Trevor Duncan
Vivian Ellis
Percy Faith
Robert Farnon
John Fox
Ron Goodwin
Morton Gould

Born George Militiades, 1st May 1909, London, England, died 18 June 1965, London, England. An orchestra leader, composer, arranger, multi instrumentalist and singer, Melachrino was the son of Greek parents. He learned to play a miniature violin, and wrote his first composition when he was five years old. He was already an accomplished musician by the age of 14 when he enrolled at the Trinity College Of Music, where he specialized in chamber music and the use of strings. At the age of 16, he wrote a string sextette that was performed in London. He resolved to learn to play every instrument in the orchestra, and succeeded, with the exception of the harp and piano. In 1927, he began his broadcasting career, playing and singing from the BBC studio at Savoy Hill. He strayed further and further away from his initial ambition to be a classical musician, playing jazz instead, and working in dance bands for leaders such as Bert Firman, Harry Hudson, Ambrose and Carroll Gibbons' Savoy Hotel Orchestra. In 1939, Melachrino formed his own dance band to play at the prestigious London venue the Cafe de Paris, until 1940. During the period of the 'Battle of Britain', he joined the British Army as a military policeman, eventually becoming a Regimental Sergeant-Major. He later toured in the Stars Of Battledress and was musical director of the Army Radio Unit, as well as the leader of the British Band of the Allied Expeditionary Forces. He also led the 50-piece 'Orchestra in Khaki', recruited from professional musicians serving in the ranks, who were much amused when he was introduced on broadcasts as 'the Sentimental Sergeant-Major'. The unit held its own against the American band led by Glenn Miller and the Canadian combination led by Robert Farnon, with both of whom Melachrino guested as vocalist on occasions during the war years. While in the forces, he experimented with large string sounds, and after the war he ran two outfits, the Melachrino Strings and the George Melachrino Orchestra, both purveying the sentimental mood music so popular in the 50s, especially in the USA. The full orchestra consisted of 30 strings, 10 reeds, seven brass, two percussion, a harp and a piano. He formed the Melachrino Music Organization, creating work in concerts, broadcasting, recordings and film music. His film scores included Woman To Woman (1946), Code Of Scotland Yard (1948), No Orchids For Miss Blandish (1948), Story Of Shirley Yorke (1948), Dark Secret (1949), The Gamma People (1956) and Odongo (1956). In 1947, he contributed the music, with book and lyrics by Eric Maschwitz and Matt Brooks, to the revue Starlight Roof, which starred Fred Emney, Pat Kirkwood and Vic Oliver, and introduced Julie Andrews to London audiences. He also wrote the music for the ill-fated Lucky Boy, with lyrics by lan Douglas. His other compositions included 'First Rhapsody' (his theme tune), 'Winter Sunshine', 'Vision D'Amour', 'Woodland Revel' and 'Portrait Of A Lady'. He had a UK chart entry in 1956 with the Italian melody 'Autumn Concerto', but, like Mantovani, who also specialized in lush string arrangements, his albums sold more in the USA than in the UK. His US hits included Christmas In High Fidelity, Under Western Skies and Immortal Ladies, a set of standards with girls' names as their titles, such as 'Laura', 'Dolores', 'Chloe' and 'Dinah'. Also popular was his series of mood records designed for various times of the day, such as Music For Daydreaming, Music For Relaxation, Music For Two People Alone, Music For Dining, Music for Reading, Music To Help You Sleep, and others. He died in 1965 following an accident at his home in Kensington, London. The Melachrino Strings and Orchestra continued to record into the 80s, conducted by Robert Mandell.