Frank Renton

Who is Frank Renton?

Frank Renton is a British musician, conductor and broadcaster, and current host of Listen to the Band on BBC Radio 2, now in his eighteenth year with the programme.

An accomplished trumpet player, Renton won a competition for young conductors at the 1967 Edinburgh Festival,whilst employed as a musician in the British Army Conducting appointments soon followed in West Germany, Cyprus, Singapore and Scotland, before returning to England as Director of a Military Music School in York. He was Music Director for Versatile Brass for three years, and began conducting the Grimethorpe Colliery Band. He has also worked extensively with the BBC Concert Orchestra and BBC Radio Orchestra, as well as writing and producing a number of musical programmes for BBC radio.

In 1985 Renton was appointed Principal Conductor of the Royal Artillery Orchestra in London, then in 1988 accepted the dual appointment of Principal Director of Music for the Army and Director of the Royal Military School of Music at Kneller Hall in the rank of Lt. Colonel, the youngest person ever to hold the dual appointments.