Learning & Participation
26/27 Overview
Music for Life SCO Learning & Participation
At the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, we know how powerfully music touches hearts and minds, how it celebrates and challenges, and how it connects and moves us.
Reaching over 12,000 people every year, our Learning and Participation (L & P) programme gives people of all ages and backgrounds the opportunity to take part in, create and enjoy music.
This booklet outlines our current programme, which takes our musicians from concert halls into the heart of communities, classrooms and healthcare environments right across Scotland.
Find out more about our L & P programme from some of our participants and workshop leaders.
Photo: Stuart Armitt
25/26 in numbers
12,770 L & P participants
Events in healthcare and community settings 104
481
Dementia-friendly Concerts’ attendance
Family concerts’ attendance
1633
Photo: Stuart Armitt (left) Jen Owens (right)
Schools Concerts’ attendance
206 Events for young people
Local Authorities engaged 11
Creative Families
Music is a powerful connector, strengthening social bonds and helping create spaces where everyone feels they belong. Early engagement with music can lay the foundation for lifelong wellbeing and creating moments of joy and connection.
Our relaxed musical storytelling concerts for children and families, ranging from Big Ears, Little Ears for babies and toddlers to The Great Grumpy Gaboon for ages 6-11, offer playful, multi-sensory introductions to live orchestral music.
These experiences bring our youngest listeners and their grown-ups up close to the magic of performance, making music something they can share together.
Photo: Christopher Bowen Illustrations by Rosie Brooks
For the love of music
“M usic has formed and shaped my life, and who I am as a person”
SARAH DUNCAN Expressive Arts Curriculum Leader, Castlebrae Community Campus
WATCH SARAH’S INTERVIEW
Music for Life
Photo: Christopher Bowen
Creative Learning
Our activity for school pupils and young people, delivered both in and out of school, offers inspiring experiences that can ignite a life-long passion for music and music making.
From our annual Immerse concert series for secondary schools to open rehearsals that reveal the behind-the-scenes world of performance, we create opportunities for school pupils and young people to experience music up close. Our creative music making projects also extend into classrooms at every level – nursery, primary, and secondary – connecting curriculum learning with the excitement of live orchestral music.
For young people eager to express themselves and forge new connections – both musical and social – our VIBE programme offers a creative space beyond the classroom. Currently delivered across the Scottish Borders, VIBE invites young people to explore sound, rhythm, and performance in a hands-on, supportive environment, culminating in a public performance as part of the Borders Music Festival.
Immerse is kindly supported by the Gordon Fraser Charitable Trust, JTH Charitable Trust, Sir Iain Stewart Foundation, and W A Cargill Fund.
VIBE is kindly supported by the Hugo Burge Foundation, Jasmine Foundation, Orcome Trust, Pear Tree Fund for Music, and Young Start, delivered by the National Lottery Community Fund.
Photo: Christopher Bowen
For the love of music
“M usic is another way to tell people who you are.”
ZAC
NEDUMPULLY SCO Academy and Craigmillar Voices participant
Photo: Christopher Bowen
Creative Health
We create opportunities for shared musical experiences through our relaxed dementia-friendly concerts, developed in partnership with the Scottish Dementia Working Group. These fully accessible concerts have been designed to offer moments of joy and social connection, providing a welcoming environment where familiar melodies and classical favourites can be enjoyed by people living with a dementia together with loved ones.
Dementia-friendly concerts are kindly supported by the Dementia Trust, Mrs Elizabeth Lornie’s Charitable Trust, and Queensberry House Trust.
Photo: Stuart Armitt
In association with
For the love of music
“ S ince I was young, music has meant everything to me.”
Scottish Dementia Working Group
Photo: Christopher Bowen
KENNY MOFFAT
Creative Health
In line with the Scottish Government’s Realistic Medicine approach, our health initiatives champion creative interventions that enhance wellbeing and improve quality of life.
ReConnect is our regular workshop programme designed to enrich the lives of people living with a dementia. Delivered in hospital wards, care homes and day centres, it offers weekly music sessions that spark joy, creativity and human connection for participants, families and caregivers alike.
Concerts on Prescription is our social prescribing initiative that offers free tickets to SCO concerts for individuals who could benefit from the restorative power of music, helping to combat loneliness, improve wellbeing, and support health outcomes.
ReConnect is kindly supported by the Dementia Trust, D’Oyly Carte Charitable Trust, Mrs Elizabeth Lornie’s Charitable Trust, Northwood Charitable Trust, Plum Trust, Queensberry House Trust, RS MacDonald Charitable Trust, Samuel Gardner Memorial Trust, and Walter Scott Giving Group.
Photo: Fraser Band.
For the love of music
“ Th ere’s little miracles that happen in every session.”
JANE BENTLEY
ReConnect Leader and community music specialist
Photo: Christopher Bowen
Creative Futures
Music can build talent, shape futures and provide a pathway for growth, skillbuilding, and professional opportunities.
We support young musicians through SCO Academy, delivered in partnership with a number of Instrumental Music Services in Scotland. SCO Academy gives young people aged 11-18 the chance to develop ensemble music making skills, build confidence, and grow as performers alongside peers, SCO musicians and conductors. Each SCO Academy culminates in a side-by-side performance as part of the SCO’s main season.
For young people who want to discover more about a career in the performing
arts, Backstage Pass is our creative careers event designed for S4–S5 students, offering an in-depth look at the wide range of opportunities within the performing arts sector.
Soundbox is our mentoring programme for artists from any musical and cultural background, including those not traditionally associated with classical music, offering the chance for music creators and composers to experiment with the chamber music format, with guidance and support from the SCO’s Associate Composer Jay Capperauld.
SCO Academy is kindly supported by the Cockaigne Fund and Scops Arts Trust.
Photo: Christopher Bowen
For the love of music
“ W riting music expresses the parts of me which can’t be expressed through words”
DAN ABRAHAMS Composer and Soundbox alumni
Photo: Christopher Bowen
4 Royal Terrace
Edinburgh EH7 5AB
+44 (0)131 557 6800 sco.org.uk
The Scottish Chamber Orchestra is a charity registered in Scotland No. SC015039. Company registration No. SC075079
Every effort is made to ensure that all information is correct at the time of going to print. The SCO reserves the right to change dates, artists or programmes if necessary.
Photo: Scottish Chamber Orchestra
Front cover photo:Stuart Armitt
