Monthly Archive: September 2019

The Music Treasury for 8 September 2019 —Boyd Neel, Conductor

by Audiophile Audition | Sep 6, 2019 | Streams and Podcasts

The Summer broadcast time of The Music Treasury on KZSU 90.1 FM remains Sunday, from 19:00 – 21:00 PDG.  You can also listen online at kzsulive.stanford.edu during the broadcast time.  Appended notes on Boyd Neel adapted from Wikipedia.  As always, the show is hosted by the inimitable Dr Gary Lemco. Boyd Neel, conductor Neel was born (July 19, 1905) in Blackheath, London, and as a child wanted to be a pianist. His mother, Ruby Le Couteur, was a professional accompanist, and his father was an engineer. Neel attended Osborne Naval College and then Dartmouth, and was commissioned in the Royal Navy. Soon afterwards, the armed forces underwent a drastic reduction, and Neel left the navy to study medicine at Caius College, Cambridge. He qualified in 1930, and became House Surgeon and Physician at Saint George’s Hospital, London, and Resident Doctor at King Edward VII’s Hospital, London. In 1930, while practicing medicine, Neel studied music theory and orchestration at the Guildhall School of Music. For Neel, music was still a hobby. He conducted amateur groups and formed an orchestra of young professionals, whom he recruited in 1932 from the Royal Academy of Music and the Royal College of Music. The Boyd Neel London String Orchestra (later the Boyd Neel Orchestra) made its debut at the Aeolian Hall, London, […]