Scottish Sinfonia

Sinfonia was founded in 1970 by Neil Mantle, who has conducted it ever since in over two hundred concerts. It has a basic playing strength of ninety players, augmented as required from a pool of around 160 members.

The orchestra is a highly successful mixture of professional players, instrumental teachers and amateurs with an age range of seventeen to seventy, all united in one common aim: to make music to the highest standard of which they are capable.

Each concert has six 3-hour rehearsals spread over a period of three weeks. The orchestra has been led with distinction for thirty six of its forty nine years by Michael Rigg, who is a member of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra.

Since 2011, St. Cuthbert's Church, with its excellent acoustics, has been the orchestra's home: not only for performances, but also for all rehearsals — an inestimable benefit both musically, but also practically.

Sinfonia is an ensemble at home in a wide variety of musical styles,but is especially noted for its performances of Bruckner, Elgar and Mahler; in fact, the orchestra's complete cycle of Mahler symphonies released on compact disc has, together with recordings of several Bruckner symphonies, done much to promote the orchestra's work abroad — notably the U.S.A. and Japan.

We look forward to our 50th Anniversary Season, including a celebratory performance of Mahler's epic "Resurrection Symphony" in the Usher Hall in November 2020. Plans are also advancing for the Sinfonia's first trip outside the UK in October 2021.