THE principal conductor of the English Symphony Orchestra has been given a lifetime achievement honour at the Classical Brit Awards at the Royal Albert Hall.

Dr Vernon Handley is the only person to receive this accolade apart from opera singer Placido Domingo.

Dr Handley CBE has for more than 40 years distinguished himself as a champion of British classical music.

During his illustrious career, he has recorded more than 150 albums, of which 90 feature the works of British composers, including Vaughan Williams, Stanford, Malcolm Arnold and Sir Edward Elgar.

At the ceremony on Thursday, he said: "I am proud to be the recipient of this award, especially considering who the Classical BRIT Awards have honoured before me.

"I particularly enjoyed sharing my pleasure in this award with the performance with Natalie Clein, celebrating the work of Edward Elgar."

Barry McCann, co-chairman of The Classical BRIT Awards, said, "I am delighted that Vernon Handley has been honoured. From his early collaboration with a young Nigel Kennedy on their award-winning recording of Elgar's Violin Concerto to his recent recordings of the entire works of Arnold Bax, Tod (as he is known to his friends) has stood at the forefront of British music-making and remained its champion."

Dr Handley will conduct the Malvern-based ESO in the opening concert of the Elgar 150th anniversary celebrations at Worcester Cathedral on May 30.

For tickets, contact the Worcester Live box office on 01905 611427 or by e-mail on info@eso.co.uk