The Academy of St Martin in the Fields was formed in 1958 as a small, conductorless chamber ensemble. Led by Neville Marriner and attracting some of the finest players in London the orchestra first concentrated on Baroque music. As demand for the Academy grew so did the scope of its repertoire and the size of the orchestra, enabling it to explore new symphonic repertoire never envisaged at the outset. With over 500 recordings the Academy is the most recorded chamber ensemble orchestra in the world, and divides its time between international tours, education and outreach work, the recording studio and concerts in the United Kingdom.