Scottish Chamber Orchestra celebrates 45th anniversary of summer tour

Florence Lockheart
Wednesday, March 27, 2024

The SCO 2024 summer tour will bring live classical music to remote locations across Scotland

(Image courtesy of SCO)
(Image courtesy of SCO)

The Scottish Chamber Orchestra (SCO) has announced the programme for its 45th summer tour. The 2024 edition of SCO’s summer tours will bring live classical music to remote locations across Scotland with the aim of building relationships with local communities and bringing concerts to areas which often don’t have regular classical music provision.

This year’s tour coincides with the 50th anniversary of SCO’s founding and its inaugural concert in Glasgow’s City Halls on 27 January 1974. It is set to bring a wider variety of concert formats including SCO Chorus performances, gig-style shows and Re:Connect concerts designed for those living with dementia and their carers.

SCO chief executive Gavin Reid said: ‘As we continue to mark our 50th Anniversary this year, we are so excited once again to be off on a tour across the length and breadth of Scotland to share the joy of live music-making. With Maxim Emelyanychev and many of our own players at the helm, it’s fitting that our 45th Summer Tour showcases more than ever the sheer range of what the SCO has to offer audiences, wherever and whoever they are. We look forward to seeing you there!’

The summer tour will bring programmes including; Earth, Heaven and Sky, which combines Vaughan Williams’ The Lark Ascending with works by John Tavener, Jay Capperauld, Roxanna Panufnik and Tariq O’Regan; Soirée Parisienne, bringing together Fauré, Widor, Louise Farrenc, Chaminade and Saint-Saëns; and Tchaikovsky Serenade designed to show off the versatility of the string orchestra with music from Elgar, Webern, Mozart and, of course, Tchaikovsky.

The SCO Wind Ensemble also present Summer Serenade and the orchestra joins forces with DJ Dolphin Boy for UN:TITLED 2024 hosted by SCO associate composer Jay Capperauld. As well as concerts centred around Summer Classics, Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto and Mozart and Beethoven, the orchestra will close East Neuk Festival’s 20th anniversary programme with a performance under the baton of principal conductor Maxim Emelyanychev.