outfit.<br />

Back in 1953 Sidney Torch<br />

was given the brief of lightening<br />

up Friday evenings. Fresh from<br />

conducting the Queen’s Hall Light

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