A true Christmas favourite, Home Alone features renowned composer John Williams’ charming and delightful score performed live to picture by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. Macaulay Culkin stars as Kevin McCallister, an eight-year-old boy who’s accidentally left behind when his family leaves for Christmas vacation, and who must defend his home against two bungling thieves. Nominated for two Academy Awards® for Best Original Score and Best Original Song (Somewhere in My Memory), Home Alone is hilarious, heart-warming festive fun for the entire family!
Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Formed in 1891, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra (RSNO) plays an integral part in Scotland’s musical life, with regular concerts in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee, Aberdeen, Perth and Inverness. The Orchestra’s artistic team is led by Danish conductor Thomas Søndergård, who was appointed Music Director in 2018.
The RSNO is supported by the Scottish Government and is one of Scotland’s five National Performing Companies. The Orchestra appears regularly at the
Edinburgh International Festival and the BBC Proms, and has made recent tours to the USA, China and Europe.
The RSNO believes music can enrich lives, and aims to inspire, educate and entertain people throughout Scotland and beyond with its performances, recordings and engagement programmes. Supporting schools, families, young professionals and wider communities, the RSNO delivers high-quality initiatives for all ages and abilities.
Stephen Doughty was appointed Director of the RSNO Chorus from the start of the 2022:23 Season. Since his arrival the Chorus has seen an influx of new members, and an abundance of varied and critically acclaimed performances, including Verdi’s Requiem, Britten’s War Requiem, Bruckner’s E Minor Mass and the Scottish premiere of Sir James MacMillan’s Christmas Oratorio. He directed the Chorus on their concert tour to Budapest last month.
Prior to this appointment, Stephen’s 12-year tenure as Chorus Master of Belfast Philharmonic Choir included a number of world premieres, most significantly James Whitbourn’s
The Seven Heavens and Philip Hammond’s Requiem for the Lost Souls of the Titanic Stephen particularly enjoys working with amateur singers; he was Musical Director of Edinburgh Bach Choir and has been Musical Director of the Garleton Singers since 1994.
Away from the podium Stephen is in demand as an arranger and orchestrator, with commissions from the BBC, RSNO, Ulster Orchestra and others. He has also produced arrangements of Christopher Norton’s popular piano music for wind sextet, and piano duet, with a new set of arrangements for piano six hands recently published.
Ben Palmer CONDUCTOR
Ben Palmer is Artistic Director of Covent Garden Sinfonia and Chief Conductor of the Orchestra da Camera di Pordenone and Babylon Orchester Berlin. From 2017 to 2024 he was Chief Conductor of the Deutsche Philharmonie Merck, ending his tenure with three performances of Mahler’s Symphony No8.
Recent and upcoming debuts include the Copenhagen Philharmonic, London Philharmonic Orchestra (in the presence of composer Howard Shore), Munich Symphony Orchestra, Oakland Symphony,
Odense Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre National d’Île-de-France and San Francisco Symphony. As a guest conductor he has worked with the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra, BBC Singers, City of Prague Philharmonic, Hof Symphony Orchestra (Bavaria), Hong Kong Philharmonic, Philharmonia, National Symphony Orchestra (Dublin), NDR Radiophilharmonie (Hanover), Rotterdam Philharmonic and Zurich Chamber Orchestra.
Personally authorised by John Williams to conduct his film scores in concert, and acclaimed by Hans Zimmer as ‘a masterclass in conducting’, Ben is one of the world’s most sought-after specialists in conducting to film, both live to picture (with a repertoire of more than 50 films) and in the recording studio. A trumpeter and composer by training, he studied at the University of Birmingham and the Royal Academy of Music, which elected him an Associate in 2017. He continues to be in great demand as a composer, arranger and orchestrator.
