Beautiful music, beautiful places - Lammermuir Festival 2026

The Lammermuir Festival returns for 13 days of intimate and ambitious music-making in East Lothian from 8 to 20 September. It continues to be a festival shaped by place and by long-standing relationships, and builds its reputation through thoughtful programming, deep artistic relationships and a setting in which music feels inseparable from place. 

Royal Northern Sinfonia return to the festival, providing a significant thread. Dinis Sousa and the Royal Northern Sinfonia are bringing their first concert performance of a Mozart opera, Così fan tutte to Lammermuir with soloists Christina Gansch, Alexandra Oomens, Jonas Hacker and Cody Quattlebaum as the lovers, plus Rebecca Evans and Neal Davies. Pianist Jeremy Denk also joins Royal Northern Sinfonia, directed by Maria Włoszczowska for a three concert series of Mozart piano concertos exploring the full range of the composer's output with concertos nos. 9, 14, 17, 20, 24, and 25 alongside music by Janacek, Stravinsky and Britten. The concert series also highlights Denk's strong relationship with the festival.

Scottish Opera also have an ongoing relationship with the festival and this year, Douglas Boyd and the Orchestra of Scottish Opera are joined by sopranos Charlotte Kennedy and Charlotte Clapperton, and mezzo-soprano Avery Lafrentz for three of Britten's works for solo voice, Les Illuminations, Our Hunting Fathers and Phaedra. 

On a smaller scale but no less dramatic, tenor Nicky Spence and mezzo-soprano Victoria Simmonds are joined by Jeremy Denk for Janacek's Diary of One who Disappeared. Denk also joins forces with tenor Nicholas Mulroy for Schubert's Winterreise.

Another exciting thread in the festival is the residency from Concerto Copenhagen with sequence of programmes exploring Haydn’s symphonic world, including the vivid triptych of the ‘Morning, Noon and Night’ symphonies.   

Pianist Javier Perianes makes his festival debut with a Chopin recital and then directs the Scottish Chamber Orchestra in Ravel, Haydn and Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 3. Violist Timothy Ridout makes a welcome return to the festival for a programme centred on Brahms's Viola Sonata No. 2 and Bloch's Suite for Viola.  Other visitors include Scottish-Indian guitarist Samrat Majumder and the Fibonacci Quartet. 

Lucy Crowe sings Strauss's Four Last Songs, soprano Ailish Tynan joins the Hebrides Ensemble for music by Judith Weir, Thea Musgrave, Helen Grime, and Stuart MacRae, soprano Claire Booth and violinist Tamsin Waley-Cohen perform Kurtág’s intense Kafka Fragments, Matthew Brook joins Dunedin Consort for solo cantatas by Buxtehude and Bach.

Choral contributions include Tenebrae, The Marian Consort, and The Binchois Consort, whilst the female voices of National Youth Choir of Scotland’s Chamber Choir join Scottish Ensemble in a programme which includes David Fennessy’s Blood, based on a vocal melody by Hildegard of Bingen.

Full details from the Lammermuir Festival website. 

 

As Ryan Wigglesworth steps down as chief conductor of BBC SSO, his replacement is announced as Antony Hermus, principal guest conductor of Opera North

Antony Hermus (Photo: Marco Borggreve)

Next year, Ryan Wigglesworth completes a remarkable five seasons as chief conductor of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra [see my recent interview with Ryan focusing on his being Featured Artist at the Aldeburgh Festival]. It has now been announced that Dutch conductor Antony Hermus will take over as chief conductor of BBC SSO in September 2027.

Ryan Wigglesworth, commented: "It has been an immense privilege to serve as the BBC SSO’s Chief Conductor, and I thank all my wonderful colleagues for their support, commitment and remarkable musicianship throughout these past seasons. I send my warmest congratulations to Antony and wish him and the orchestra every possible success in their partnership over the years ahead. Stepping down in order to dedicate more time to other projects was always going to be an extremely difficult decision, but I feel very fortunate to have so many exciting collaborations with the BBC SSO still on the horizon."

Hermus completes his tenure as chief conductor of the Belgian National Orchestra this summer and then becomes conductor laureate. Hermus is also principal guest conductor with Opera North. He led the company's powerful concert staging of Verdi's Simon Boccanegra last year [see my review] and he conducts the company's new staging of Wagner's Tristan und Isolde next year.

Hermus made his debut with BBC SSO in 2018 with a programme that paired Ligeti’s avant-garde Mysteries of the Macabre with a 70-minute distillation of Wagner’s Ring Cycle.  This autumn, Hermus leads the BBC SSO in performances of Mahler’s Tenth Symphony across Glasgow (8 Oct) and Perth (9 Oct), pairing it with Mors Aeterna a haunting meditation on loss, Mahler, and mortality by fellow Dutch composer Willem Jeths.

Across his career, Hermus has championed outside-the-box projects. He brought Ligeti to over 8,000 festival-goers at Holland’s adventurous outdoor cultural event Lowlands with the North Netherlands Orchestra (of which he is Honorary Conductor for Life), presented Mahler and Stravinsky through Symphonic Cinema at Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, initiated the award-winning Scratch concerts bringing amateur voices onto the stage with a professional orchestra, and led Tweetfonie (52 world premieres in a single day) during his residency at the International Kurt Weill Festival in Germany. 

Full details from the BBC SSO website. 

St Magnus Festival at 50: a composer-led vision that still lives and breathes in the North

Founded in 1977 by a group including composer Peter Maxwell Davies and poet George Mackay, the St Magnus Festival is week-long arts festival which takes place at midsummer on the islands of Orkney. This year is the 50th festival, running from 19 to 28 June 2026. 

In this article, the festival's current artistic director, composer Alasdair Nicolson introduces his vision for the festival.

Half a century on from its founding, the St Magnus International Festival remains one of the UK’s most distinctive examples of what happens when artistic vision precedes infrastructure. Our 50th anniversary, celebrated this June, is not simply a mark of longevity, but a reminder of the continuing relevance of an idea first argued into existence around kitchen tables in Orkney in 1977.

The festival emerged from a meeting of local and artistic minds: the composer Peter Maxwell Davies, recently arrived on the islands, and the poet George Mackay Brown, and collaboration with the cathedral organist Norman Mitchell alongside a wider community willing to back what was, at the time, an improbable proposition. That a major international festival should take root in such a geographically remote setting required persuasion, persistence and a degree of collective faith. From the outset, it was not built around a venue or institution, but around a belief that new work and serious artistic engagement could, and should, happen here.

Donnerstags-Abschied: 2026 East Neuk Festival plans tribute to the late John Wallace with a work he wanted to bring to the festival but never achieved

John Wallace in rehearsals for ThunderPlump (East Neuk Festival Big Project 2022) with a young performer from StAMP (Photo: Neil Hanna)

The trumpeter John Wallace, who died in January this year, was born in Fife and his father played in the Tullis Russell Mills Band for 65 years with Wallace quickly joining the junior band. Wallace remained proud of his Fife roots and a vital participant in musical life in the Kingdom of Fife. He instigated multiple community orientated projects including StAMP, the University of St Andrews’ outreach programme.

StAMP has been a regular collaborator of the East Neuk Festival for many years, whilst Wallace took a leading role on three of the Festivals ‘Big Projects’ which brought together professional and community musicians as part of the main festival programme. These included the award-winning De Profundis which Wallace wrote with McEwan-Brown in 2017, to celebrate the lives of Fife’s miners and bring together massed brass bands, alongside Wallace’s own ensemble The Wallace Collection.

One project that Wallace discussed more than once (but never achieved) with Festival Artistic Director Svend McEwan-Brown was a performance of Stockhausen's five-trumpet Donnerstags-Abschied written for the end of Stockhausen's opera Donnerstag aus Licht. 

This year's East Neuk Festival, which runs from 1 to 5 July 2026 will feature two performances of Stockhausen's  Donnerstags-Abschied with Marco Blaauw leading an ensemble formed of John Wallace's friends and colleagues. Weather permitting it will be performed outdoors at sunset on Saturday 4 July, and indoors preceding the closing concert on Sunday 5 July.

Another proud son of Fife is celebrated in Looking for Oswald, exploring the life and music of James Oswald, the 18th century composer who was born in Crail. The event mixes words from Tom Davison (who has written a book about Oswald) with music from Karen Marshalsay, harps, Kathryn Nicholl, fiddle, Chris Miles, voice.

The festival opens with an intriguing concert when Scotland’s finest jazz pianist Fergus McCreadie will play Brahms' Four Ballades, Op. 10 before taking these as inspiration for his own improvisations plus duos and trios with Su-a Lee (cello) and Donald Grant (violin).

There are three quartets at the festival, Opus13, Cuarteto Quiroga, Calidore Quartet and the three will share out Beethoven's Razumovsky Quartets and spread performances across the Saturday. Alongside thise, Cuarteto Quiroga is joined by Christian Zacharias for Schubert's Trout Quintet, Opus 13 quartet play Images from the Floating World, a piece by Swedish composer Britta Byström inspired by Njál’s Saga, and Calidore Quartet perform Arietta, a work by Mark-Anthony Turnage inspired by Beethoven's late piano sonatas.

Other music includes Llŷr Williams performing Schumann’s Kreisleriana, the Tallis Scholars in all three Byrd masses, and the festival ends with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and Maxim Emelyanchev in Mozart, Haydn and Stravinsky including ‘No word from Tom’ (from The Rake’s Progress) with soprano Anna Dennis.

Other visitors to the festival include Kolektif Istanbul, a traditional Turkish wedding band, oud player Rihab Azar who is joined by Scottish fiddle player Donald Grant, Scottish/Egyptian music from the Ayoub sisters, and English Concert Winds in Mozart serenades.

Full details from the festival's website.

Capella Edina: how Luis Schmidt, a young conductor from Munich, came to found Edinburgh's first professional philharmonic orchestra in almost ninety years

Luis Schmidt & Capella Edina (Photo: Euan Robertson)

Luis Schmidt, a conductor from Munich who has just turned 22, founded Capella Edina in Edinburgh in 2024, the city's first professional philharmonic orchestra in almost ninety years. For its second season in 2026, Capella Edina is presenting four concerts at venues from the Caird Hall in Dundee to the Usher Hall in Edinburgh. The second concert of their season, Spring is at the Usher Hall on 3 June when Luis Schmidt conducts Capella Edina in music by Vaughan Williams, Britten and Copland.

The orchestra and its location came about through a series of circumstances. Luis moved to Newcastle to study for his degree and was introduced to Edinburgh by a friend who was working there. On his first visit to the city, Luis fell in love with it. He also took on board his friend's comment that Edinburgh did not have its own professional orchestra. Also whilst studying in Newcastle Luis met the conductor Robert Ames through the Royal Northern Sinfonia. Amongst Ames's advice to a young conductor was the suggestion that he form his own orchestra, that way you learn who to do things. And Luis would also get the same advice from his teacher in Germany, Bruno Weil.

Luis felt that if he was going to found an orchestra he was going to do it properly and Edinburgh seemed the obvious choice. Not only did it not have a resident professional orchestra but Luis enjoyed the city a lot. There were discussions with the Musicians Union about pay and conditions, something that Luis thought important if the orchestra was to contribute to the local area. Also these conversations helped with the process of finding players.

The orchestra now has a core of players who do most of the concerts. And Luis enjoys the fact that he is meeing different people yet has something in common with them. All the players, he feels, take pleasure in sharing their joy with the audience. The orchestra is reliant on philanthropy and ticket sales for its income, with private support plus support from trusts and foundations. They do not receive anything from the council. Currently the orchestra is run by a small team, there are just three of them (with two of those part-time).

Luis comments that it would be nice to get to the stage where the orchestra was self-sufficient and that donations would elevate them. He would like to be able to afford to do semi-staged operas, and to do outreach work. But he feels that there is an advantage to being lean, and he points out that there is a lot of machinery behind many established orchestras. Orchestras are cost intensive and it is a challenge reducing costs without limiting the artists or artistic quality.

One of the focuses of the orchestra from Luis's point of view is the wish to make music more accessible.

Luis Schmidt & Capella Edina at the Usher Hall, Edinburgh

Brass to the fore: this year's Cumnock Tryst is a tribute to the late Scottish trumpeter John Wallace & a celebration of the tradition of brass band music in the Ayrshire coalfields

The cooperation band

Sir James MacMillan's Cumnock Tryst returns with its twelfth festival, running from 1 to 4 October 2026, the festival brings together world-class international artists, leading Scottish ensembles, and young musicians from The Tryst’s growing community of local talent. 

A strong brass thread runs through the weekend, reflecting a tribute to the late Scottish trumpeter John Wallace, a longstanding friend of The Tryst who died earlier this year, and celebrating both Wallace’s legacy and the deep tradition of brass band music in the Ayrshire coalfields. The festival closes with a performance by The Wallace Collection (the brass ensemble Wallace founded forty years ago) joining with the cooperation band at Cumnock Old Church for Giovanni Gabrieli’s Canzoni et Sonate in Wallace’s own arrangement, a project he had been passionate about bringing to Cumnock. 

Other highlights include saxophonist Jess Gilham and euphonium player David Childs joining the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra in James MacMillan’s Saxophone Concerto and the Scottish premiere of his Where the Lugar Meets the Glaisnock, a new euphonium work and the composer’s love-letter to the town where he grew up.

The Cumnock Tryst Festival Chorus joins the Wallace Collection for a programme of Vaughan Williams, Rutter, Ēriks Ešenvalds’ and premiere of a new commission by American composer AJ Harbison, with the chorus being joined by young singers from East, North and South Ayrshire. 

Other events include recitals by pianist Ethan Loch (the Scottish pianist who won the BBC Young Musician Keyboard Category in 2022) playing his own music alongside Gluck, Chopin and Liszt's Piano Sonata in B minor, and there are recitals from euphonium player David Childs and from the Jess Gilham Trio. There are Promenade concerts at Dumfries House showcasing young talent, including Kilmarnock pianist Ethan Chan, the South Ayrshire Chamber Singers and a finalist from the 2026 Scottish Young Musician of the Year competition.  Late-night Festival Club performances at the Dumfries Arms Hotel feature the Hannah Rarity Trio, the Seonaid Aitken Quintet, and Cumnock favourites CAMPS (Cumnock Arts Makes People Smile). 

The Unbroken Thread is the annual free sharing of work created by service users at the Riverside Centre and pupils from Hillside School in collaboration with Drake Music Scotland and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.  The Cumnock Hour with writer and broadcaster Stephen Johnson in partnership with the Boswell Book Festival, discussing his new book Music Lessons: Seven Composers and What They Taught Me. 

Speaking about the 2026 festival, James MacMillan said: "This year's festival is, in large part, a tribute to my dear friend John Wallace, who did so much for Scottish music. Through our brass and choral focus, we celebrate the tradition of the Ayrshire coalfields -- the world my grandfather knew as a miner and euphonium player. Honouring this heritage and John's memory by placing young Ayrshire musicians at the heart of the weekend, alongside his own Wallace Collection — who will perform the world premiere of a new commission from American composer AJ Harbison — feels exactly right for our twelfth year."

Full details from the Festival website. 

Berlioz, Bartok, Bach and a focus on Beethoven: Scottish Chamber Orchestra's 2026/27 season

Maxim Emelyanychev & Scottish Chamber Orchestra (Photo: Christopher Bowen)

Scottish Chamber Orchestra's 2026/27 season continues their profitable relationship with principal conductor Maxim Emelyanychev and his concerts with them feature Berlioz, Bach, Schnittke, Bartok, Poulenc, Faure, Brahms and more. Another focus of the season is Beethoven as part of the Scotland-wide Beethoven 200 celebrations, and the orchestra continue its association with composer Jay Capperauld.

Maxim Emelyanychev’s contract has been extended till at least 203, continuing what has proved to be a very dynamic partnership. Emelyanychev opens the 2026/27 season with an all-Berlioz programme, Harald in Italy with viola player Timothy Ridout and Symphonie Fantastique. Other Emelyanychev programmes in the season include Bach's St Matthew Passion with Nick Pritchard, Matthew Brook, Hilary Cronin, Tim Mead, Robert Murray and Roderick Williams, and a Mendelssohn celebration with the Lobesgesang and Piano Concerto No. 1 with Stephen Hough. Emelyanychev directs from the piano in a fascinating programme featuring Schnittke's Concerto for piano and strings, Bartok's Music for strings, percussion and celeste and Dvorak's Serenade for winds. Carolyn Sampson is the soloist in Poulenc's La voix humaine which Emelyanychev conducts in a programme with Ravel and Stravinsky, and a second programme with her features Faure's La bonne chanson and Poulenc's La courte paille. Baroque inspirations are featured in Emelyanychev’s programme with Ravel and Ades inspired by Coupering plus Rebel and Telemann. The season finale features Emelyanychev, violinist Nicola Benedetti and SCO's principal cellist Philip Higham in Brahms's Double Concerto plus music by Weber and Schumann.

The Beethoven 200 celebration features the SCO, 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. Andrew Manze conducts the SCO in Symphony No. 3 'Eroica' and Missa Solemnis, Rachel Podger directs Symphony No. 1 from the violin, Lorenza Borrani directs Symphonies Nos. 2 & 4 from the violin, Sunwook Kim directs Piano Concertos Nos. 4 & 5 from the piano, Håkan Hardenberger directs excerpts from The Creatures of Prometheus and Brett Dean's arrangement, Adagio molto e mesto, and Pekka Kuusisto directs the Violin Concerto from the violin.

SCO continues its association with Scottish composer Jay Capperauld [see my interview with him] with the premiere of his Sinfonietta written for the combined forces of the SCO and the young musicians of SCO Academy. His The Great Grumpy Gaboon returns to Perth, Edinburgh and Glasgow in 2027 for more fun-packed, family-friendly and BSL-interpreted performances. His new work Silent Teachers was commissioned by the University of Edinburgh as part of the Edinburgh Medical School’s anniversary programme, and the work will also form part of two short films including an online performance of Silent Teachers and interviews with Jay Capperauld and Edinburgh Medical School staff. And Immerse, SCO's orchestral experience for secondary pupils blending music and visual art, will feature Jay Capperauld’s The Origin of Colour.

Brooklyn Rider will join the Orchestra for the premiere of Nico Muhly’s new work for string quartet and orchestra. The SCO will give the UK premiere of two new orchestrations of works by Fanny Mendelssohn, arranged by composer Detlev Glanert. SCO will collaborate with the iconic Icelandic band Sigur Rós for two major cross-genre concerts at the Edinburgh Playhouse and at Glasgow’s SEC Armadillo.

Other contemporary composers whose works feature in the season include Max Richter, Philip Glass, John Adams, Missy Mazzoli, HK Gruber and Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood. 

Full details from the SCO website. 

A new festival in Glasgow and Edinburgh recalls a forgotten 19th century Scottish musical pioneer, Helen Hopekirk

Helen Hopekirk - National Galleries of Scotland collection (Photo: National Galleries of Scotland)

A new festival is hoping to bring back the name of Helen Hopekirk. Born in Peebles in 1856, she was one of the most accomplished pianists and composers of her generation, and her accomplishments including playing her Piano Concerto (now lost) with the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 1900.

A new festival, the Helen Hopekirk Festival will mark her 170th anniversary with events in Glasgow and Edinburgh from 18 to 24 May 2026. 

A young trio of Royal Conservatoire of Scotland graduates, Bubblyjock Collective will be presenting a concert featuring Hopekirk alongside other neglected names including Isobel Dunlop, Marie Dare and Claire Liddel. Dr Hannah Roberts will give a lecture-recital exploring the folk roots of Hopekirk's music, performing her work and unpacking the Scottish songs and Celtic traditions that shaped it, followed by a masterclass for young musicians.

Gary Steigerwalt and Dana Müller are the world's foremost Hopekirk scholars and performers and Steigerwalt’s recording Helen Hopekirk: Piano Music was the first album ever devoted to her music. They will be flying in from Arizona for a piano duo concert devoted to Hopekirk's music.

There is also a competition for young pianists and organists placing Scottish repertoire at the heart of young musicians' training. Free and open to the public, the closes with a winners' gala concert.

Helen Hopekirk studied with Scottish composer Alexander Mackenzie and with Carl Reinecke in Leipzig. She planned to continue her studies with Franz Liszt, but after his death studied instead with Theodor Leschetizky in Vienna. She lived in Vienna until 1892 and then she and her husband moved to Paris. Her first large scale work, the Concertstück in D Minor for piano and orchestra, was written in Paris in 1893–94, and she performed it with the Scottish Orchestra under Georg Henschel in Edinburgh and Dundee in November 1894. She accepted an invitation to teach at the New England Conservatory, later leaving it to teach privately and to perform. She and her husband became American citizens in 1918, and her career was then focused on the USA. 

Full details from the festival website. 

Fibonacci Quartet appointed Associate Ensemble at Music at Paxton, the festival based at Paxton House in the Borders

Music at Paxton, the festival based at Paxton House in the Borders, has appointed Fibonacci Quartet as its new Associate Ensemble for 2027-2029. 

Music at Paxton's artist director, Angus Smith, said: "We always have one eye on the future, and are hugely excited to welcome the exceptionally talented young members of Fibonacci Quartet  – Kryštof Kohout, violin; Luna De Mol, violin; Elliot Kempton, viola; Findlay Spence, cello – to be our Associate Ensemble from 2027-29. Watching and listening to these brilliant musicians is a truly thrilling and uplifting experience and they are already looking forward to playing at Music at Paxton, and sharing their music with people of all ages in the Border community."

Formed at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, the quartet were winners at the 2024 Young Classical Artists Trust (YCAT) International auditions and were recently appointed as Grand Résident ensemble at ProQuartet in Paris for seasons 2025-2027. The quartet is also featured at the 2026 St Magnus Festival [see my article] 

Music at Paxton aims to bring high quality music to the Eastern Scottish Borders, an area not currently well served with classical music. The festival is committed to breaking down barriers and encourages young people to attend through generous concessions and free events.

Music at Paxton runs from 17 to 26 July 2026 and the programme will be available from 13 April. See the website for details. 

Icelandic voices, a new orchestra & celebrating the Kirkwall cat: St Magnus Festival in Orkney is in celebratory mood for its 50th birthday

Heiða Árnadóttir in Mörsugur by Ásbjörg Jónsdóttir & Ragnheiður Erla Björnsdóttir

This year the St Magnus Festival in Orkney celebrates its 50th birthday with some 50 events in and around Kirkwall from 19 to 28 June 2026. Things kick off with festival director, Alasdair Nicholson conducting the debut performance of the new Festival Orchestra at a new performance space created in Orkney Auction Mart. The performance, Welcome to Orkney features music by the festival's founder, Peter Maxwell Davies written for an early festival, alongside music by Sally Beamish celebrating her 70th birthday plus Mozart and John Eccles.

Later on in the week, the Festival Orchestra is joined by the Festival Chorus for a performance of Mozart's Requiem alongside Golijov's Tenebrae. And festival director, Alasdair Nicholson's new piece Jasper the Kirkwall Cat is a new large-scale work for the Festival Orchestra and local children that celebrates Kirkwall's celebrity cat, Jasper. Other new work is showcased in the latest of the festival's Johnsmas Foy commissions, Veni Creator Spiritus where three saxophonists join with a singer/movement artist for a performance that builds on ancient plainsong themes and through free improvisation explores new interpretations of old echoes, alongside filmed images.

There is a strong Icelandic presence at this year's festival. There is a rare UK performance from Voces Thules, an all-male group that is one of Iceland's leading ensembles and their programmes celebrate Iceland's vocal heritage. Mörsugur, which receives its UK premiere, is an Icelandic opera by Ásbjörg Jónsdóttir that blends voice, experimental music and visual art, inspired by a poetic tale by Ragnheiður Erla Björnsdóttir and featuring a tour-de-force turn from soprano Heiða Árnadóttir. Icelandic-American cellist Geirþrúður Anna Guðmundsdóttir juxtaposes Bach's Cello Suite No. 2 with the technically demanding Spuni 1 by Gudmundur Hafsteinsson.

Jasper, the Kirkwall cat

Other visitors to the festival include pianistic duo, Samson Tsoy and Pavel Kolesnikov; percussion duo, O Duo who are joined by percussionists from the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire for music from George Crumb and more; the Hebrides Ensemble journey to the Isles; the Fibonacci Quartet; the Marian Consort whose programme moves from the Renaissance to contemporary including Daniel Kidane and Emily Hazrati premieres; Armenian-American viola da gamba player, singer Lucine Musaelian fuses music of the 16th and 17th centuries with traditional Armenian folk tunes. Guitarist Chris Amer is joined by pianist Fergus McCreadie and saxophonist Matt Carmichael for music inspired by photos taken by his Orcadian grandfather Danny Nicolson.

The Cooperation Band from Glasgow join forces with the Wallace Collection for a performance of Gabrieli's The Invisible Symphony from the Canzoni et Sonata (1615). This work places five choirs of brass around the space filling the acoustic creating a surround-sound effects. It was transcribed by John Wallace (the late founder of the Wallace Collection), who always wanted this enormous and breathtaking work to be performed in Kirkwall’s Cathedral. The performance is dedicated to John, a frequent attender of the Festival and the Cathedral over many years.

The tradition of placing music in the landscape across the islands continues with an accordion tour across Hoy led by Neil Sutcliffe, who also travels to the island of Rousay with pianist Anna Michels, together they are The Bubblyjock Collective. The Collective also presents Quines- a new programme celebrating female Scottish composers and neglected women from Scottish history, with a newly commissioned song cycle from Highlander Lisa Robertson Quines, based on Gerda Stevenson’s poetry collection.

Full details from the festival's website.

Applications open for The Cumnock Tryst's 2nd International Summer School for Composers with Sir James MacMillan & Brett Dean

Dumfries House where The Cumnock Tryst's 2nd International Summer School for Composers takes place

The Cumnock Tryst's 2nd International Summer School for Composers will run from 22 to 28 August 2026 at Dumfries House. The course will be led by The Cumnock Tryst’s Founder and Artistic Director, Sir James MacMillan, and acclaimed Australian composer and violist, Brett Dean, and for the first time The Cumnock Tryst is partnering with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra (RSNO), who will provide an octet of musicians to work alongside the composers throughout the week.  

The inaugural course in 2024 attracted composers from across the UK, Europe, North America and China. The 2026 course will offer eight selected composers an exceptional opportunity to develop their craft throughout the week under the guidance of MacMillan and Dean as well as giving participants the invaluable experience of hearing their works shaped and rehearsed by professional orchestral musicians in real time. 

Sir James MacMillan commented: "The Cumnock Tryst is committed to encouraging the composers of today at all levels, from the very young in our East Ayrshire home to advanced international students at the beginning of their careers. The course also signals The Cumnock Tryst’s intentions to amplify our international standing and impact in the world of contemporary music."

Te course will culminate on Friday 28 August in a public performance of the new works at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall’s New Auditorium at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, presenting the eight compositions created during the course, performed by the RSNO ensemble.

The course is open to composers aged 18 and older. There is no maximum age limit, reflecting The Cumnock Tryst’s commitment to making the course as inclusive and accessible as possible. Applications should be submitted via the Cumnock Tryst website 

Sir Alexander Gibson: Scottish Opera, Royal Scottish National Orchestra & Royal Conservatoire of Scotland come together to celebrate his centenary

Sir Alexander Gibson

Wednesday 11 February 2026 marked 100 years since the birth of Sir Alexander Gibson (1926-1995). 

Gibson became the first Scot and longest-serving principal conductor and music director of the Scottish National Orchestra (now the Royal Scottish National Orchestra) in 1959 (a post he held until 1984). A few years into this role, in 1962, he co-founded Scottish Opera. 

A former student of Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (then the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama), the Alexander Gibson Opera School in Glasgow was established in his memory, along with a fellowship for choral conductors. 

After the War interrupted his studies in Glasgow he served with the Royal Signals Band until 1948 when he took up a scholarship to the Royal College of Music in London, going on to studied at the Mozarteum, Salzburg under Igor Markevitch, and under Paul Van Kempen at the Accademia Chigiana, Siena.

After a spell as Assistant Conductor of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra he became music director of Sadler's Wells Opera, at 31, the company’s youngest. He conducted a total of 26 operas at Sadler’s Wells and made his Covent Garden debut in 1957 with Tosca. In 1959 he returned to Glasgow to take up the post with the Scottish National Orchestra (SNO).

The new Scottish Opera gave its first season in 1962 at the King’s Theatre, Glasgow, with productions of Madama Butterfly and Pelléas and Mélisande with the SNO performing in the pit. During Gibson's tenure he conducted four world premieres mounted by Scottish Opera as well as the first production of Les Troyens to perform both halves of the opera in a single night. His final production with the company was Tosca in 1993

The Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Scottish Opera and Royal Conservatoire of Scotland are coming together on 25 February 2026 to celebrate Sir Alexander Gibson at the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh with an event showcasing his achievements and highlighting the work of the companies in continuing to bring world-class opera and music to a diverse range of audiences in communities the length and breadth of Scotland. 

The world premiere of Scottish Opera's new production of Dai Fujikura’s and Harry Ross’ The Great Wave on Thursday 12 February, at Theatre Royal Glasgow was dedicated to Gibson to mark his birthday.

Further information from the Scottish Opera website.

200 singers, 25 nationalities: Edinburgh Royal Choral Union joins forces with the Brussels Choral Society for Poulenc & Bruckner in Edinburgh

Edinburgh Royal Choral Union joins forces with the Brussels Choral Society for Poulenc & Bruckner in Edinburgh

The Edinburgh Royal Choral Union (ERCU) will join forces with the Brussels Choral Society for a collaborative concert at the Usher Hall in Edinburgh on 15 March 2025, bringing together some 200 singers for music on a grand scale. Michael Bawtree, ERCU's chorus director since 2005, will conduct the choirs along with the Orchestra of Scottish Opera in Francis Poulenc’s Gloria and Anton Bruckner’s Mass in D minor. Solo roles will be performed by the Sòlas Ensemble, a young vocal quartet formed at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.

The collaboration follows a sold‑out performance of the same programme by ERCU and Brussels Choral Society at the renowned Bozar concert hall and arts venue in Brussels in December 2025, which received a rapturous response from the audience.

Founded in 1979, the Brussels Choral Society is Belgium’s largest amateur symphony choir, comprising around 100 singers from over 25 different nationalities and known for its wide-ranging repertoire from Baroque masterpieces to contemporary works. Founded in 1858, the Edinburgh Royal Choral Union ( is one of Scotland’s oldest choral societies. A mixed choir of around 120 voices, it is best known for its annual New Year performance of Handel’s Messiah at the Usher Hall, a tradition established in 1888 and continued without interruption, even through two World Wars, alongside an ambitious programme of large-scale choral works and international collaborations.

Further details and tickets from Culture Edinburgh website.

 

Faith, fragility, & the passing of time: new work by Arthur Keegan alongside Messiaen for Hebrides Ensemble's Scottish tour

Arthur Keegan (Photo: Alejandro S Garrido)

The Hebrides Ensemble has announced a new tour in February 2026. Music for Time will tour to Dumfries House, Cumnock (1 February) as part of The Cumnock Tryst’s year round programme, Fruitmarket, Edinburgh (2 February), Bun Sgoil Ghaidhlig Phort Righ, Skye (6 February) presented by SEALL & Skye Chamber Music and Adelaide Place, Glasgow (7 February).

The programme features Messiaen's Quartet for the End of Time, a work that has a particularly special place in Hebrides Ensemble’s history as it was part of their first-ever concert performance 35 years ago, and was amongst the Ensemble’s first recordings on Linn Records.

Alongside the Messiaen will be the premiere of a new piece by Arthur Keegan. Keegan's new work takes Messiaen’s ideas of eternity and renewal as a starting point, creating a contemporary reflection on faith, fragility, and the passing of time. And the premiere is supported by the Royal Philharmonic Society's Composers Programme. Keegan's work featured on the disc The Past & I: 100 years of Thomas Hardy [see my review] charting the composer's response to the poet as the result of a residency at the Red House in Aldeburgh.

Full details from the Hebrides Ensemble's website. 

The Pebbles We Keep: composer Monica McGhee unveils her debut song cycle following her successful battle with thyroid cancer

Soprano, composer and alumna Monica McGhee will unveil her debut song cycle, The Pebbles We Keep, on Sunday 23 November at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (RCS) in the Stevenson Hall. McGhee has taken poems penned by Scottish women throughout history – spanning 400 years – and set them to music. They’ll be performed by singers of all ages with a female actor reciting each poem in its original form before each song.

McGhee explains, "The Pebbles We Keep remembers the poets who were often overlooked in their own lifetimes, while offering opportunities for today’s Scottish singers to be heard, in a bid to rebalance the deficit of female roles available within the opera world. It aims to honour Scotland’s cultural roots while creating new repertoire that future generations of singers can perform."

The poems reflect a wide range of women’s experiences, from disability and working-class struggle to loss, resilience and creativity, by writers including Janet Hamilton, Jessie Anderson, Carolina Oliphant (Baroness Nairne), Mary Mackellar and Mary Symon with the oldest poem being Elizabeth Melville’s Ane Godlie Dreame from 1603 – the first published poem by a Scottish woman. Contemporary poet Lisa Kennedy’s The Pebbles We Keep gives the cycle its name.

Monica McGhee began her musical life as a pianist and trumpet player. She studied at RCS’s Junior Conservatoire of Music before embarking on her Bachelor of Music undergraduate degree in Vocal Performance. Monica was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in 2017 which looked like it would put a premature end to her career. As she battled the disease and subsequent treatment to repair her voice following emergency surgery, she spent a number of seasons singing extra chorus at the Royal Opera House, with highlights including a tour to Tokyo in 2019.

Having successfully recovered from her illness, she was accepted as the soprano Young Artist at The National Opera Studio for 2020-2021. Recent roles include the title role in Tosca for Opera Bohemia, Beatrice in Beatrice and Benedict for Mid Wales Opera and the leading role of Iolanta for If Opera. Monica made her English National Opera debut earlier this year, playing Mary Beaton in Thea Musgrave's Mary, Queen of Scots [see my review], on the anniversary of her cancer diagnosis.

The video shows Monica McGhee performing one of the songs from The Pebbles We Keep 

Full details from the RCS website. 

Shifting Patterns: Scottish Ensemble opens 2025/26 fusing music by Anna Meredith and Henryk Górecki with animations by Ewan Jones Morris

Scottish Ensemble at Celtic Connections in January 2025 with Donald Grant and Friends (Photo: Tom Lovatt)

The Scottish Ensemble opens its 2025/2026 season with Shifting Patterns, a programme of music by Anna Meredith and Henryk Górecki which promises to be a striking fusion of sound and visuals. Touring to Eden Court in Inverness, Glasgow’s Royal Concert Hall, Queen’s Hall in Edinburgh and Perth Concert Hall during October, the programme will explore the emotive power of sonic patterns being transformed through kaleidoscopic repetitions using bespoke projections by animator Ewan Jones Morris as a stunning visual backdrop to Anna Meredith’s works.

The programme features Henryk Górecki's Quasi una Fantasia. This work is the second of Górecki's three quartets, all of which were premiered by the Kronos Quartet. Quasi una Fantasia was written in 1991 and the work invokes Beethovenian parallels not just from the title but the composer acknowledged that Beethoven’s piano sonatas and string quartets had provided the impetus for his first two quartets.

The programme will also feature eight works by Anna Meredith including works for string quartet which have been newly arranged for the thirteen musicians of Scottish Ensemble, offering a chance to hear these surprising and enlightening works for expanded forces.

Taking a multidisciplinary approach to filmmaking, Ewan Jones Morris combines live action, collage, stop motion and CG to transform the ordinary and explore imagined inner worlds, you can explore his work on Vimeo (including a sample below)

Full details from the Scottish Ensemble's website.

Glasgow Cathedral Festival: celebrating the city's 850th anniversary with a poetic imagining of the story of St. Enoch, mother of the city's founder

Evening concert at Glasgow Cathedral Festival 

Glasgow Cathedral Festival returns from 18–21 September 2025, for its ninth edition bringing life to Glasgow’s medieval cathedral with site-specific live music, film, theatre, art, talks and tours, and this year also celebrating the city's 850th anniversary.

This year’s festival draws together cultural and scientific influences across a range of art forms: from established classical music favourites to cutting-edge contemporary sounds, and intimate theatre to immersive, cult cinema.

Maiden Mother Mage brings a poetic reimagining of the legend of St Enoch to the imposing surroundings of the quire. St. Enoch is in fact a corruption of St. Teneu, a legendary Christian saint who was venerated in medieval Glasgow. Traditionally she was a sixth-century Brittonic princess the mother of Saint Mungo, apostle to the Britons of Strathclyde and founder of the city of Glas Ghu (Glasgow). She and her son are regarded as the city's co-patrons, and Glasgow's St Enoch Square allegedly marks the site of a medieval chapel dedicated to her, built on or near her grave. 

Created and directed by Rebecca Sharp, Maiden Mother Mage is the tale the exiled Brittonic princess which weaves dramatic verse performed by three Scottish actors with a live score by composer Alex South. The performance is supported with new iconography by artist Frances Law—presented as part of a multi-sensory exhibition crafted by Scottish community groups that will be displayed throughout the festival.

The festival's silent film series continues with Fritz Lang’s genre-defining Metropolis (1927) paired with the UK premiere of a live score for percussion by sisters Linda and Irene Buckley—presented in association with Cork International Film Festival. There will be opportunities to catch the film at both early evening and late-night screenings.  

Another film link sees organist Roger Sayer performing his arrangement of Hans Zimmer's score for the film Interstellar 10 on the cathedral's 140-year-old pipe organ. And the festival will feature the first complete performance of Roxanna Panufnik’s Cum Jubilo Organ Mass, performed as part of a vibrant and eclectic programme by organist Katelyn Emerson.

The Twilight in the Crypt programme offers moments of quiet listening and personal contemplation, as violinist Emma Lloyd presents a programme of new music exploring the expressive depths of her instrument, and artistic duo Ollie Hawker and Zoe Markle create atmospheric soundscapes with double bass and electronics.

There are free, daytime events. Joining forces once again with partners across the precinct, a free Thursday lunchtime performance by the acclaimed Resol Quartet is given in collaboration with the Friends of Glasgow Royal Infirmary Museum—featuring new works inspired by the hospital’s cultural and historic context. Free talks and tours also return in 2025, continuing the Glasgow 850 celebrations in collaboration with Glasgow Life, Historic Environment Scotland and St Mungo Museum.

Full details from the festival website.

Lammermuir Festival 2025: Laura van der Heijden in residence, complete Ravel piano music, Walton/Ravel opera double bill

This year's Lammermuir Festival runs from 4 to 15 September 2025, your chance to hear some of the world’s finest musicians in the historic venues and stunning landscape of East Lothian The festival's artist in residence this year is cellist Laura van der Heijden, with six appearances as both soloist and ensemble musician across the 12 days. Among her appearances are a recital with Jâms Coleman, a chamber programme with the Maxwell Quartet ranging from Schubert’s C major quintet to Gaelic psalms of the western isles of Scotland; a programme of dances and duos with friends which includes the Hungarian cimbalom in a journey through folk, jazz, baroque and contemporary music; and as soloist alongside Maria Włoszczowska in Brahms’s Double Concerto for Violin and Cello with Royal Northern Sinfonia.

I Fagiolini will also be in residence with performances of Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas and Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610. A regular visitor to the festival is Scottish Opera and this year they bring an intriguing double bill of two contrasting comedies, Ravel's L'heure espagnole and Walton's The Bear, the one featuring a married woman keen to explore pastures new and the other featuring a widow who is anything but keen.

Continuing the themes of Ravel and Monteverdi, Rinaldo Alessandrini and Concerto Italiano will be performing music from Monteverdi 7th Book of Madrigals alongside Barbara Strozzi and others, whilst French pianist Jean-Efflam Bavouzet performs Ravel's complete piano works and tenor Joshua Ellicott explores Ravel’s influence on song. In addition to Ravel's 150th, this year is the centenary of both Berio and Boulez, and Scotland’s Hebrides Ensemble will be celebrating both.

Other complete cycles at the festival include the Van Baerle Trio, who return after last year’s successful debut, to play all of Brahms’s piano trios, and the Dudok Quartet Amsterdam bring all of Tchaikovsky’s quartets. The Kaleidoscope chamber ensemble perform two concerts ranging from Brahms and Bartok, to Duruflé and Poulenc.

Scottish composer Stuart MacRae’s atmospheric, folk-influenced song cycle Earth Thy Cold is Keen will be performed by mezzo-soprano Lotte Betts-Dean. And there is a chance to experience three events at Robert Adam's Gosford house, with The Lammermuir Basset Horn Ensemble, a lecture recital on the house's incredibly rare instrument the Claviorganum which combines the harpsichord and organ in one; and finishing with a recorder recital from Tabea Debus in the Saloon.

This year’s festival includes two children’s concerts. Flock from Red Note Ensemble in Musselburgh opens with a sonically and visually captivating musical performance, gently encouraging children to become more involved until, through their collective effort, a chirping flock comes into being. Saint-Saens' is Carnival of the Animals features Roger McGough and NYCOS National Girls Choir in Dunbar. 

After a successful pilot in 2024, Lammermuir Festival builds on Front Row to offer even more 12 – 18 year olds opportunities to attend rehearsals, meet artists and enjoy the best free front row seats. Free tickets are also available for school students attending certain concerts with an adult. 

There is a lot more besides. A trip to the festival offers the possibility of an action packed few days with nearl 40 events on offer. Full details from the festival's website.

Maxim Emelyanychev celebrates 7 seasons with Scottish Chamber Orchestra in a year that includes new music by Jay Capperauld, Helen Grime, Jörg Widmann and Magnus Lindberg

Maxim Emelyanychev and Scottish Chamber Orchestra

Amazingly, 2025/26 will be Maxim Emelyanychev's seventh season as principal conductor of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and he will be presenting ten programme with the orchestra during the season, along with Andrew Manze as principal guest conductor. Emelyanychev's programmes include Strauss' Metamorphosen, Beethoven's Symphony No. 5, contrasting Glorias from Vivaldi and Poulenc, Berlioz' L'enfance du Christ , Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker and Mozart's final three symphonies. The orchestra's principal cellist, Philip Higham joins him for Schumann's Cello Concerto, and violinist Nicola Benedetti joins Emelyanychev and the orchestra for Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto.

Earlier this year, I had an enjoyable chat to the orchestra's associate composer Jay Capperauld [see my interview]  and the season will feature three of Capperauld's works. Andrew Manze conducts The Language of Eden, a choral work that reimagines the birth of language itself, and a second work will also feature the chorus, The Winter's Brightening, whilst Stylus Scarlatti reimagines Scarlatti’s keyboard sonatas for the bright colours of the orchestra. Whilst Capperauld's The Great Grumpy Gaboon will be returning too.

Other new music includes the UK premiere of Scottish composer Helen Grime’s River, performed by the orchestra and director/percussionist Colin Currie, the UK premiere of Jörg Widmann’s affectionate homage to Schumann, Albumblätter, and Magnus Lindberg’s Viola Concerto, dedicated to its performer here, Lawrence Power. The SCO Chorus will be performing on of Roderick Williams' works, O Adonai, as part of their seasonal concerts, whilst the baritone himself will be performing Berlioz and Butterworth with the orchestra.

Violinist Alina Ibragimova will be the soloists in Hartmann’s Concerto funèbre, a work she has long championed. Andrew Manze and the orchestra's clarinettist Maximiliano Martín present three iconic works by John Adams, Shaker Loops, Gnarly Buttons, and Fearful Symmetries as part of the New Dimensions series which also includes Colin Currie in Steve Reich and Joe Duddell along with Helen Grime's River, and saxophonist Jess Gillam in Anna Clyne, George Walker and Caroline Shaw, as well as two works written especially for her, by John Harle and Dani Howard.

SCO Tea Dance Concerts

The orchestra’s Creative Learning activities reach over 10,000 people across Scotland every year, and this year the season includes multisensory family concerts, Immerse concerts for secondary schools, tea dance concerts and a continuation of their Craigmillar Residency. They will be celebrating five years of the Craigmillar Residency with Tapestry - a showcase featuring performances by the SCO Seen and Heard Ensemble and SCO Craigmillar Voices choir, including a 25-minute work curated by Jay Capperauld.  

Full details from the orchestra's website.

Bruckner's obsession with death, Scottish Gaelic folk poetry & a grumpy gaboon: I chat to Scottish composer Jay Capperauld, currently the Scottish Chamber Orchestra's associate composer

Jay Capperauld (Photo: Euan Robertson)

The Scottish composer Jay Capperauld is currently the Scottish Chamber Orchestra's (SCO) Associate Composer and this month he has two sets of performances of his works. On 19 February SCO premieres Jay's new piece, Bruckner's Skull in Dumfries with performances in Edinburgh and Glasgow. Written as a death-mask homage to composer Anton Bruckner in the 200th Anniversary year of his birth, Bruckner’s Skull is inspired by Bruckner’s obsession with death, and in particular the two alleged occasions when Bruckner cradled the skulls of both Beethoven and Schubert when their bodies were exhumed and moved to Vienna’s Central Cemetery in 1888.

Before then, SCO revives Jay's work for children, The Great Grumpy Gaboon, and later in the season, they will premiere Jay's Carmina Gadelica for wind dectet, inspired by the Gaelic incantations, hymns, and songs collected by Alexander Carmichael in his work of the same name.

Bruckner's Totenmaske (Death Mask), 1896

Jay admits that he is rather drawn to strange stories and is interested in story-telling in music, the challenge of how to create a musical narrative with a story in wordless form. Bruckner's Skull is inspired by the great composer's deathly fixations. Some of the stories are anecdotal, but Bruckner did spend time in a sanatorium for what we would now call OCD. The symptoms of OCD manifest in a way in which a person experiences uncontrollable, intrusive, distressing and recurring thoughts (obsessions) which are alleviated by engaging in repetitive behaviours and actions (compulsions) that are attributed to a specific fear of dire consequences (to themselves, loved ones or others) if those behaviours and actions are not completed to a perceived satisfactory degree.

Bruckner's reported fixations included giving specific instructions on his own burial under the organ that he played at St Florian Monastery and the keeping of lists of his female students to whom he would continually propose well into his old age. The duality in his hyper-religious grandiose sense of divine musical purpose coupled with his extreme shyness and debilitating low self-esteem. Jay is interested in these fixations, not only how to convey the story in music but also what does it say about Bruckner himself. Who was the man and how do we deal nowadays with the more problematic elements of his fixations?

Jay intends his piece to humanise Bruckner and get to the crux of the man from a more empathetic perspective. Musically, Jay is interested not so much in what is happening but in why, for instance, the oboe interacts in the way it does. For Bruckner's Skull, Jay uses snippets of Bruckner's music which he treats in a hyper-fixated way, making the music feel as if we are hearing it through Bruckner's obsessive qualities. Through the compositional process, Jay tries to reflect Bruckner's mind.