Founded in 1969 by the violinist Leonard Friedman and based in Glasgow, Scottish Ensemble is composed of a core of twelve string soloists who perform under Artistic Director and violinist Jonathan Morton, standing up and without a conductor.
The ensemble plays rare and unusual pieces. Its characteristic programming usually blends music from different eras, with a repertoire that spans from the Baroque to the present day. Scottish Ensemble regularly commissions new work and collaborates with musicians from very different backgrounds such as violinists Pekka Kuusisto and Anthony Marwood, cellist Pieter Wispelwey, trumpeter Alison Balsom, violist Lawrence Power, tenor Toby Spence, bassist Edgar Meyer, DJ Alex Smoke and Scottish folk musicians Aly Bain, Catriona McKay and Chris Stout.
Commissioned composers have included Craig Armstrong, Sally Beamish, Luke Bedford, Sir James MacMillan, Thea Musgrave, Martin Suckling, Sir John Tavener and John Woolrich.
BBC Radio 3 and BBC Radio Scotland regularly broadcast Scottish Ensemble concerts. The group has received a Classic FM Award for Outstanding Contribution to Classical Music.
In addition to numerous recordings, the Scottish Ensemble performs every year some 50 concerts all over the UK and internationally. As a musical ambassador for Scotland, the ensemble is committed to the communities where it performs, from the major cities to the remote areas of the country, and leads classical music provision. Scottish Ensemble is devoted to a comprehensive programme of education and outreach for people of all ages and abilities.
The ensemble’s award-winning Education Director, Paul Rissmann, has created a programme of creative workshops and concerts for primary schools and community groups throughout Scotland. With the launch of the City Residency programme in 2012, this commitment has expanded and included free community performances, collaborative cross-genre projects, late-night events, coaching sessions and master classes, pop up performances and participatory events such as ceilidhs and tea dances.
Scottish Ensemble has appeared at many of UK’s major festivals such as the BBC Proms, Aldeburgh Festival, Edinburgh International Festival, St Magnus Festival in Orkney, City of London Festival, and presents an annual series of concerts at Wigmore Hall in London. Abroad, the group has performed at the MDR Sommerfest in Germany and the Shanghai Spring International Festival. In 2013, Scottish Ensemble toured the USA, appearing at the New York Town Hall and the Walt Disney Hall among others. They have also been invited to perform in Austria, Belgium, China, Taiwan and Turkey.
The ensemble plays rare and unusual pieces. Its characteristic programming usually blends music from different eras, with a repertoire that spans from the Baroque to the present day. Scottish Ensemble regularly commissions new work and collaborates with musicians from very different backgrounds such as violinists Pekka Kuusisto and Anthony Marwood, cellist Pieter Wispelwey, trumpeter Alison Balsom, violist Lawrence Power, tenor Toby Spence, bassist Edgar Meyer, DJ Alex Smoke and Scottish folk musicians Aly Bain, Catriona McKay and Chris Stout.
Commissioned composers have included Craig Armstrong, Sally Beamish, Luke Bedford, Sir James MacMillan, Thea Musgrave, Martin Suckling, Sir John Tavener and John Woolrich.
BBC Radio 3 and BBC Radio Scotland regularly broadcast Scottish Ensemble concerts. The group has received a Classic FM Award for Outstanding Contribution to Classical Music.
In addition to numerous recordings, the Scottish Ensemble performs every year some 50 concerts all over the UK and internationally. As a musical ambassador for Scotland, the ensemble is committed to the communities where it performs, from the major cities to the remote areas of the country, and leads classical music provision. Scottish Ensemble is devoted to a comprehensive programme of education and outreach for people of all ages and abilities.
The ensemble’s award-winning Education Director, Paul Rissmann, has created a programme of creative workshops and concerts for primary schools and community groups throughout Scotland. With the launch of the City Residency programme in 2012, this commitment has expanded and included free community performances, collaborative cross-genre projects, late-night events, coaching sessions and master classes, pop up performances and participatory events such as ceilidhs and tea dances.
Scottish Ensemble has appeared at many of UK’s major festivals such as the BBC Proms, Aldeburgh Festival, Edinburgh International Festival, St Magnus Festival in Orkney, City of London Festival, and presents an annual series of concerts at Wigmore Hall in London. Abroad, the group has performed at the MDR Sommerfest in Germany and the Shanghai Spring International Festival. In 2013, Scottish Ensemble toured the USA, appearing at the New York Town Hall and the Walt Disney Hall among others. They have also been invited to perform in Austria, Belgium, China, Taiwan and Turkey.