The General Manager, John Reith, made arrangements with Percy Pitt, musical director of the British National Opera Company, to broadcast operatic performances from the Royal Opera House, and by May 1923 Pitt was on the BBC pay-roll as a part-time musical advisor.
Significant changes to the BBC's choral set-up came in 1934–5 with the appointment of Leslie Woodgate as the corporation's chorus master.
This was a choir of 42 professional singers, tasked with performing the more complicated choral pieces broadcast by the BBC considered unsuitable for an amateur chorus.
The Choral Society was the main performer in symphony concerts, and was admired for its capabilities in tackling modern music.
Notable recordings include the broadcast premiere of Ralph Vaughan Williams Dona Nobis Pacem under the composer, and Delius' Sea Drift under Thomas Beecham.
Significant recordings would include the Faure Requiem under Nadia Boulanger and the Bach Mass in B Minor under Otto Klemperer.