The People's Republic of South Devon

Basil Cameron: began conducting Torquay’s Municipal Orchestra in 1912.

Basil Cameron (1884-1975) was a conductor, born in Reading, the son of a German immigrant family. His birth name was Basil George Cameron Hindenberg.

Basil took up the violin at age eight, and became a violinist in the London Symphony Orchestra. In 1912, he began conducting Torquay’s Municipal Orchestra of 25 players at the Pavilion.

However, in 1914, it was considered inappropriate to have such a Germanic-sounding name as Hindenberg, so he adopted his third name, Cameron.

During his time with the Torquay Orchestra, Basil led festivals of Wagner and of Richard Strauss, which brought him to prominence in the English musical scene.

During the Great War, he served in the British army and after the war, he led orchestras in many other British resorts. Glowing reviews by George Bernard Shaw and Percy Grainger helped to increase his fame.

In 1930 he guest-conducted with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra and became its joint music director between 1930 and 1932. In 1932, he moved to the Seattle Symphony.

In 1938, he returned to England and joined the conducting staff of the Proms as an associate conductor to Sir Henry Wood. Basil was appointed a Commander of the CBE in 1957.

Here’s Basil conducting the London Philharmonic Orchestra:

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