The Pro Arte Orchestra was a British symphony orchestra founded in 1955.[1]
The Pro Arte Orchestra was founded as a limited company chaired by the double-bass player Eugene Cruft; directors also included Archie Camden and Antony English. The initial aim was to perform "the finest of the lighter classics in orchestral music".[1] The first concert was given at the Royal Festival Hall on 21 October 1955 with a Rossini overture, Schubert's Unfinished, Lalo's Symphonie Espagnole and works by Strauss and Chabrier, conducted by Sir Malcolm Sargent.[1] Much of the work of the orchestra, however, was in the recording studio, particularly for the Pye-Nixa label.
In the early years other players in orchestra included Cecil Aronowitz, Francisco Gabarro, Richard Adeney, Peter Graeme, Gervase de Peyer, Raymond Cohen and Alan Civil.[1] The last London performance advertised by the orchestra was in 1970.[2]