We partner 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.

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..

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.

Commissioned by the University of Edinburgh as part of the Edinburgh Medical School’s anniversary programme.