SCO Education's flagship listening project for standard and higher grade students reaches over 30 secondary schools and tours to six Scottish regions every year. Since its inception in 1998 this highly popular and adventurous programme has put established classics and contemporary music under the microscope.

Masterworks 2007

Masterworks is the well-established SCO Education project which has had huge success in engaging young listeners by stimulating their active listening, challenging the notion that contemporary classical music is ‘difficult’ for young audiences.

Following a series of well-received teachers’ sessions in August, a team of ten intrepid SCO musicians – working in pairs - visited 28 secondary schools across six local authorites in September. Between them the players met over 1,000 young musicians, introducing them to some of the ideas behind the music.
SCO Principal Trumpet Peter Franks leads a Masterworks schools workshop

The final week in September saw the full SCO (under conductor Baldur Brönniman) playing to packed audiences of young people in Edinburgh’s Queen’s Hall and Glasgow’s City Halls. Focusing on repertoire which started life written for piano before being rescored for full orchestra, presenter Paul Rissmann led a ‘guided tour’ – illustrated by full orchestra – of Liszt (arr. John Adams) The Black Gondola and Lutoslawski Partita for Violin and Orchestra, followed by a full concert performance.

Masterworks Performance 2006

But the work doesn’t stop here. Advanced Higher Music pupils are now in the midst of writing their own new music inspired by the Masterworks repertoire, under the guidance of composers Stephen Deazley and Alasdair Nicolson with SCO musicians.

And there’s more! Following the schools’ performances, the SCO (with Baldur Brönniman and Paul Rissmann) returned to Glasgow City Halls to film the Masterworks presentation and performance. With help from our friends at SATV, the resulting footage will be edited to create a lasting DVD resource of this year’s project, available free to all participating schools.

The live performance had a great effect and really let you hear the concepts they were discussing. (Pupil, Stirling)

If you’d like more information about Masterworks 2007, please contact Louise Martin, Education Projects Manager (louise@sco.org.uk or 0131 478 8342).

Masterworks 2007 has been made possible with support from the Scottish Arts Council,  the Foyle Foundation, the Merchants’ House (Glasgow) and the Ernest Cook Trust.

To read about Masterworks 2006 click here

Comments from past Masterworks concerts have included:

"A fabulous experience for my pupils to experience live orchestral playing of the highest degree.  The opportunity to hear a composition 'dissected' is superb.  Can we have some more please?!"

(Music Teacher, Stirling)

"It was an amazing and educational experience that opened our eyes to a new concept of music and sound"

(Pupil, Dumfries and Galloway)

For more information about past Masterworks projects please see our archive, or contact Louise Martin 0131 4788342

Back to Current Projects

If you would like more information about SCO Education's programme of projects, please contact:

Lucy Perry - 0131 478 8355
SCO Education
SCO, 4 Royal Terrace, Edinburgh, EH7 5AB