CBC Radio Orchestra to disband after 70 years

The last notes of the Vancouver-based CBC Radio Orchestra will be heard at the end of the fall concert season in November.

The decision to disband the orchestra — formed in 1938 when radio orchestras were common — comes down to dollars and cents, a CBC executive in Vancouver said Thursday.

"We know for example that for a concert that we fund through our CBC Radio Orchestra, we can extend our reach to three by doing it through other musical organizations," said Jennifer McGuire, executive director of CBC English Radio.

The mandate of the orchestra, the last of its kind in North America with 32 CDs to its credit, is to showcase Canadian composers, musicians and Canadian content, much loved by classical music fans.