Scottish Chamber Orchestra announces 2026/27 Season

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  • The SCO announces a truly national programme for everyone - at every age and stage, across concert halls, schools, hospitals, care homes and community settings.

  • Principal Conductor Maxim Emelyanychev to extend his role with the SCO until 2031.

  • Beethoven 200, a year-long series placing the SCO at the heart of a national cultural moment marking the 200th anniversary of the composer’s death.

  • Star soloists include Nicola Benedetti, Sheku Kanneh-Mason, Sunwook Kim, Pekka Kuusisto, Timothy Ridout, Carolyn Sampson and Mari Samuelsen.

  • World premieres of new works by Nico Muhly, Detlev Glanert and Jay Capperauld.

  • Silent Teachers, a multidisciplinary collaboration with the University of Edinburgh marking 300 years of medical education at Edinburgh Medical School.

  • The SCO continues to lead nationally in Music & Health, delivering programmes that strengthen social connection, support quality of life and embed music within wider health and care contexts.

  • During the 2026/27 Season the SCO deepens its commitment to children and young people through transformative, high quality creative opportunities across Scotland.

The Scottish Chamber Orchestra (SCO) is delighted to announce its 2026/27 Season, which celebrates the power of music to inspire, connect and transform. The Orchestra’s programme showcases core orchestral repertoire, bold contemporary music and deep-rooted community engagement.

Gavin Reid LVO FRSE, CEO of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra says:

“I’m thrilled to share our new Season, which reflects the SCO’s versatility and its continued commitment to musical excellence and accessibility. I’m particularly delighted that our Principal Conductor, Maxim Emelyanychev, has extended his contract with the SCO until 2031. We are also deeply grateful to Donald and Louise MacDonald for their generous sponsorship of the Principal Conductor’s Chair, which plays a vital role in supporting our artistic leadership, ensuring many more years of inspiring music‑making together.”

Maxim Emelyanychev

The SCO is proud to announce the extension of Principal Conductor Maxim Emelyanychev’s contract until at least 2031, continuing one of the most dynamic and internationally admired artistic partnerships in classical music today.

Maxim’s artistry and adventurous spirit continue to define the SCO’s identity. From electrifying performances of Baroque and Classical repertoire to bold explorations of contemporary music, his 2026/27 programmes demonstrate the full breadth of his vision, including performances of Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique, Bach’s St Matthew Passion, works by Schnittke and Bartók, French chamber repertoire and a major season finale in which he joins forces with violinist Nicola Benedetti and SCO Principal Cellist Philip Higham.

Alongside his work with the Orchestra, Maxim’s international profile continues to grow. In May 2026, Maxim and the Orchestra perform at Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, where he conducts Mendelssohn’s Hebrides Overture and Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony, as well as taking on the solo role in Mozart’s Piano Concerto No.25.

Maxim’s live performances are complemented by the release of his new Mendelssohn recording with the SCO and SCO Chorus on Outhere Music, featuring the composer’s Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage and his Incidental Music from A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The recording underscores Maxim’s deep musical partnership with the SCO and SCO Chorus reinforcing the Orchestra’s position as a leading interpreter of core repertoire on the international stage.

Maxim Emelyanychev, Principal Conductor of the SCO, says:

“I’m so very pleased to continue my work with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra - it is a real privilege to continue to make music with such talented musicians and to share that music with our audiences. 

The SCO is at an exciting point in its history, with so many artistic possibilities ahead. I’m looking forward to deepening our work together and exploring a wide range of repertoire in the seasons to come.“

Beethoven 200 – A Landmark National Celebration

The SCO joins the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Royal Scottish National Orchestra and Scottish Opera in a historic, Scotland‑wide Beethoven 200 celebration, marking the 200th anniversary of Beethoven’s death. All nine of the composer’s symphonies are to be performed, as well as a number of his concertos and choral works.

The SCO’s Beethoven contributions across the Season include performances of Symphony Nos. 1–4, conducted or directed by Principal Guest Conductor Andrew Manze, and violinists Rachel Podger and Lorenza Borrani. The SCO’s celebration of Beethoven also features the composer’s Violin Concerto, performed by Pekka Kuusisto; Piano Concertos Nos. 4 and 5, performed by Sunwook Kim; and the monumental Missa Solemnis with Andrew Manze, the SCO Chorus and a host of world‑class soloists, including Carolyn Sampson and Roderick Williams.

Alongside Beethoven’s music, the SCO’s Season presents contemporary responses that place his musical legacy in dialogue with today’s composers, including Brett Dean’s Testament, Max Richter’s Opus 2020, and a forward‑looking Beethoven Deconstructed programme that shows Beethoven not as a monument, but as a continuing creative inspiration.

New Music, Commissions & Collaborations – Shaping the Sound of Today

Contemporary music sits at the heart of the SCO’s artistic mission. The 2026/27 Season reaffirms the Orchestra’s role as a champion of new music through premieres, commissions and the continued development of the New Dimensions series, which offers audiences the opportunity to discover bold ideas, living composers and fresh listening experiences.

Across the 2026/27 Season, the Orchestra brings together leading international voices and emerging talent, creating space for collaboration and musical risk‑taking. Audiences will hear works by the 21st century’s leading composers, including Max Richter, Philip Glass, John Adams, Nico Muhly, Missy Mazzoli, Jay Capperauld, Brett Dean, HK Gruber and Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood.

Violinist Mari Samuelsen will perform Max Richter’s Recomposed: Vivaldi – The Four Seasons alongside the SCO in October 2026. Brooklyn Rider will join the Orchestra for the premiere of Nico Muhly’s much anticipated new work for string quartet and orchestra in January 2027. The SCO will give the UK premiere of two new orchestrations of works by Fanny Mendelssohn, arranged by composer Detlev Glanert, in March 2027 with Lorenza Borrani. In November 2026, SCO Associate Composer Jay Capperauld’s Sinfonietta is premiered by the SCO and the young players of SCO Academy.

In summer 2026, the SCO will collaborate with the iconic Icelandic band Sigur Rós for two major Scottish concerts at the Edinburgh Playhouse and at Glasgow’s SEC Armadillo. The project continues the SCO’s commitment to adventurous, genre crossing collaborations that place the Orchestra at the heart of contemporary musical culture.

Silent Teachers – An ambitious collaboration with the University of Edinburgh

In 2026, the SCO partners with the University of Edinburgh to mark 300 years of medical education at Edinburgh Medical School. At the heart of this collaboration is Silent Teachers, an ambitious, multistrand artistic project that brings together new music, performance, film and learning. Inspired by the individuals who donate their bodies to medical teaching and research - known within anatomy as ‘silent teachers’ - the project explores how music can offer space for reflection, gratitude and remembrance, while opening new conversations between art and science. 

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Silent Teachers Commission

Commissioned by the University of Edinburgh as part of the Edinburgh Medical School’s anniversary programme, Silent Teachers is a new work by SCO Associate Composer Jay Capperauld, written for clarinet and string quartet. The music is shaped by the dignity and generosity of those who become ‘silent teachers’ to generations of medical students, and by the care, pastoral support and rituals of remembrance that surround the anatomical bequest programme. 
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Silent Teachers Performance

Silent Teachers will be premiered on 17 November 2026 in the Edinburgh Futures Institute, the University’s new interdisciplinary space for learning and innovation, to coincide with the 300th Anniversary of the founding of Edinburgh Medical School. The performance will be presented alongside a public lecture, placing the music within a wider conversation about medicine, ethics, teaching and remembrance. 

An excerpt of Silent Teachers will live on beyond its premiere, becoming part of the Medical School’s annual interdenominational Memorial Service to which the families of all the donors of the preceding year are invited - a rare example of a contemporary commission designed to have an enduring ceremonial life. 

Tue 17 Nov, 6.30pm Edinburgh Futures Institute 
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Silent Teachers Film

To extend the reach and impact of the Silent Teachers project, Jay’s new work will form part of two short films including an online performance of Silent Teachers and interviews with Jay Capperauld and Edinburgh Medical School staff. The films will be shared across SCO, University of Edinburgh and Scotsman platforms, creating a lasting artistic record accessible to audiences in Scotland and internationally. 

Online broadcast date: Wed 18 Nov, 7.30pm | FREE to view

Co-presented by The Scotsman 
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Soundbox: Mentoring the next generation

Running alongside the commission, Silent Teachers also seeds future creativity through Soundbox, the SCO’s mentoring programme for early career composers. Working closely with Jay Capperauld and SCO musicians, composition students from the University of Edinburgh will develop new solo works through workshops, feedback sessions and collaborative rehearsals. The programme culminates in a sharing event in June 2026, where the new pieces will be performed by SCO musicians, giving young composers the rare opportunity to hear their work brought to life at the highest professional level. 

Music & Health – Collaboration, Connection and Care

The SCO continues to lead nationally in Music & Health, delivering programmes that strengthen social connection, support quality of life and embed music within wider health and social care contexts.

  • Dementia-friendly work: Music can have a profound impact on dementia care. The SCO’s ReConnect programme, established in 2013, continues to make a meaningful difference to people living with a dementia, their families and those who care for them. From intimate music and music-making workshops in hospital settings to co‑created, dementia‑friendly performances in venues across Scotland, we work in close collaboration with Alzheimer Scotland and the Scotland Dementia Working Group. We are proud of this partnership, which recognises a shared expertise and long‑term commitment to championing the transformative power of music in dementia care across Scotland.

  • Healing Arts Week Scotland: The SCO is proud to be part of this week‑long programme of events led by the Healing Arts Scotland Legacy Team, the Scottish Government, Public Health Scotland, Creative Scotland and the Jameel Arts & Health Lab in collaboration with the World Health Organization. The Festival showcases how the arts can enhance and support health and wellbeing at all ages and stages of life. The SCO’s contribution to this week of activity demonstrates how live music can support health and wellbeing at different ages and stages of life and will include:

    • Big Ears, Little Ears performance at V&A Dundee, specially designed for children under 5 and their grown‑ups

    • A dementia-friendly concert at Rothes Hall, Glenrothes

    • A Make Music Day event at Craigmillar Castle, hosted by Castlebrae Community Campus

    • A local performance of Tapestry, our concert celebrating the creativity of Craigmillar and its residents to mark the end of our five-year residency in the community

  • Concerts on Prescription: The SCO works in partnership with the Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland, Voluntary Health Scotland, the Scottish Social Prescribing Network and Community Link Workers across Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Perth to offer tickets to SCO concerts for people who may benefit from the restorative power of live music, creating a bridge between heath care and social experiences that can help keep us well. Following a successful pilot during the 2025/26 Season, the Orchestra continues to welcome individuals to uplifting musical experiences that can help ease loneliness, boost wellbeing and support positive health outcomes.

The SCO approaches music not only as performance, but as a vital contributor to public health, wellbeing, care and community resilience.

Music & Young People – Opening Doors and Inspiring the Next Generation

The SCO’s 2026/27 Season deepens its commitment to children and young people through transformative, high quality creative learning and engagement opportunities across Scotland.

  • Under‑18s and school groups go free: The SCO believes in inspiring the next generation of music lovers. Young people under 18 and school groups can enjoy most SCO concerts free of charge across the year.

  • SCO Academy: Young musicians aged 11–18 rehearse, create and perform side by side with SCO players and Principal Guest Conductor Andrew Manze. This year includes a new world premiere co‑created with Associate Composer Jay Capperauld and young musicians involved in the SCO Academy programme.

  • VIBE: An inclusive, out of school music making programme for teenagers of all musical abilities across the Scottish Borders, to create new music in a collaborative environment with peers and professional musicians.

  • Big Ears, Little Ears: Multisensory concerts for under‑5s that inspire curiosity, play and early musical development.

  • Immerse: A flagship orchestral experience for secondary pupils blending music and visual art, featuring Jay Capperauld’s The Origin of Colour

  • The Great Grumpy Gaboon: Now in its fourth season of performances, Jay Capperauld and Corrina Campbell’s relaxed family concert continues to enthral young audiences across Scotland. In 2027, performances will take place in Aberdeen, Dundee and Glasgow.

  • Soundbox: Silent Teachers seeds future creativity through Soundbox, the SCO’s mentoring programme for early-career composers. Working closely with Jay Capperauld and SCO musicians, composition students from the University of Edinburgh develop new solo works through workshops, feedback sessions and collaborative rehearsals.

The SCO believes that access to high quality artistic experiences helps young people thrive, and its 2026/27 programmes ensure these opportunities reach children from early years through to late teens, in schools, communities and concert halls across Scotland.

For further information and images please contact:

Rebecca Driver Media Relations

Maddie Castell | Tel: 07817002653 | Email: maddie@rdmr.co.uk | Web: www.rdmr.co.uk