Scottish Chamber Orchestra extends contract with Maxim Emelyanychev

The Scottish Chamber Orchestra (SCO) has announced that Russian conductor Maxim Emelyanychev will extend his contract as principal conductor through to 2028. Continuing this partnership, the orchestra will celebrate its 50th anniversary in the upcoming 2023-24 season.

Emelyanychev will launch the SCO’s 50th Anniversary Season with a tour of the nation performing Beethoven’s ‘Eroica’ in seven different locations across Scotland with a variety of soloists including pianist Kirill Gerstein, clarinettist Maximiliano Martin and violist Max Mandel. The tour will also include the premiere of a new work by SCO associate composer Jay Capperauld. Capperauld will premiere three new works across the season alongside the world premiere of Sir James MacMillan’s choral work Composed in August and the UK premiere of Anna Clyne’s violin concerto Time and Tides.

Emelyanychev said: ‘I’m delighted to be extending my commitment to this wonderful group of musicians with whom I have shared such incredible musical experiences since our partnership began. I also love the welcome we receive from Scottish audiences, and I’m proud to join the SCO when we take our music further afield too. I’m very excited about the season ahead which celebrates the Orchestra’s 50th anniversary by showing what we do best – creating life-changing musical experiences for our audiences.’

Launched in Glasgow’s City Halls in January 1974, the SCO will return to London’s Royal Albert Hall this summer with a performance of Mendelssohn’s Elijah at the BBC Proms in July. The SCO and SCO chorus will perform alongside soloists including Roderick Williams and Carolyn Sampson, and the performance will return to Scotland to close the SCO’s 2023-24 season in May 2024.

The SCO Chorus directed by Gregory Batsleer will give five concerts in the 2023-24 Season including a performance of Bach’s B Minor Mass with soloists including Rowan Pierce and James Gilchrist. Finnish violinist Pekka Kuusisto will build on his tenure as a 2022-23 season guest artist with a trio of concerts inspired by birdsong, the wonders of the natural world and the dichotomy of light and shadow.

In the upcoming season SCO will also welcome guest conductors including Andrew Manze and composer-conductor Thomas Adès, as well as guest soloists including violinist Nicola Benedetti, percussionist Colin Currie, oboist François Leleux and pianist Steven Osborne.

SCO chief executive Gavin Reid said: ‘I’m thrilled that Maxim will continue in his role as Principal Conductor for at least five more years, bringing his exhilarating musical insights to our musicians and audiences, and I’m excited that so many of our regular musical collaborators are joining us for this special season, including our brilliant friend Pekka Kuusisto. As we celebrate the important cultural role the SCO has played in Scotland for half a century, we look forward to continuing to deliver musical experiences which transform and enhance lives across Scotland and beyond.’