Montague Birch

Who was Montague Birch?

Charles Montague Birch was a British musical conductor. He was born in Leamington Spa, the eldest child of Charles Septimus Birch and Clara Birch. 'Monty' had joined the 2nd violins of the Bournemouth Municipal Orchestra in 1912 becoming assistant conductor to Dan Godfrey. In 1934 Birch auditioned unsuccessfully for the post of Musical Director. When in 1940 Bournemouth Corporation reduced the size of the orchestra to 24 players, the conductor Richard Austin resigned and Birch took over, steering the orchestra through the war years. He was chief conductor of the orchestra from 1940 until 1946, putting himself forward to be principal conductor, but died in February 1947 before the auditions were held; he was succeeded by Rudolf Schwarz.