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Maxim lead the Orchestra at the proms. The organ is visible and the backs of heads.
Maxim lead the Orchestra at the proms. The organ is visible and the backs of heads.

Scottish Chamber Orchestra

Welcome to the SCO. We have been inspiring audiences and connecting with communities since 1974, delivering diverse programmes that are open to all. Embrace the classics, discover exciting new music, and create beautiful musical memories with us!

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  1. SCO clarinettists William Stafford, holding his clarinet and smiling, and Maximiliano Martín, playing the clarinet, are set against a dark background surrounded by bright red shapes.

    Eine kleine Nachtmusik

    St Andrews
    Edinburgh
    Glasgow
    Maxim Emelyanychev surrounds one of Mozart’s most-loved pieces with rarities created around the same time by Haydn, Krommer and Wranitzky.
  2. A bright green background with light white stars, featuring a cartoon drawing of a church with an illuminated window and a bright star.

    Silent Night

    Choral

    Edinburgh
    Join the luminous voices of the SCO Chorus in the intimate setting of Greyfriars Kirk for a much-loved Edinburgh musical tradition.
  3. A cartoon drawing of a champagne bottle with the cork popping out alongside confetti, with a chandelier hanging above, set against a dark green and bright red background.

    New Year Gala

    1 Matinee

    Edinburgh
    Ayr
    Dumfries
    Celebrate the New Year in style with musical glitz and glamour – from both sides of the Atlantic.
  4. Violinist Rachel Podger holds her instrument, smiling at the camera, against a light pink and dark green background.

    Bach's Brandenburg Concertos

    Matinee

    Edinburgh
    Glasgow
    Aberdeen
    Join British violinist Rachel Podger in a concert focusing on some of JS Bach’s most iconic orchestral music.
  5. Geneva Lewis with her violin, smiling at the camera against a dark background with shapes in various shades of pink.

    Sibelius Violin Concerto

    Edinburgh
    Glasgow
    SCO Conductor Emeritus Joseph Swensen directs the fiery Sibelius Violin Concerto, alongside the coolly elegant Sixth Symphony.
  6. Maxim Emelyanychev looking into the camera, hand touching his jawline, against a gradient background of blue, pink, and orange waves.

    Ad Absurdum

    New Dimensions

    Edinburgh
    Glasgow
    Jörg Widmann’s whirlwind of a trumpet concerto from Sergei Nakariakov forms the centrepiece of a concert to raise a laugh.
  7. A bright yellow, green, and white background with a cartoon drawing of the Great Grumpy Gaboon, a brown creature with white wings, sitting in a bed of flowers.

    The Great Grumpy Gaboon

    Matinee

    Dundee
    Aberdeen
    Inverness
    Join the Grumpy Gaboon and friends on this brand-new musical adventure as they discover the importance of friendship and forgiveness.
  8. Composer Ruth Gipps leaning forward with both hands gently touching her face.

    GIPPS Seascape

    Digital Season

    Online
    Take a dip in the watery wonders of Gipps’s passionate music - and discover her pastoral idyll 'Cringlemire Garden' played live in February.
  9. Ivan Podyomov smiling, and holding his oboe, against a dark background with bright blue, red, and green shapes.

    Mozart Oboe Concerto

    Dumfries
    Edinburgh
    Glasgow
    Discover Mozart’s song-like Oboe Concerto in the hands of Ivan Podyomov, principal oboist at Amsterdam’s Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra.
  10. Conductor Andrew Manze with his baton raised, and baritone Roderick Williams singing, against a dark background with bright yellow, green, and pink shapes.

    Fauré Requiem

    Choral

    Edinburgh
    Glasgow
    Fauré’s hushed prayer for the departed, from outstanding British baritone Roderick Williams, conductor Andrew Manze and the SCO Chorus.

7 Latest videos  

Louise Goodwin on percussion, she weras a black top and plays a marimbal;ike instrument

Serenade in Seven Colours

10:00

Samuel Coleridge Taylor sits on a chair. The photo is in black and white and he is in formal ware.

Novelletten

13:58

A colourful illustration of mozart winking.

24/25 Season Outline

8:32

A donor smiles. An older gentleman in a black sweater.

Supporting the SCO

2:37

Andrew Manze weras a blue shirt. He is mid conversation.

Principal Guest Conductor

3:09

A trombone player in an SCO tshirt kneels down and plays to a young child.

The Great Grumpy Gaboon 2024

0:47

A head shot of Cerys (Bassoon player) rehearsing as The Gaboon, pulling a silly face next to a noise clacker.

Making of The Gaboon

2:08

Latest news

  1. Rachel Podger: "I'm especially fond of the Polonaise in the First Brandenburg Concerto"

    9 December 2024

    Read More
  2. SCO players in the spotlight: solo recordings

    2 December 2024

    Some Christmas present ideas for the music-lover.
    Read More
  3. Farewell to Nikita!

    26 November 2024

    It is with sadness that we bid a fond farewell to Principal Double Bass, Nikita Naumov.
    Read More
  4. The waltz goes international

    25 November 2024

    We look at what happened when composers outside Austria turned their hands to the waltz ...
    Read More
  5. The Great Grumpy Gaboon: a chat with Jay Capperauld and Corrina Campbell

    21 November 2024

    What is a Gaboon, and why is it grumpy? We chatted to the creators of our new Family Festival to find out ...
    Read More
  6. The story behind Silent Night and other carols

    18 November 2024

    The history of Christmas carols is long and surprisingly varied - we look at a few of them.
    Read More
  7. The clarinet concerto

    11 November 2024

    It's the clarinet's turn to step centre-stage for a look at their concerto repertoire. It's possible Mozart is mentioned!
    Read More
  8. Composer Andrea Tarrodi leaning forward with one arm resting on a surface and her face resting on the palm of her other hand.

    Digital Season: Andrea Tarrodi Serenade in Seven Colours

    6 November 2024

    Read the programme note for our online performance of Tarrodi's Serenade in Seven Colours.
    Read More
  9. The search for Beethoven's successor

    4 November 2024

    Beethoven died in 1827. Who would be worthy to take on his mantle?
    Read More
  10. Schubert's Unfinished and other incomplete works

    1 November 2024

    Schubert is far from the only composer to have put a piece of music aside and leave it unfinished ...
    Read More