60 SECOND INTERVIEW

to welcome Rachael to our Board. We look forward to drawing on her breadth of her knowledge and experience in leadership and senior management, will add additional depth to our highly experienced pool of board members.”

Rachael Erskine joins Board colleagues David Cumming, Jo Elliot, Alison Paul, Tom Usher and Zoë van Zwanenburg, and Orchestra Advisors Adrian Bornet, Brian Shiele, Rosie Staniforth and Su-a Lee.

NEW YEAR GALA CONCERT UPDATE

––––––The New Year Viennese Gala concert programme is now set! It includes:

WEBER orch BERLIOZ Invitation to the Dance DVOŘÁK Slavonic Dance in E minor, Op 72 No 2 RAVEL Tzigane KODÁLY Dances of Galanta SMETANA Three Dances from The Bartered Bride SIBELIUS Valse Lyrique EDUARD STRAUSS Bahn Frei J STRAUSS Tritsch-Tratsch Polka J STRAUSS An der schönen blauen Donau (Blue Danube Waltz)

Come and welcome 2019 in sparkling style this New Year in Edinburgh, Dumfries, Ayr and Perth

60

SECOND INTERVIEW BENJAMIN MARQUISE GILMORE

You’ve performed internationally with many incredible orchestras and ensembles, what makes performing with the SCO special? The SCO has the flexibility and immediacy of communication that one tends to associate with chamber orchestras, but above all it has an amazing energy, which can always be counted on to come through no matter where the concert is taking place, and whether the piece is being played for the first or the hundredth time. I think that the group’s commitment to giving as much as possible at each performance is what forges its connection with its audiences.

You were appointed SCO Leader back 2016 – what has been your most SCO memorable concert to date? It would really be impossible to choose just one, but if I had to name a couple: the first time I played under Robin Ticciati was in Mendelssohn’s ‘Scottish’ symphony, and the dynamic between orchestra and conductor was incredible, I was just swept along. I will also never forget a Bartók Divertimento that we did with Alexander Janiczek, again this was an interpretation that clearly had a long history, and now I simply can’t imagine the piece any other way.

This Season you will be performing a wide range of repertoire in many different roles – from leading the Orchestra, to featuring as a soloist and director, what are you most looking forward to? If there’s one thing I’ve learned is that you never know how something will turn out in advance, so I’m looking forward to all of it! But I am eagerly awaiting the return of Kristian Bezuidenhout and working on one of my absolute favourite Mozart symphonies, number 29 ––––––Benjamin Marquise Gilmore plays Bach Violin Concerto in E on 13 & 14 December in Edinburgh and Glasgow.