New home for BBC Wales orchestra

The orchestra is set to move by the end of 2008

The BBC National Orchestra of Wales is to move to a new home at the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff Bay.

The dedicated site will have office and rehearsal facilities, as well as a performing hall capable of holding up to 350 people.

The orchestra's current home is in a studio on the other side of Cardiff at BBC Broadcasting House in Llandaff.

Work on the centre will start next year, with the orchestra scheduled to move in by the end of 2008.

The BBC said the move would add a "new dimension" to the orchestra's work.

Orchestra director David Murray said: "At the moment, we occupy a studio at BBC Broadcasting House in Cardiff that was built 40 years ago for an orchestra half the present size.

"The move to the Wales Millennium Centre means that, for the first time, we will have a state-of-the-art recording space with the opportunity to stage studio concerts involving the full orchestra, chorus and an audience."

The orchestra performs dozens of live concerts each year across the UK and overseas.

It is currently on a major tour of the United States.