The Gannochy Trust has supported the Perth Concert Series annually since 1995.
In recent years the Trust’s major grant has enabled the four partners to develop opportunities for young people to engage with live orchestral music, encouraging a lifelong connection while at the same time developing a range of important transferable skills.
Further information about the Trust is available at: gannochytrust.org.uk
Perth Concert Hall Thu 5 Feb 2026 7.30pm
‘With desire and passion,’ wrote Tchaikovsky on the score of his Fifth Symphony. From its stirring opening to its triumphant finale, this is music that comes from the heart and speaks to the heart. RSNO Music Director Thomas Søndergård won’t hold back, as we also welcome not one but two charismatic soloists – violinist Noah Bendix-Balgley and cellist Bruno Delepelaire – to play a masterpiece inspired by friendship: Brahms’ nostalgic, intensely emotional Double Concerto.
BRAHMS Double Concerto for Violin and Cello in A Minor Op102 [32’]
INTERVAL
TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No5 in E Minor Op64 [47’]
Thomas Søndergård Conductor
Noah Bendix-Balgley Violin
Bruno Delepelaire Cello
Royal Scottish National Orchestra
This concert is supported by the Gannochy Trust.
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Welcome to this evening’s performance. It’s a pleasure to be back as part of the Perth Concert Series 2025/26. Since our last visit, the Orchestra has kept busy with plenty of Christmas concerts across the country as well as our annual performance of Handel’s Messiah in Glasgow with the fantastic RSNO Chorus. In January we headed off on tour, first to Germany for a long weekend in Ludwigsburg and Dortmund, and then around Scotland with our Viennese Gala concerts.
This week some of the team have been down in London at the Association of British Orchestras Conference. As part of this, RSNO Associate Principal Viola Felix Tanner was invited to perform in an ensemble representing six UK orchestras at an event hosted by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in 11 Downing Street – an honour for both Felix and the whole RSNO.
We are delighted to have been shortlisted in the 2026 Royal Philharmonic Society Awards’ Ensemble category, which recognises musical ensembles for outstanding quality and scope of performances and work. We are proud to be shortlisted alongside some wonderful organisations and individuals across 12 categories, including Nordic Music Days, who we worked with in 2024 to deliver their five-day festival; Uprising, the community opera co-commissioned by Glyndebourne, the Saffron Hall Trust and the RSNO; our Engagement Conductor Ellie Slorach; pianist Ethan Loch and conductor John Wilson, who perform with us in March and April; and composer David Fennessy, who mentored on our previous Composers’ Hub programme. We are in very good company indeed!
This evening, we are joined by Music Director Thomas Søndergård and two fantastic soloists – Noah Bendix-Balgley and Bruno Delepelaire. Both principals in the Berliner Philharmoniker, we are in for a real treat hearing Noah and Bruno perform Brahms’ Double Concerto. I’m sure you’ll join me in giving them a warm welcome!
Alistair Mackie CHIEF EXECUTIVE
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Formed in 1891, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra (RSNO) is one of Europe’s leading symphony orchestras. Awarded royal patronage by Her Late Majesty The Queen in 1977, its special status in the UK’s cultural life was cemented in 2007 when it was recognised as one of Scotland’s five National Performing Companies, supported by the Scottish Government.
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FIRST VIOLIN
Igor Yuzefovich LEADER
Shlomy Dobrinsky
ASSOCIATE LEADER
Tamás Fejes ASSISTANT LEADER
Patrick Curlett
Elizabeth Bamping
Caroline Parry
Veronica Marziano
Ursula Heidecker Allen
Liam Lynch
Lorna Rough
Susannah Lowdon
Alan Manson
Gill Risi
Daniel Stroud
SECOND VIOLIN
Molly Mason
GUEST PRINCIPAL
Marion Wilson
Paul Medd
Anne Bünemann
Sophie Lang
Robin Wilson
Kirstin Drew
Colin McKee
Helena Rose
Tom Greed
Joe Hodson
Seona Glen
VIOLA
Tom Dunn
PRINCIPAL
Felix Tanner
Asher Zaccardelli
Lisa Rourke
Nicola McWhirter
Claire Dunn
Katherine Wren
Maria Trittinger
Francesca Hunt
Beth Woodford
CELLO
Pei-Jee Ng PRINCIPAL
Betsy Taylor
Kennedy Leitch
Yuuki Bouterey-Ishido
Sarah Digger
Robert Anderson
Gunda Baranauskaitė
Rachael Lee
DOUBLE BASS
Jamie Kenny
GUEST PRINCIPAL
Alexandre Cruz dos Santos
Michael Rae
Yat Hei Lee
Moray Jones
Kirsty Matheson
FLUTE
Katherine Bryan PRINCIPAL
Oliver Roberts
Jack Welch
PRINCIPAL PICCOLO
OBOE
Adrian Wilson
PRINCIPAL
Peter Dykes
CLARINET
Timothy Orpen PRINCIPAL
Duncan Swindells
PRINCIPAL BASS CLARINET
BASSOON
David Hubbard
PRINCIPAL
Jonathan Churchett
HORN
Amadea Dazeley-Gaist PRINCIPAL
Alison Murray
Andrew McLean
Neil Mitchell
Martin Murphy
TRUMPET
Jason Lewis
ASSOCIATE PRINCIPAL
Emily Mitchell
Robert Baxter
TROMBONE
Dávur Juul Magnussen
PRINCIPAL
Cillian Ó Ceallacháin
Alastair Sinclair
PRINCIPAL BASS TROMBONE
TUBA
John Whitener PRINCIPAL
TIMPANI
Matt Hardy
GUEST PRINCIPAL
Danish conductor Thomas Søndergård has been Music Director of the RSNO since 2018, following six seasons as Principal Guest Conductor, and is Music Director of the Minnesota Orchestra. Between 2012 and 2018, he served as Principal Conductor of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales (BBC NOW), after stepping down as Principal Conductor and Musical Advisor of the Norwegian Radio Orchestra.
He has appeared with many notable orchestras in leading European centres, such as Berlin (Berliner Philharmoniker, RundfunkSinfonieorchester Berlin, Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Konzerthausorchester Berlin), Munich (Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunk), Zurich (Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich), Leipzig (Gewandhausorchester), Paris (Orchestre National de France), London (London Philharmonic, BBC Symphony, London Symphony, Philharmonia Orchestra) and Amsterdam and Rotterdam (Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Netherlands Philharmonic, Rotterdam Philharmonic), and is a familiar figure in Scandinavia, with such orchestras as the Oslo Philharmonic, Gothenburg Symphony,
Danish National Symphony, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, Swedish Radio Symphony, Finnish Radio Symphony and Helsinki Philharmonic. North American appearances to date have included the symphony orchestras of New York, Chicago, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Baltimore, St Louis, Toronto, Atlanta, Montreal, Vancouver, Houston and Seattle, and the LA Philharmonic.
Following his acclaimed debut for Royal Danish Opera (Poul Ruder’s Kafka’s Trial), he has since returned to conduct Die Walküre, Elektra, Le nozze di Figaro, Il barbiere di Siviglia, La bohème, The Cunning Little Vixen and Il viaggio a Reims. He has also enjoyed successful collaborations with Norwegian Opera and Royal Swedish Opera. His Stockholm productions of Tosca and Turandot (both with Nina Stemme) led to his Bayerische Staatsoper debut, conducting main season and Opera Festival performances of Turandot with Stemme. He made his Deutsche Oper Berlin debut with the world premiere of Scartazzini’s Edward II and has since returned for Berlioz’s Romeo and Juliet and Strauss’ Elektra.
His discography covers a broad range of contemporary and mainstream repertoire, including Nielsen, Sibelius symphonies and tone poems (with the BBC NOW), Lutosławski and Dutilleux cello concertos (with Johannes Moser and the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin) and violinist Vilde Frang’s celebrated debut recording (with the WDR Köln). With the RSNO on Linn Records Thomas has recorded works by Richard Strauss, Prokofiev, Bacewicz, Lutosławski and Szymanowski.
In 2023, Thomas was a recipient of the Carl Nielsen and Anne-Marie Carl Nielsen’s Foundation award for his outstanding contribution to Danish musical life. In 2022, he was decorated with a prestigious Royal Order of Chivalry, the Order of Dannebrog (Ridder af Dannebrogordenen), by Her Majesty Margrethe II, Queen of Denmark.
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Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
FIRST PERFORMANCE
Cologne, 18 October 1887
DURATION 32 minutes
1. Allegro
2. Andante
3. Vivace non troppo
Brahms’ prime motivation for composing the Double Concerto was to make a gesture of reconciliation with the violinist Joseph Joachim. The two men became close friends in 1853 and established a long and exceptionally fruitful creative partnership, which reached its high point in 1877 when Brahms composed his Violin Concerto for Joachim. But in the 1880s their friendship was seriously ruptured after Joachim became convinced that his wife was having an affair with the publisher Fritz Simrock. Since Brahms had taken the side of Joachim’s wife during divorce proceedings, the violinist decided there and then to sever all connections with the composer.
After years of non-communication, Brahms was anxious to heal the rift. He hatched a plan to write a work that would not only feature a solo part for Joachim but also involve Robert Hausmann, the cellist in Joachim’s string quartet who was largely responsible for promoting the composer’s two Cello Sonatas.
With some trepidation, Brahms sent a letter to Joachim announcing that he had composed the Double Concerto in the hope that he could patch up their relationship. At the same time, he claimed that he would not be at all surprised or embarrassed if Joachim simply declined the invitation. Fortunately, this situation didn’t arise, and in 1887 Joachim and Hausmann appeared together in Cologne to perform the Double Concerto for the first time, with Brahms conducting.
Somewhat unexpectedly, the Double Concerto met with a rather cool reception at its premiere. Critical reactions were somewhat negative, even suggesting the work was dry, unapproachable and lacking in warmth. These denigrating
remarks, emanating from some of the composer’s staunchest advocates, almost certainly resulted in Brahms abandoning any plans for writing more orchestral works.
Nowadays, of course, it seems incomprehensible that the Double Concerto could have provoked such a response. Admittedly, Brahms’ conception eschews conventional gestures of instrumental virtuosity that would normally feature in a concerto, and instead offers a more intellectual and symphonically integrated relationship between soloists and orchestra. On the other hand, there is no decline in the strength and expressive beauty of the work’s main melodic ideas.
The opening Allegro is the most substantial and weighty movement. It begins in the most dramatic manner with a terse statement of the main thematic idea in the full orchestra, which is followed by an extended unaccompanied recitative for both violin and cello that builds to a passionate climax. Thereafter, the movement moves along more conventional structural lines, with some wonderfully subtle thematic interplay between the two soloists.
In comparison, the following two movements are far simpler in design: a meditative Andante featuring a gloriously warm melody played by solo violin and cello an octave apart, and a witty and occasionally sardonic finale, its main themes displaying more than a hint of the Hungarian style that Brahms favoured in so many of his other works.
© Erik Levi
28 Jan The largest-ever snowflake, 38 cm wide and 20 cm thick, was recorded at Fort Keogh, Montana
2 Feb The first Groundhog Day, on which a groundhog ‘predicts’ the arrival of spring, was observed in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania
5 Feb Giuseppe Verdi’s opera Otello premiered at La Scala, Milan
20 Jun Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee was celebrated throughout the British Empire
23 Jun The Rocky Mountains Park Act created Canada’s first national park at Banff, Alberta
13 Aug Hibernian FC defeated Preston North End FC to win the ‘Championship of the World’, after both teams had won their respective domestic Cup competitions
12 Oct Musical instrument maker Yamaha Corporation was founded as Yamaha Organ Manufacturing in Hamamatsu, Japan
6 Nov Celtic FC was founded in Glasgow’s East End by Brother Walfrid to raise money for his Poor Children’s Dinner Table charity
25 Dec Glenfiddich single malt Scotch whisky was first produced
Noah Bendix-Balgley enjoys a wide-ranging musical life as a violinist. He is First Concertmaster of the Berliner Philharmoniker and tours both as a soloist and as a chamber musician.
Highlights include his concerto debut at New York’s Carnegie Hall as the featured soloist on the Berliner Philharmoniker USA tour under Kirill Petrenko, a Japanese tour with the NHK Symphony Orchestra, and concerto appearances with the Philharmonic orchestras of Berlin, Dresden, Auckland and Nagoya. He has performed with the Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra and the Shanghai, Utah, Quebec, Royal Danish and Pittsburgh Symphony orchestras, and toured with Apollo’s Fire performing on period instruments. Noah curated and presented a week-long celebration of the violin as part of his Artist Residency with his hometown Asheville Symphony. His album, Mozart/Sinigaglia, with Petrenko and the Berliner Philharmoniker was released in 2024 to critical acclaim.
Noah is a renowned performer of traditional klezmer music, a musical style that has been part of his life since an early age. He has performed with groups such as Brave Old World, and has taught at many klezmer workshops. In 2016 he composed and premiered his own klezmer violin concerto, Fidl-Fantazye, with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, where he was Concertmaster from 2011 to 2015.
A passionate chamber musician, Noah performs in several fixed ensembles: in a trio with pianist Robert Levin and cellist Peter Wiley, with the Rosamunde String Quartet that includes members of the New York Philharmonic and Chicago Symphony, and with the multi-genre septet Philharmonix, which features members of both the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonic orchestras. Philharmonix tours worldwide, has an ongoing multi-year residency at Vienna’s Konzerthaus, and has released three albums on Deutsche Grammophon.
Born in Asheville, North Carolina, Noah began playing the violin at age four. At nine, he played for Lord Yehudi Menuhin. He graduated from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music and the Munich Hochschule. A laureate of the 2009 Queen Elisabeth Competition, he also won top prizes at the Long-Thibaud Competition in France and the Postacchini Competition in Italy.
A gifted educator, Noah teaches at the Karajan Academy of the Berliner Philharmoniker. He has served on the juries of the Menuhin Competition and Indianapolis International Violin Competition, and as chair of the violin jury at the Carl Nielsen Competition.
Bruno Delepelaire owes the fact that he became a cellist to his grandmother, an enthusiastic amateur cellist. As a five-year-old, he also wanted to learn the instrument. The cello lessons with his first cello teacher Erwan Fauré were formative experiences for him. Bruno later studied at the Paris Conservatoire under Philippe Muller. In 2012 he went to Berlin to continue his training under Jens Peter Maintz at the University of the Arts and under Ludwig Quandt at the Orchestra Academy of the Berliner Philharmoniker, before being appointed First Solo Cellist of the Berliner Philharmoniker in 2013.
Bruno gained orchestral experience with the Verbier Festival Orchestra and Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra, and as a student of the Orchestra Academy of the Berliner Philharmoniker. As a soloist, he has performed with the Berliner Philharmoniker, Bielefelder Philharmoniker, Deutsche Radio Philharmonie Saarbrücken Kaiserslautern, Bayerische Kammerphilharmonie, Berliner Barock Solisten, Württembergische Philharmonie Reutlingen, Münchner Rundfunkorchester, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre de l’Opéra de Nice, Aalborg Symfoniorkester and RSNO under conductors including Semyon Bychkov, Reinhard Goebel, Alexander Kalajdzic, Matthias Pintscher, Michael Sanderling and Thomas Søndergård.
Bruno has won several awards, including first prize at the Karl Davidov International Cello Competition in 2012 and the Markneukirchen International Instrumental Competition in 2013.
Bruno plays a cello made by Matteo Goffriller, on loan from the Karolina Blaberg Foundation.
FIRST PERFORMANCE
St Petersburg, 17 November 1888
DURATION 47 minutes
1. Andante – Allegro con anima
2. Andante cantabile, con alcuna licenza
3. Valse: Allegro moderato
4. Andante maestoso – Allegro vivace
The Fifth Symphony was composed at a time when Russian nationalism had reached fever pitch. There was constant bickering in the press over an apparent conflict between Tchaikovsky’s own Muscovite school and the Kutchka (or Mighty Handful) – Balakirev, Borodin, Cui, Mussorgsky and Rimsky-Korsakov – of St Petersburg. The latter were perceived as true patriots, proudly upholding Russia’s musical heritage, whereas Tchaikovsky was dismissed as a cosmopolitan. It was Igor Stravinsky who later rebalanced the situation, reasoning:
Tchaikovsky’s music, which does not appear specifically Russian to everybody, is often more profoundly Russian than music which has long since been awarded the facile label of ‘Muscovite picturesqueness’. While not specifically cultivating in his art the ‘soul of the Russian peasant’, Tchaikovsky drew unconsciously from the true, popular sources of our race.
For many years Tchaikovsky’s three great ballet scores – Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker – struggled to gain full acceptance due to their epic symphonic sweep, while ironically his symphonies were derided for their balletic leanings. In a 1948 essay entitled The Art of Judging Music, the American composer Virgil Thompson dismissed Tchaikovsky’s symphonies (alongside those of Shostakovich and Sibelius) as music that ‘does not fully or long occupy an adult mind’. It was left to the distinguished musicologist Hans Keller to pose the provocative question, ‘Where would Mahler’s and indeed Schoenberg’s symphonic structures be without Tchaikovsky’s many formal innovations?’
Invariably plagued by self-doubt following the completion of a new score, Tchaikovsky appears to have been exceptionally gloomy regarding the Fifth Symphony, panicking in a letter to his patron Nadezhda von Meck: ‘Am I really played
out as they say? Is the rehashing of old ideas and formulae all I am really capable of?’ His despondency turned to paranoia following the 1888 premiere, after which he chose to interpret the rapturous standing ovation as ‘motivated by my earlier work’, and stupefyingly concluded that it ‘didn’t really please the audience’. It was only after the Symphony had been lavished with praise around the world that he grudgingly conceded to his nephew, Lev Davidov, that ‘perhaps it is not so bad after all’.
The Fifth has proved the most enduringly popular of Tchaikovsky’s seven symphonies (Nos1-6 and the Manfred). Its captivating fusion of Germanic symphonic structure (via Schumann) and the French balletic tradition of Adam and Delibes, coupled with its indelible melodic charm, raw emotional power and overwhelming sense of a glorious triumph won in the face of extreme adversity, has guaranteed it an immortal place in the history of the genre.
Like its immediate predecessor, the Fifth Symphony’s structural progress is articulated and inspired by an opening motto theme (first heard in the clarinet) symbolising Fate. In the manner of Berlioz’s Harold in Italy, its many appearances are signalled in a way that suggests an underlying emotional narrative. This infinitely subtle technique allows Tchaikovsky to constantly reinvigorate his materials, providing the audience with a stream of apparently fresh ideas that yet possess an unerring sense of belonging together.
For example, during the slow movement the motto cries out with searing intensity towards the end, played by the brass, underpinned by thundering timpani. The clarinet steals in with the Fate motif at the close of the waltz-like third movement, and then, utterly transformed in the major key, it introduces the finale and caps it in a blaze of overwhelming affirmation. For some
commentators, this unrestrained outburst of triumphalism has an almost Shostakovich-like ring of a hollow victory about it, as though Tchaikovsky’s pulverising of Fate into submission is laced with withering irony. Whatever the truth of the matter, judging by the brooding melancholy and inexorable despair of his Sixth (Pathétique) Symphony, the battle with his inner demons was certainly far from over.
© Julian Haylock
If you enjoyed Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony, why not try his Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture (12-14 Feb)?
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Mr R Young
Thank you to all our members of the Circle, including Overture members and those who wish to remain anonymous.
If you would like to discuss how you can become an RSNO Circle member, please contact Polly Lightbody, Individual Giving and Partnerships Officer, at polly.lightbody@rsno.org.uk
Charitable trusts and foundations have a distinguished history of supporting the RSNO, both on and off the stage. From one-off donations for specific concerts and musicians’ chairs, to multi-year funding for our community engagement initiatives, including our Schools Programme, every grant in support of our work is truly appreciated. We are grateful to the following trusts and foundations for their generosity:
Aberdeen Endowments Trust
ABO Sirens Fund
Adam Mickiewicz Institute
Alexander Moncur Charitable Trust
Alma & Leslie Wolfson Charitable Trust
Adam Mickiewicz Institute
Balgay Children’s Society
Boris Karloff Charitable Foundation
Brownlie Charitable Trust
Castansa Trust
CMS Charitable Trust
Common Humanity Arts Trust
Cookie Matheson Charitable Trust
Cruden Foundation
David and June Gordon Memorial Trust
Dunclay Charitable Trust
Educational Institute of Scotland
Ettrick Charitable Trust
Fidelio Charitable Trust
Forteviot Charitable Trust
Gannochy Trust
Gaelic Language Promotion Trust
Gordon Fraser Charitable Trust
Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation
Harbinson Charitable Trust
Hobart Charitable Trust
Hugh Fraser Foundation
James Wood Bequest Fund
Jennie S Gordon Memorial Foundation
Jean & Roger Miller’s Charitable Trust
Jimmie Cairncross Charitable Trust
John Scott Trust Fund
John Mather Trust
Jones Family Charitable Trust
JTH Charitable Trust
Leach Family Charitable Trust
Leng Charitable Trust
Lethendy Charitable Trust
Marchus Trust
McGlashan Charitable Trust
Meikle Foundation
Mickel Fund
Miss E C Hendry Charitable Trust
Miss Jean R Stirrat’s Charitable Trust
Murdoch Forrest Charitable Trust
N Smith Charitable Settlement
Nancie Massey Charitable Trust
Noel Coward Foundation
Northwood Charitable Trust
Nugee Foundation
Pear Tree Fund for Music
PF Charitable Trust
Pump House Trust
Q Charitable Trust
R J Larg Family Trust
Ronald Miller Foundation
Rowena Alison Goffin Charitable Trust
Russell Trust
Scops Arts Trust
Scott Davidson Charitable Trust
Scottish Enterprise
Solti Foundation
Souter Charitable Trust
Stanley Morrison Charitable Trust
Stevenston Charitable Trust
Sylvia Aitken Charitable Trust
Tay Charitable Trust
Thriplow Charitable Trust
Tillyloss Trust
W A Cargill Fund
W M Mann Foundation
W M Sword Charitable Trust
Walter Scott Giving Group
Wavendon Foundation
Weir Charitable Trust
Zich Trust
We are also grateful to a number of trusts that wish to stay anonymous.
If you would like more information about our work and how you can make a difference, please contact Niamh Kelly, Trusts and Projects Manager, at niamh.kelly@rsno.org.uk
FUNDERS
PRINCIPAL MEDIA PARTNER
CORPORATE SUPPORTERS
PRINCIPAL TRANSPORT PARTNER
BROADCAST PARTNER
PARTNERS
Adelaide Place • Age Scotland • Black Lives in Music • Charanga • Children’s Classic Concerts
Children’s Hospices Across Scotland • Classic FM • Douglas Academy • Dundee Science Centre
Dunedin Consort • Edinburgh Zoo • Education Scotland • Fanzclub • Gig Buddies • GMAC Film
Heads of Instrumental Teaching Scotland • Hebrides Ensemble Kibble • Luminate • Marine Conservation Society
MARSM • Music Education Partnership Group • ParentZone • The Pyramid at Anderston
Royal Conservatoire of Scotland • Scottish Book Trust • Scottish Chamber Orchestra
Scottish Refugee Council • Sistema Scotland • St Mary’s Music School • Tayside Healthcare Arts Trust
Trees for Life • University of Glasgow • V&A Dundee • Visible Fictions
With thanks to Mr Hedley G Wright and the Springbank Distillery for their support of the RSNO
If you would like more information about sponsorships, corporate partnerships or fundraising events with the RSNO, please contact Constance Fraser, Head of Development (Individuals and Partnerships), at constance.fraser@rsno.org.uk
PATRON
His Majesty The King
ARTISTIC TEAM
Thomas Søndergård
MUSIC DIRECTOR
Patrick Hahn
PRINCIPAL GUEST CONDUCTOR
Celia Llácer
ASSISTANT CONDUCTOR
Ellie Slorach
ENGAGEMENT CONDUCTOR
Kellen Gray
ASSOCIATE ARTIST
Neeme Järvi
CONDUCTOR LAUREATE
Alexander Lazarev
CONDUCTOR EMERITUS
Stephen Doughty DIRECTOR, RSNO CHORUS
Patrick Barrett DIRECTOR, RSNO YOUTH CHORUSES
CHIEF EXECUTIVE
Alistair Mackie
CHIEF EXECUTIVE
Dr Jane Donald
DEPUTY CHIEF EXECUTIVE
Charlotte Jennings
EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT (MATERNITY LEAVE COVER)
Nicola Kelman
EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT (MATERNITY LEAVE)
PLANNING
Tammo Schuelke
DIRECTOR OF ARTISTIC PLANNING
Xander van Vliet
ARTISTIC PLANNING MANAGER
Rachel Pullin
ARTISTIC PLANNING OFFICER
Richard Payne
HEAD OF LIBRARY SERVICES
Megan Bousfield
LIBRARY ASSISTANT
Christine Walker
CHORUS MANAGER
ORCHESTRA MANAGEMENT
Matthias Van Der Swaagh
HEAD OF ORCHESTRA MANAGEMENT
Brodie Smith
DEPUTY ORCHESTRA MANAGER
Megan Walker
ORCHESTRA AND PROJECTS OFFICER
OPERATIONS AND PRODUCTION
Craig Swindells
HEAD OF PRODUCTION
Ashley Holland
STAGE MANAGER
RSNO BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Elected Directors
Gregor Stewart
CHAIR
Gail Blain
HONORARY TREASURER
Ruth Binks
Kayla-Megan Burns
Ken Hay
Kat Heathcote MBE
Don Macleod
David Robinson
John Stewart
David Strachan
Cllr Edward Thornley
NOMINATED DIRECTOR
Julia Miller
COMPANY SECRETARY
Dylan Findlay
ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER
Ted Howie
FACILITIES MANAGER
LEARNING AND ENGAGEMENT
Andrew Stevenson
DIRECTOR OF ENGAGEMENT
Anna Crawford
ENGAGEMENT DELIVERY MANAGER (MATERNITY LEAVE)
Rachel Naismith
ENGAGEMENT DELIVERY MANAGER (MATERNITY COVER)
Maisie Leddy
ENGAGEMENT PRODUCER
Chiko Parkinson
COMMUNITY CHORUS AND PARTNERSHIPS
COORDINATOR SUPPORTED BY SCOTRAIL
EXTERNAL RELATIONS
Dr Jane Donald
DIRECTOR OF EXTERNAL RELATIONS
Carol Fleming
HEAD OF MARKETING
Constance Fraser
HEAD OF DEVELOPMENT (INDIVIDUALS AND PARTNERSHIPS)
Kirsten Reid
HEAD OF DEVELOPMENT (TRUSTS AND PROJECTS) (MATERNITY LEAVE)
Lisa Ballantyne
PARTNERSHIPS OFFICER
Keilidh Bradley
GRADUATE ANIMATOR
Ian Brooke
PROGRAMMES EDITOR
Fred Bruce
TRUSTS AND PROJECTS ADMINISTRATOR
Clara Cowen
MARKETING MANAGER
Player Directors
Katherine Bryan
Christopher Hart
David Hubbard
William Knight
David McClenaghan
Lorna Rough
SCHOOLS ADVISORY GROUP
Ruth Binks
Pam Black
Norman Bolton
Martin Greig
Neil Millar
Mae Murray
Seonaid Eadie
EXTERNAL RELATIONS OFFICER
Katie Kean
COMMUNICATIONS AND MARKETING OFFICER
Niamh Kelly
TRUSTS AND PROJECTS MANAGER
Polly Lightbody
INDIVIDUAL GIVING AND PARTNERSHIPS OFFICER
Graham Ramage
GRAPHIC DESIGNER
Sam Stone
INFORMATION SERVICES MANAGER
Ross Williamson
VIDEO PRODUCER (MARKETING)
AUDIO
Hedd Morfett-Jones
STUDIO MANAGER
Sam McErlean
MEDIA MANAGER AND AUDIO ENGINEER
Ahan Sengupta
TRAINEE AUDIO ENGINEER
FINANCE AND CORPORATE SERVICES
Nicola Mills
DIRECTOR OF FINANCE AND CORPORATE SERVICES
Susan Rennie
HEAD OF FINANCE
Jade Wilson
FINANCE OFFICER
Abby Dennison
FINANCE ADMINISTRATOR
Phoebe Connolly
FINANCE ASSISTANT
Contents © Copyright RSNO and named authors.
DUNDEE THU 19 MAR: 7.30PM
EDINBURGH FRI 20 MAR: 7.30PM
GLASGOW SAT 21 MAR: 7.30PM
Pärt Cantus in Memoriam
Benjamin Britten
Elena Langer The Lives of Birds*
World Premiere Tchaikovsky Symphony No4
Kristiina Poska Conductor
Anna Dennis Soprano
*Commissioned by the RSNO and generously supported by Javan Herberg KC and Jessica Boyd KC
Thursday 11 September 2025, 15:30 Philharmonia Orchestra
Saturday 4 October 2025, 19:30
Scottish Chamber Orchestra
From
Saturday 18 October 2025, 19:30 John Wilson conducts the Tallis Fantasia
Friday 24 October 2025, 19:30
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra Sibelius’s Second Symphony
Thursday 13 November 2025, 19:30
Royal Scottish National Orchestra Also sprach Zarathustra
Wednesday 3 December 2025, 19:30
Scottish Chamber Orchestra The Nutcracker
Sunday 4 January 2026, 15:00
Scottish Chamber Orchestra Viennese New Year
Thursday 5 February 2026, 19:30
Royal Scottish National Orchestra Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony
Friday 20 February 2026, 19:30
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra Mozart’s Piano Concerto No.27
Saturday 21 March 2026, 19:30 Beethoven Night with the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine
Wednesday 13 May 2026, 19:30
Scottish Chamber Orchestra Dvořák 'New World' Symphony
Information correct at the time of printing.
The Scottish Orchestras and Perth Theatre and Concert Hall reserve the right to amend artists and programmes for any of the listed concerts if necessary.
RSNO Scottish Charity No SC010702. SCO Scottish Charity No SC015039. Horsecross Arts Ltd is the charitable organisation that runs Perth Theatre and Concert Hall, Scottish Charity No SC022400.
The Perth Concert Series has been made possible with generous nancial support from The Gannochy Trust. The SCO and RSNO receive funding from the Scottish Government. Concerts by the BBC SSO are scheduled to be recorded for future broadcast on BBC Radio 3.