Scottish Chamber Orchestra

Scottish Chamber Orchestra

Principal Conductor: Maxim Emelyanychev

The internationally celebrated Scottish Chamber Orchestra (SCO) is one of Scotland’s National Performing Companies.

Formed in 1974 and core funded by the Scottish Government, the SCO aims to provide as many opportunities as possible for people to hear great music by touring the length and breadth of Scotland, appearing regularly at major national and international festivals including the Edinburgh International Festival, BBC Proms, and by touring internationally as proud ambassadors for Scottish cultural excellence. Making a significant contribution to Scottish life beyond the concert platform, the Orchestra works in schools, universities, colleges, hospitals, care homes, places of work and community centres through its extensive Creative Learning programme.

The SCO has long-standing associations with many eminent guest conductors including Conductor Emeritus Joseph Swensen, Principal Guest Conductor Emmanuel Krivine, François Leleux, Pekka Kuusisto, Richard Egarr, Andrew Manze and John Storgårds. The Orchestra also enjoys close relationships with many leading composers and has commissioned almost 200 new works, including pieces by the late Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, Sir James MacMillan, Martin Suckling, Einojuhani Rautavaara, Mark-Anthony Turnage, Nico Muhly and Associate Composer Anna Clyne.

An exciting new chapter for the SCO began in September 2019 with the start of dynamic young conductor Maxim Emelyanychev’s tenure as the Orchestra’s Principal Conductor. This was a position pre- viously held by Robin Ticciati from 2009 to 2018. Ticciati and the SCO made a series of outstanding recordings of works by Haydn, Schumann, Berlioz, Strauss and Wagner. Their recording of the complete Brahms Symphonies has been internationally acclaimed.

The SCO and Emelyanychev released their first album together on Linn in November 2019 to widespread critical acclaim. The repertoire – Schubert’s Symphony No. 9 in C major ‘The Great’ – holds great significance since it was performed in the first concert Emelyanychev gave with the Orchestra in March 2018.