Kirill Karabits retires as BSO Chief Conductor

Ukrainian conductor Kirill Karabits gives his final performance in Dorset with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra as he steps down after 15 years.

Karabits was made an Honorary OBE earlier this year for services to music and for the promotion of works from Ukraine and Eastern Europe in the UK, and is BSO's second-longest-serving chief conductor.

The orchestra said its relationship with Karabits would continue as he becomes conductor laureate and artistic director of the BSO's Voices from the East strand.

Harry Kille-Smith spoke to a handful of the orchestra's seasoned musicians to hear their tributes to the enigmatic conductor.