The Orchestra: Classic FM Handy Guides

If this series of books has whetted your appetite to find out more, one of the best ways to discover what you like about classical music is to listen to Classic FM. We broadcast a huge breadth of classical music 24 hours a day across the UK on 100–102 FM, on DAB digital radio, online at ClassicFM.com, on Sky Channel 0106, on Virgin Media channel 922 & on FreeSat channel 721. The free Classic FM App will enable you to listen to Classic FM on your iPhone, iPod, iPad, Blackberry or Android device.

Darren Henley is managing director of Classic FM. His two independent government reviews into music & cultural education resulted in the creation of England’s first National Plan for Music Education, new networks of Music Education Hubs & Heritage Schools, a new Museums & Schools programme, the new BFI Film Academy & the new National Youth Dance Company.

He chairs the government’s Cultural Education Board & the Mayor of London’s Music Education Advisory Group. A trustee of the ABRSM exam board, a commissioner the University of Warwick Commission on the Future of Cultural Value, & a vice president of the Canterbury Festival, he is the author of 28 books.

Darren is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, the Radio Academy & the London College of Music; an Honorary Fellow of Canterbury Christ Church University, Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music & Dance & Liverpool John Moores University; an Honorary Member of the Royal Northern College of Music & the Incorporated Society of Musicians; & a Companion of the Chartered Management Institute. He holds honorary doctorates from the University of Hull, Birmingham City University & Buckinghamshire New University.

Named ‘Commercial Radio Programmer of the Year’ in 2009 & the recipient of the Sir Charles Groves Prize for ‘his outstanding contribution to British music’, he was appointed an OBE in 2013 for services to music.