Exploring the power and breadth of musical experience, we take audiences on a bold adventure with new ideas and collaborations and the return of the ever-popular Concerts by Candlelight.
Inventive, powerful and moving music. Multi-sensory experiences and genre-crossing work. A glimpse into the future of music-making in Scotland. Today we share details of our upcoming performances.
This autumn sees a focus on composer Anna Meredith with two projects that explore the Scottish composer’s boundary-pushing style. Shifting Patterns (25-29 October – Inverness, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Perth) will be a striking fusion of sound and visuals, pairing new arrangements of Anna Meredith’s joyful and energetic works with Henryk Górecki’s emotionally charged Quasi una Fantasia. Bespoke projections by animator Ewan Morris Jones, commissioned by Ligeti Quartet, will provide a stunning visual backdrop.
We also restage our 2016 commission ANNO by Anna Meredith at London’s Barbican Centre on Thursday 25 September. In ANNO – for strings and electronics – Anna Meredith reframes Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, imaginatively blending sound worlds to heighten the intensity and drama of a much-loved classic. Projections by artist Eleanor Meredith surround the musicians as they journey through the seasons, and space, creating a cycle of sound and light that merges, collides and cocoons.
During this year’s Concerts by Candlelight tour (2-11 December 2025 – Aberdeen, Inverness, Dunblane, Dundee, Dumfries, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Perth) we perform the UK premiere of a new work by Valentin Silvestrov. Known for music of serenity and transcendence, Valentin Silvestrov is a Ukrainian composer currently living in exile in Germany. Silvestrov’s new piece Moments of Memory VI, has been co-commissioned by Scottish Ensemble, Australian Chamber Orchestra, Arctic Philharmonic, Melbourne Conservatorium of Music and Witold Lutosławski National Forum of Music for NFM Leopoldinum Orchestra. It will perfectly complement our annual Concerts by Candlelight, presented in some of Scotland’s most awe-inspiring and atmospheric settings. This piece marks the third composition supported by the Calder Commissioning Fund, created through a transformative donation, made in memory of Scottish Ensemble’s late founder John Calder.
Our work with a new generation of musicians continues with its Young Artists programme, in partnership with the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. During a week-long creative residency in January 2026, string students will work alongside Scottish Ensemble musicians to create a programme, Musical Encounters, that will be performed in Glasgow and Edinburgh (16 and 17 January). Two young string players, who were selected during the 2024 residency at RCS will also make their Scottish Ensemble debuts during the autumn/winter series. Lauren Jack (viola) will join the ensemble for the tour of Shifting Patterns and Annabel Stevens (violin) will perform during the Concerts by Candlelight tour.
Away from the concert stage, Music for Wellbeing continues to be a focus of our work. During autumn 2025 musicians will deliver sessions in Maggie’s centres across Scotland. Music for Wellbeing sessions will also take place in secondary schools, helping pupils to develop skills in mindful listening to combat stress and anxiety.