One of the UK’s most versatile orchestras, the BBC National Orchestra of Wales performs a varied range of works as both a broadcast orchestra and the national symphony orchestra of Wales. Its adventurous programming is driven by the artistic team of the Principal Conductor, Thomas Søndergård, newly appointed Principal Guest Conductor, Xian Zhang (from September 2016), Conductor Laureate, Tadaaki Otaka, and Composer-in-Association, Huw Watkins. Part of BBC Wales and generously supported by the Arts Council of Wales, it is Orchestra-in-Residence at St David’s Hall in Cardiff and presents a season in Swansea. It maintains a busy schedule of live concerts, touring throughout Wales and elsewhere in the UK. Its performances are frequently broadcast on BBC Radio 3, Radio Wales, and Radio Cymru. Regularly invited to perform at festivals throughout the UK, it appears annually at the BBC Proms and biennially at the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition. In autumn 2015 it spent three weeks on an ambitious tour of South America, which included a community residency celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Welsh settlement in Patagonia, and performances in Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay. Learning being at the heart of its work, in 2014 the BBC National Orchestra of Wales was seen on cinema screens across the UK as part of the BBC’s landmark Ten Pieces project, inspiring children to get creative with classical music. From its base at BBC Hoddinott Hall in the Wales Millennium Centre, the Orchestra continues its work as the UK’s foremost soundtrack orchestra, heard on programmes such as Doctor Who, Hidden Kingdoms, and War and Peace.