The Royal Scottish National Orchestra
is one of Europe's leading symphony orchestras. Formed in 1891 as the Scottish Orchestra, the company became the Scottish National Orchestra in 1950, and was awarded Royal Patronage in 1991. Throughout its proud history, the Orchestra has played an important part in Scotland's musical life, including performing at the opening ceremony of the Scottish Parliament building in 2004. Many renowned conductors have contributed to its success, including Walter Susskind, Sir Alexander Gibson, Bryden Thomson, Conductor Laureate Neeme Järvi, Conductor Emeritus Walter Weller, Conductor Emeritus Alexander Lazarev and most recently, Stéphane Denève.

The 2012:13 Season marks the beginning of a new era for the RSNO as celebrated British-Canadian musician and conductor Peter Oundjian officially takes up his position as Music Director and Danish conductor Thomas Søndergård begins his tenure as Principal Guest Conductor. These changes to the artistic team are augmented further by the recent appointments of two new Leaders, James Clark and Maya Iwabuchi. The 2012:13 Season also marks the final year of Dane Christian Kluxen's three-year term as RSNO Assistant Conductor.

The RSNO performs across Scotland, including concerts in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee, Aberdeen, Perth and Inverness. The Orchestra appears regularly at the Edinburgh International Festival and recent appearances in England have included Manchester's Bridgewater Hall, Leeds Town Hall, The Sage, Gateshead and at the BBC Proms in London. In recent years, the RSNO has performed in Shetland, Orkney, France, Germany, Spain, Austria, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Serbia. The Orchestra will visit Asia for the first time in 2012:13 with a tour to China over Hogmanay and the first week of the New Year.

The Orchestra is joined for choral performances by the RSNO Chorus, directed by Timothy Dean. The RSNO Chorus evolved from a choir formed in 1843 to sing the first full performance of Handel's Messiah in Scotland. Today, the RSNO Chorus is one of the most distinguished large symphonic choruses in Britain, with a membership of around 160. In recent years, the Chorus has performed practically every work in the standard choral repertoire along with contemporary works by renowned composers, including John Adams, Magnus Lindberg, Howard Shore and James MacMillan.

The acclaimed RSNO Junior Chorus, formed in 1978 by Jean Kidd, also performs regularly alongside the Orchestra. Since 1994 it has been directed by popular Chorus Director, Christopher Bell, and has expanded its membership to almost 300, with members aged from eight right up to eighteen. It has built up a considerable reputation singing under some of the world's most distinguished conductors and appearing on radio and television.

The RSNO has a worldwide reputation for the quality of its recordings, receiving the Diapason d'Or de l'année for Symphonic Music (Denève/Roussel 2007) and eight Grammy Awards nominations over the last decade. Over 200 releases are available, including the complete symphonies of Sibelius (Gibson), Prokofiev (Järvi), Glazunov (Serebrier), Nielsen and Martinů (Thomson), Roussel (Denève) and the major orchestral works of Debussy (Denève).

The RSNO's education and community partnerships team has a hugely varied programme of activity developing musical talent and appreciation in people of all ages and abilities throughout Scotland. From an extensive range of Schools Concerts, complemented by workshops and creative projects for school children of all ages, to the annual week-long Out and About, where the Orchestra embeds itself in the heart of a Scottish community, the team aims to connect the Orchestra, its music and musicians with individuals and communities all over Scotland.

Neeme Järvi
The head of a musical dynasty, Neeme Järvi is one of today’s most highly respected maestros. He conducts the world’s most prominent orchestras and works alongside soloists of the highest calibre. A prolific recording artist, he has amassed a discography of nearly 500 recordings.

Over his long and highly successful career he has held positions with orchestras across the world. Last season he took up his tenure as Artistic and Music Director of the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande. He is also currently Artistic Director of the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra and Music Director Emeritus of both the Residentie Orkest Netherland Hague and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. He also holds the titles of Principal Conductor Emeritus of the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra and Conductor Laureate of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra.

Recent and future seasons include engagements with the Berliner Philharmoniker, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Czech Philharmonic Orchestra and Wiener Symphoniker, as well as the major orchestras in the USA, and regular engagements with the NHK and Singapore symphony orchestras. He also continues his regular relationships with the Bergen Philharmonic Orchetra, Swedesh National Orchestra of Gothenburg and the Royal Scottish National orchestras (for a number of recording and concert projects).

Highlights of an impressive discography include critically acclaimed complete symphony cycles of Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Richard Strauss, Mahler, Dvořak, Glazunov, Grieg, Sibelius, Nielsen and Brahms. Järvi has also championed less widely known composers such as Wilhelm Stenhammar, Hugo Alfvén and Niels Gade, Franz Berwald, Johann Svendsen and Johann Halvorsen of Norway and composers from his native Estonia, including Rudolf Tobias, Artur Kapp and Eduard Tubin. Throughout his career he has recorded with Chandos, Deutsche Grammophon, BIS and EMI amongst others.

Future releases on Chandos include Tchaikovsky’s complete ballets, Symphonies and orchestral Music by a Swiss Composer Joachim Raff. Also music by Massenet, Chabrier, Saint-Saëns, Suppé, Atterberg, Xaver, Scharwenka, etc. Neeme Järvi has been honoured with many international awards and accolades. From his native country these include an honorary doctorate from the Music and Theatre Academy and the Order of the National Coat of Arms from the President of the Republic of Estonia, Mr. Lennart Meri. The Mayor of Tallinn presented Maestro Järvi with the city’s first-ever ceremonial sash and coat of arms insignia, and he has been named one of the “Estonians of the Century”. Neeme Järvi holds an honorary doctorate of Humane Letters from Detroit’s Wayne State University and the University of Michigan, as well as honorary doctorates from the University of Aberdeen and the Royal Swedish Academy of Music. He has also received the Commander of the North Star Order from King Karl XVI Gustaf of Sweden.