FOREWORD

A warm welcome to SCO News.

It is perhaps a little premature to be looking forward to the latter part of the year already given that Spring has not long arrived and the snow not long departed. However, I do hope you have had an opportunity to look through our new 2018/19 Winter Season which we launched in March. We are delighted that record numbers of people have already bought tickets online and taken advantage of our subscription packages, and we look forward enormously to the opening concert at the Usher Hall in September.

There is of course much to look forward to before then. The Orchestra is about to take off on its latest tour of Europe. With concerts in Cologne, Amsterdam, San Sebastián and Budapest in the company of the remarkable pianist Piotr Anderszewski, it promises to be a memorable trip.

On our return, we embark on what will be the 40th anniversary tour around Scotland. This year our musicians will visit venues in Skye, Seil Island, Oban, Fort William, Fort Augustus, Thurso

Gavin Reid

and Turriff, amongst others. I love the commitment, passion and sheer joy of music that our players bring to each of these concerts and it has quickly become a favourite part of the year for me.

Following Robin Ticciati’s outstanding final Season concerts in Edinburgh and Glasgow before Easter, we now look forward to two very special evenings at the Usher Hall in August as part of the Edinburgh International Festival. What better, more exciting and memorable way to celebrate this remarkable partnership, than with Robin, the musicians of the SCO and all four of Brahms’ glorious symphonies? I do hope you can be with us for what will undoubtedly be a highlight of our year. I also hope that you have heard our new Brahms recordings which were released by Linn just before Easter. I fully accept the accusation of bias, but they really are magnificent and a tremendous legacy to what has rightly come to be regarded as one of the most significant musical partnerships of recent years.

Off stage, our musicians have been equally busy. Tours of Big Ears, Little Ears for our very young audiences, primary school projects in Fife, our hugely successful three-year residency in Wester Hailes in Edinburgh and SCO VIBE, our creative music-making project for teenagers, are just some of the ways in which the SCO continues to transform and enhance the lives of people and communities across Scotland with the power of inspirational music-making.

I do hope you enjoy reading our news and I look forward, as ever, to seeing you at our concerts and events in the coming months

Gavin Reid

Chief Executive