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BBC Radio 3 is a radio channel that started transmitting on the 30th September 1967. It replaced Third Programme.

BBC Radio 3

Radio 3

Between the Ears

Documentaries

Factual: Arts, Culture & the Media

Innovative and thought-provoking features on a wide variety of subjects

Innovative and thought-provoking features that make adventurous use of sound and explore a wide variety of subjects. Made by leading radio producers.

Between the Ears: The NHS Symphony

The NHS Symphony

BBC Radio 3 - Between the Ears, The NHS Symphony

The rhythms of life in the NHS captured in immersive stereo and specially composed music.

Life in the NHS captured in immersive stereo and specially composed choral music. NHS staff join with the Bach Choir to mark the 70th anniversary of the health service.

The patterns and flows of life in the NHS captured in immersive stereo, with specially commissioned music sung by NHS staff and The Bach Choir.

In the maternity unit at Birmingham's Heartlands Hospital, the heart rate of an unborn child gives cause for concern. Across town at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, patients with critical heart conditions are closely monitored hour by hour. Downstairs in A&E, staff begin their shift not knowing what awaits them. 

Between the Ears marks the 70th anniversary of the NHS with a unique composition depicting two Birmingham hospitals as they care for patients from cradle to grave. In four movements, the rhythms of the health service are accompanied by a special choral work written by award winning composer Alex Woolf, an alumnus of the BBC's Proms Inspire Scheme. 

The NHS Symphony is recorded in binaural stereo which simulates how the human ear hears sounds. For a fully immersive experience, the programme is best listened to on headphones.

The Bach Choir are joined by members of the Barts Choir, the Lewisham & Greenwich NHS Choir and the Royal Free Music Society Choir

Conductor: Mark Austin

Solo soprano: Julia Blinko

Composer/pianist: Alex Woolf 

Producer: Laurence Grissell.

Live music and the arts: broadcasts more live music than any other radio network. Classical music is its core. Genres include world and new music, jazz, speech and drama.

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