IT will almost certainly be the most poignant night in the illustrious and sometimes uncertain 127-year history of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra.

A few tears are likely to shed.

On Wednesday September 30, the BSO returns to playing in front of a live audience for the first time since March at the Lighthouse in Poole.

It’s the longest absence from the stage since the organisation was founded in 1893.

And for everyone connected with the orchestra, the staff, players and its many supporters far and wide it will be an evening absolutely charged with the release of emotion.

That much is is already clear after just a few minutes chatting with chief executive, Dougie Scarfe, the man who had the BSO through the last few months of lockdown and out the other side.

As we talk about the return, his eyes well-up and the enormous sense of responsibility he feels about bringing the orchestra back from one of the darkest periods is more than obvious.

"I think we have an extraordinary team," said Mr Scarfe. "The commitment and resilience of all parts of the team has been phenomenal. They have never lost their focus on the fact that in the midst of all this global upheaval, people need music, need culture, need things to bring them together.

"In the early months of lockdown, that was very difficult because it was quite hard to see how you were going to get back.

"But there has always been a real sense of purpose. All our teams, marketing, digital, planning, fundraising were all going about their business to protect the company and to plan a strategy for us to come back."

He said the players were absolutely delighted to be back.

"An orchestra is an interesting being, because essentially your life is the interaction with other people, so there has been big personal and musical dislocation for our musicians in the past few months. We have all been riding the psychological up and downs.

"When we put the programming together, we focussed on symphonic scale music and this has been a real positive thing for the orchestra. We said, let's make the stage as big as we possibly can so we can play Beethoven and Tchaikovsky and Brahms.

"The audience wants to hear that from us and when the players see that on the schedule, they're thinking, yes this is what we do and things are going to be okay. They want to feel they are a symphony orchestra from the first note."

The audience numbers on September 30 will be limited to 285, but many more people will be watching from home with the concert being live streamed, a huge technical undertaking for the backroom team.

That’s not the only difference. The stage has been greatly extended to allow all musicians to remain two metres apart. It's now 25 metres wide and an extra four metres into the auditorium.

Rehearsals have been ongoing for the past two weeks to try explore all the challenges of life with coronavirus and of course to get the players match fit.

Those challenges including playing symphonic programmes in a way they have never done before, socially distanced and also recording and live-streaming in this new set up. Even down to ensuring the broadband line is robust.

The BSO has also never sold a live-streamed concert before, so it's another new departure.

So far 7,000 tickets have been snapped up for the autumn season which runs until December.

The organisation has even made videos to help the listening public get the best possible listening experience at home.

The next phase of programming into 2021 will announced in the coming weeks.

This is the third week back ahead of next week's concert - for which chief conductor, Kirill Karabits, will be at the podium. The programme includes Beethoven's monumental 7th Symphony.

There is a full rehearsal this Wednesday in front of 60 invited guests "to road test everything including the building."

The BSO is one of the very first of the country's orchestras to return. That's a testament to its own relentless hard work in the past seven months, but also that of the Lighthouse team.

"We approach our return humbly because we are unbelievably fortunate to have somewhere to play," said Dougie. "Many orchestras are simply not in that position. So many venues cannot reopen.

"We have a wonderful partnership with the Lighthouse. They have done an amazing job."

He is also immensely grateful for the ongoing financial support from BCP, Dorset and Portsmouth councils, the Arts Council, corporate sponsors and supporters and the many BSO members, patrons and tickets buyers far and wide.

"There has been a huge outpouring of support and it's been remarkable. Without them we would not be here."

Much effort is also ongoing to find a way for the musicians to get back into the hospitals, care homes and schools to be able to continue its huge and often groundbreaking contribution in the health, social care and education sectors.

Of necessity, that is still a work in progress.