Live Mozart’s Great Mass in C minor Fri 28 – Sat 29 November

Danish conductor Thomas Søndergård is the Music Director of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, following six seasons as Principal Guest Conductor, as well as the Music Director of the Minnesota Orchestra. Between 2012 and 2018, he served as Principal Conductor of 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 (including Berliner Philharmoniker, Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Konzerthausorchester Berlin), Munich (Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunk), Zurich (Tonhalle Orchester Zurich), Leipzig (Gewandhausorchester), Paris (Orchestre National de France), London (London Philharmonic, BBC Symphony, London Symphony and Philharmonia Orchestra), Amsterdam and Rotterdam (Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Netherlands Philharmonic, Rotterdam Philharmonic) and is a familiar figure in Scandinavia, with such orchestras as 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. He has also made highly successful tours to China, Korea, Australia and New Zealand.

Highlights with the RSNO this season include Mahler’s epic Symphony No. 2, a collaboration with Dunedin Consort, and closing the season with a celebration of the music of Dmitri Shostakovich. With the Minnesota Orchestra in 2024/25, Thomas leads a diverse range of programmes, including a Nordic Composers Festival, concert performances of Puccini’s Turandot, and projects with leading soloists such as Yunchan Lim, Isabelle Faust, Julia Bullock and Bruce Liu. Other highlights for Thomas this season include his debut with Los Angeles Philharmonic, as well as returns to Deutsche Oper Berlin (Elektra), Den Norske Opera (Peer Gynt), and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. Thomas will also lead a project with the Aarhus Symfoniorkester celebrating the 750th anniversary of the city of Holstebro – his home city.

As part of the 2015 anniversary celebrations of both Sibelius and Nielsen, he conducted a wide variety of their works with many leading orchestras. A passionate supporter of the music of Carl Nielsen, his performances with the Swedish Radio Symphony of his Symphony No. 5 was praised as “equal of the great pioneers of Nielsen interpretation… It’s hard to imagine a finer performance of this remarkable symphony.” (Dagens Nyheter); and in 2019 participated in a special concert to celebrate Nielsen’s works with the Royal Danish Academy of Music Copenhagen.

Following his acclaimed debut for Royal Danish Opera (Kafka’s Trial), he has since returned regularly to conduct a broad repertoire, including Die Walküre, which won the 2022 Reumert Award for Best Opera Production, Elektra, Le nozze di Figaro, Il barbiere di Siviglia, La bohème, Cunning Little Vixen, Il viaggio a Reims; and has also made short concert tours with the Royal Danish Orchestra. 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 her and he most recently returned to for the Opera’s Akademiekonzert series. 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.

His discography covers a broad range of contemporary and mainstream repertoire, including Carl Nielsen (The Royal Danish Orchestra, Naxos Records), Poul Ruders (Arhus Symphony, Norwegian Radio, Royal Danish Opera (Kafka’s Trial) for Da Capo and Bridge Records); Sibelius symphonies and tone poems with BBC NOW and Prokofiev and Richard Strauss with RSNO for Linn Records; Lutoslawski and Dutilleux concertos with ‘cellist Johannes Moser and Rundfunk Sinfonieorchester Berlin (Pentatone); and Vilde Frang’s celebrated debut recording (WDR Koln for EMI).

In October 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 January 2022, Thomas was decorated with a prestigious Royal Order of Chivalry – the Order of Dannebrog (Ridder af Dannebrogordenen) by Her Majesty Margrethe II, Queen of Denmark.

When did you join the RSNO?
I joined the RSNO in November 2016

Where are you from?
Newark, Nottinghamshire

Where did you study?
The Royal Welsh College it Music & Drama (BMus) and the Royal Academy of Music (Master of Arts)

What do you enjoy most about being in the RSNO?
The chance to play lots of fantastic repertoire, and living in Scotland.

Tell us your favourite RSNO story/memory so far.
Performing Mahler’s Fifth Symphony with my parents in the audience was pretty special.

What do you enjoy doing when you’re not playing with the Orchestra?
Swimming, cycling and photography.

Do you have any hidden talents?
No… I’m a one-trick pony I’m afraid!

You’re stranded on a desert island. You’re allowed 3 CDs and 1 book. What would they be, and why?
Steve Wonder’s Original Musiquariam – his music is flawlessly produced and a lot of it is very poignant; AC/DC Back in Black – it’s just awesome; if I’m allowed a compendium then I would go for Gergiev’s Mahler cycle with the LSO, the Mahler symphonies 5 and 6 have the most fantastic trumpet playing on them, and I’d have to have one bit of trumpet geekery to sustain me! I don’t know what I’d choose for a book, something with a bit of fantasy in it but still with humour… anything by Terry Pratchett would be a good start!

Praised by critics and loved by audiences for her beauty of tone and impeccable artistry, soprano Mojca Erdmann is a star in the international music scene. She is known for her broad repertoire – ranging from baroque to contemporary music – which she performs in major opera houses, festivals, and concert halls worldwide.

In the 2024/25 season, Mojca Erdmann demonstrated her versatility on the concert stage. In the Pierre Boulez Saal, the soprano performed Arnold Schoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire and Chamber Symphony No. 1 together with the Boulez Ensemble and under the direction of Zubin Mehta to mark the 150th anniversary of the composer’s birth. On the concert stage of the Arena di Verona, Erdmann sang Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 under the direction of Wolfram Christ before returning to the Pierre Boulez Saal. Here she sang Gustav Mahler’s Rückert-Lieder in the arrangement by Philip Hefti. With conductor Adam Fischer, Mojca Erdmann made her debut in the role of Elsa in a concert version of Wagner’s Lohengrin at the Konzerthaus Copenhagen. After that, Erdmann performed a recital with Malcolm Martineau in Sociedad Filarmónica de Bilbao before traveling to Palermo’s Teatro Politeama, where she sings Bach’s St. John Passion under the direction of Lothar Koenigs. The soprano will end her season with concerts at the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg: together with the Hamburg Philharmonic State Orchestra and under the direction of Kent Nagano, she sings the world premiere of Alex Nante’s symphony Anahata.

In the 2023/24 season, Mojca Erdmann made her role and house debut at the Royal Danish Opera in Copenhagen, portraying Vitellia in a new production of La clemenza di Tito, directed by Jetske Mijnssen. She also took on the roles of Klara and Therese in a new production of Roman Haubenstock-Ramati’s opera Amerika at the Opernhaus Zürich. A highly sought-after concert singer, Erdmann opened the season in San Sebastián’s Kursaal with Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 “Symphony of a Thousand,” conducted by Robert Treviño. In the Queen Elisabeth Hall in Antwerp, she sang Lyric Symphony by Alexander Zemlinsky under the baton of Kevin John Edusei. At Müpa Budapest, she was heard as soloist in The Creation (Haydn), conducted by Adam Fischer. Other highlights of the season included her appearances at the Musikverein Vienna, the Mozart Festival in Augsburg, the Whitsun Festival in Baden-Baden together with the SWR Symphony Orchestra, as well as her recital with Malcolm Martineau.

In the 2022/2023 season, Erdmann debuted as Doña Clara in Alexander Zemlinsky’s Der Zwerg at the Ópera de Tenerife. As artist-in-residence at the CSO Ada Ankara Concert Hall, she presented three different programs including works by Mendelssohn, Reimann and Schönberg. Mojca Erdmann also sang Berg’s Seven Early Songs together with the Copenhagen Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Christoph Eschenbach at the Konservatoriets Koncertsal in Copenhagen and made her debut with Wolfgang Rhim’s Aria/Ariadne “Szenarie” under the musical direction of Gianandrea Noseda at the Opernhaus Zürich. She sang Jörg Widmann’s Arche at the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg and performed Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater and J.S. Bach’s Ich habe genug at the Kölner Philharmonie. Together with pianist Elena Bashkirova, Mojca Erdmann gave several chamber music recitals in Geneva and Andermatt as well as at the Cité de la musique in Paris. Joined by Malcolm Martineau, she presented a program of works by Robert Schumann, Clara Schumann and Johannes Brahms at the Narodni Dom in Maribor.

Highlights of past seasons include her appearances at the Metropolitan Opera New York as Susanna (Le nozze di Figaro), Zerlina (Don Giovanni) and Waldvogel (Siegfried). Zerlina was also the role of her debut at the Teatro Real Madrid in 2013. Much acclaimed was Mojca Erdmann’s debut in the title role in Alban Berg’s opera Lulu in a new production by Andrea Breth and conducted by Daniel Barenboim at the Staatsoper Berlin. Lulu advanced to become one of her signature roles, and she sang a new production by William Kentridge at the Amsterdam Opera and Christoph Marthaler’s award-winning production at the Hamburg State Opera, conducted by Kent Nagano. In 2014, the soprano interpreted Marzelline in a new production of Beethoven’s Fidelio as part of La Scala’s season opening, which is traditionally broadcast live worldwide on TV. At the Aix-en-Provence Festival, Mojca Erdmann could be heard as Waldvogel in Siegfried with the Berlin Philharmonic under Sir Simon Rattle. Since her debut at the 2006 Salzburg Festival in the title role of Mozart’s Zaide under Ivor Bolton, Mojca Erdmann has returned to the stage as Zelmira in Haydn’s Armida and as Sophie in a new production of Strauss’ Der Rosenkavalier, among other roles. In 2013 she also sang a series of world premieres with the Scharoun Ensemble as part of the festival.

An unusually versatile performer, Mojca Erdmann is much sought after for her interpretation of contemporary music: she made her debut with the Berlin Staatsoper in the world premiere of Takemitsu – My Way of Life, conducted by Kent Nagano. In 2009, she performed the title role in Wolfgang Rihm’s monodrama Proserpina and the following year Rihm entrusted her with the lead soprano role in his new opera Dionysos, which saw its world premiere at the Salzburg Festival in 2010 and had its German premiere at the Staatsoper Berlin in 2012. Mojca Erdmann’s interpretations of Toshio Hosokawa’s opera Stilles Meer at the Hamburg State Opera and Widmann’s monumental opera Babylon at the Berlin State Opera also earned unanimous critical acclaim. In 2019, Mojca Erdmann collaborated with Paavo Järvi. She joined the Berliner Philharmoniker for a rendition of Alban Berg’s Seven Early Songs, which can be viewed online in the Digital Concert Hall. That same year, Erdmann, under Järvi’s direction, performed the role of Marcellina in Fidelio with the NHK Symphony Orchestra in Japan.

In 2020, Mojca Erdmann took on one of the two leading roles in Luca Francesconi’s two-person play Quartett, based on Heiner Müller’s play. The German version premiered at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden Berlin under the direction of Daniel Barenboim.

The soprano is featured on numerous studio recordings, such as an acclaimed version of Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 with the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra under Jonathan Nott, or Ravel’s L’enfant et les sortilèges with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra under Sir Simon Rattle, released by Sony. In 2011 she released a solo album of arias by Mozart and Mozart’s contemporaries entitled Mozart’s Garden on Deutsche Grammophon. In 2020, Neos released the album Die Schneekönigin, conducted by David Philip Hefti, in which the soprano took the lead role. Together with Daniel Barenboim on piano and Zubin Mehta conducting, Pierre Boulez Hall recorded Arnold Schoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire and Crumb’s Ancient Voices in 2021. In 2022 Pentatone presented a new album Hans Sommer Orchestral Songs with Mojca Erdmann in the soloist quartet.

Born in Hamburg, Mojca Erdmann received her first violin lessons at the age of six and sang in the children’s choir of the Hamburg State Opera. After graduating from high school, she studied singing with Hans Sotin at the Cologne University of Music in parallel with violin studies. In 2002, she not only won first prize at the German National Singing Competition, but also the special prize for contemporary music. In 2005 she was awarded the NDR Music Prize by the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival and the Luitpold Prize by the Kissinger Sommer.

See Mojca Erdmann perform Mozart’s Great Mass in C minor with the RSNO on 28 & 29 November 2025.

Scottish mezzo-soprano Katie Coventry returned to the Salzburg Landestheater for 24/25, her roles included Hänsel Hänsel und Gretel and Marchesa Melibea Il Viaggio a Reims.

She started the 2023/24 season with her role debut as Rosina in Rossini’s Barber of Seville at the Salzburg Landestheater. Other roles in 23/24 Salzburg include Orlofsky Die Fledermaus, Cecilio Lucio Silla, and Daisy Anthropocene.

In 2022/2023, Katie made her debut at The Royal Danish Opera covering the role of Offred in Paul Ruder’s Handmaid’s Tale. In a season full of debuts, Katie also made her debut with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra singing the solo line in the Scott of the Antarctic film with orchestra under the baton of Andrew Manze as well as her debut with English Touring Opera singing the role of Orsini in Lucrezia Borgia and covering the role of Sesto in Giulio Cesare. A last-minute stand-in, Katie reprised Scott of the Antarctic with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Martyn Brabbins.

In the 2021/22 season, Katie made her debut at Reisoper in the role of Sesto in Giulio Cesare; a production which then transferred to the Handelfestspiele Göttingen. Later that season, Katie made her delayed debut with the Hallé Orchestra as Kate Pinkerton in Madame Butterfly before returning to the Glyndebourne Festival covering Ruggiero in Alcina, stepping in to sing three performances, marking her stage debut with them. Previous cover roles at Glyndebourne include Zaida in Rossini’s Il Turco in Italia and Dorabella in Cosi fan tutte.

In summer 2020, Katie returned to the Salzburg Festspiele singing the role of second maid in Strauss’s Elektra under the direction of Krzysztof Warlikowski and baton of Franz WelserMöst.

As a previous Harewood Artist, Katie has a close relationship with ENO. She made her ENO début as Edith in Pirates of Penzance and in 2017 made her role début there as Cherubino. Previous roles include cover Offred in Handmaid’s Tale, Second woman in Harrison Birtwistle’s The Mask of Orpheus, the title role of Marnie and Shadow Marnie 2 and Kitchen Boy in Rusalka. The Rusalka production was due to transfer to the Grand Théâtre de Luxembourg, which would have been Katie’s house debut, however this was unfortunately affected by the pandemic.

During the 2018/19 season, Katie was part of the ensemble at the Salzburger Landestheater. Roles there included Rosette Manon,  Doralice La Gazzetta, Cherubino Le Nozze di Figaro, Zerlina Don Giovanni and in Philip Glass’s The Trial. Other recent engagements include her house debut at the Teatro Real, Madrid as Jennie Hildebrand in Street Scene, covering the role of Annio for Glyndebourne Festival Opera and the second soprano solo in Mozart’s C minor mass, with Sir Roger Norrington and the Camerata Salzburg.

A participant of the Salzburg Festival’s Young Singer Project in 2018, Katie is a recent graduate from the Royal College of Music International Opera School where she studied with Tim Evans-Jones as an Independent Opera Voice Scholar. Her roles for RCMIOS include Ramiro La Finta Giardiniera, Hänsel Hänsel und Gretel, Prince Orlofsky Die Fledermaus, Nancy Albert Herring and L’Écureuil and La Chatte L’enfant et les sortilèges. Other roles include Ariodante Ariodante (London Handel Festival), Kate Julian Owen Wingrave, The Fox The Cunning Little Vixen (British Youth Opera), Mazet La Colombe (Opera Danube/ West Green House Opera) and Stephano Roméo et Juliette (Opera Bearwood).

Katie was a finalist for the inaugural Grange Festival International Singing Competition, the winner of the 2017 Joaninha Award and is also an Independent Opera Voice Fellow.

On the concert platform, Katie has performed in such works as the Mozart Requiem at the Royal Albert Hall and Cadogan Hall, Duruflé Requiem at Southwark Cathedral, Haydn Nelson Mass at Riga Dom and numerous other oratorio works at St James’ Piccadilly and St Martin-in-the-Fields. Other concert works include Canteloube’s Chants d’Auvergne and most recently Stravinsky’s Pulcinella with Vladimir Jurowski and the RCM Symphony Orchestra.

See Katie Coventry perform Mozart’s Great Mass in C minor with the RSNO on 28 & 29 November 2025 and Ravel’s L’enfant et les sortilèges on 27 & 28 March 2026.

Edgardo Rocha is one of today’s foremost interpreters of bel canto repertoire, praised for his warm timbre, lively coloratura, and brilliant high notes. Since making his European debut in the title role of Gianni di Parigi by Donizetti at the Festival della Valle d’Itria di Martina Franca, the tenor is a frequent guest in the world’s leading opera houses and festivals, which include Opernhaus Zürich, Grand Théâtre de Genève, Bayerische Staatsoper, Vienna State Opera and the Salzburg Festival.

In the 2024/25 season, the tenor made his debut in the role of Florestano in Ferdinando Paër’s rarely performed operatic jewel, Leonora, for Chicago Opera Theater. This was the first fully staged production in the world to use the new critical edition of the score, recently released by Bärenreiter. The production was staged by Lawrence Edelson and led by Dame Jane Glover. In his debut for the Washington Concert Opera, Rocha was heard in the title role of La clemenza di Tito under the baton of Antony Walker. Rocha returned to the Vienna State Opera for a highly anticipated role debut as Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni, directed by Barrie Kosky. Don Ottavio was Rocha’s vehicle to return to Opera de Monte-Carlo in Vienna State Opera’s semi-staged production of Don Giovanni as a part of the Mozart à Monaco festival. Further performances in Vienna include Barrie Kosky’s production of Così fan tutte in the role of Ferrando and Ernesto in the revival of Irina Brook’s production of Don Pasquale, and a reprisal of his signature role of Almaviva in Il barbiere di Siviglia.

On the concert stage, Rocha is the tenor soloist in Rossini’s Stabat Mater at the Wiener Konzerthaus, in collaboration with the ORF Radio Symphony Vienna and the Wiener Singakademie under Maestro Oscar Jockel.

Edgardo Rocha’s 2023/24 season included his first performances with the Los Angeles Opera as Almaviva in Il barbiere di Siviglia and role-debuts as Rinuccio in Gianni Schicchi at Opera Monte Carlo and as the titular character in La clemenza di Tito at Salzburg’s Mozartwoche, staged by Rolando Villazón and Bettina Geyer. He returned to Opernhaus Zürich as Lindoro in L’italiana in Algeri and concluded his season with Donizetti’s Tudor trilogy at Grand Théâtre de Genève in his debut of the title role in a new production of Roberto Devereux and reprisal performances as Percy in Anna Bolena and Robert Dudley in Maria Stuarda.

In the 2022/23 season Rocha debuted as Robert Dudley in Maria Stuarda at the Grand Théâtre de Genève, where he also performed as Lord Percy (Anna Bolena) and as Lyonel in Halévy’s L’éclair. With Opernhaus Zürich, he sang his first performances of Gérald in Lakmé and was also heard in the title role in Le comte Ory. Additionally, he returned to Teatro Real de Madrid to perform the role of Don Narciso (Il turco in Italia), was Don Ramiro (La cenerentola) for the Bayerische Staatsoper, sang Elvino (La sonnambula) at Opera Nice Côte d’Azur and at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein, and appeared as Almaviva (Il barbiere di Siviglia) at the Salzburger Festspiele.

Throughout Rocha’s career, one of his most eminent roles has been Don Ramiro (La cenerentola), which he has sung in many leading opera houses including Grand Théâtre de Genève, Vienna State Opera, Seattle Opera, Opera de Monte Carlo, and the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, among others. In 2017, Rocha took part in a great tournée of La cenerentola together with the mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli, celebrating the 200th anniversary of the first performance of Rossini’s masterpiece.

Another cornerstone of Rocha’s repertoire is Almaviva in Il barbiere di Siviglia. He has seen myriad performances of the role, notably at the Vienna State Opera, Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia, Teatro Real in Madrid, Bayerische Staatsoper, Semperoper Dresden, Paris Opera, Opernhaus Zürich, Teatro San Carlo di Napoli and at the Salzburg Festival.

Edgardo Rocha has recently appeared as Lindoro (L’italiana in Algeri) at the Vienna State Opera, Gran Teatro di Liceo and Salzburg Festival; Don Narciso (Il turco in Italia) at the Teatro Regio di Torino, Opernhaus Zürich and Teatro alla Scala; Belfiore (ll viaggio a Reims) at Opernhaus Zürich, Semperoper Dresden and the Bolshoi Theatre; and Giacomo V (La donna del lago) at Salzburg Pfingstfestpiele and Opéra de Marseille.

Donizetti has proven to be an essential composer as well for the tenor – Rocha has been heard in the role of Ernesto (Don Pasquale) at the Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Teatro dell’Opera di Roma and the Verona Philharmonic Theater; the title role in Gianni di Parigi at the Wexford Opera Festival; and Riccardo Percy (Anna Bolena) in its original version from 1830 at the Opéra de Lausanne.

Among other highlights of Edgardo Rocha’s career are the roles of Ferrando (Così fan tutte) at the Teatro San Carlo di Napoli and Teatro Regio di Torino, Nadir (Les pêcheurs de perles) at Opera de Nancy, Arturo (I Puritani) at the Stuttgart Opernhaus and Leopold in Halevy’s La Juive at the Bayerische Staatsoper alongside Roberto Alagna.

Born in Rivera, Uruguay and educated in piano, choral and orchestra conducting at the Montevideo University School of Music, he studied singing with Alba Tonelli, Beatriz Pazos and Raquel Pierotti. After moving to Italy in 2008, he continued his studies with the tenor Salvatore Fisichella and the Rossini tenor Rockwell Blake. Edgardo won numerous international vocal competitions, including 51º Concurso de Juventudes musicales del Uruguay, Giulio Neri in Siena and Primo Palcoscenico in Cesena.

See Edgardo Rocha perform Mozart’s Great Mass in C minor with the RSNO on 28 & 29 November 2025.

Andreas Landin, baritone, was born in Sweden and educated in Stockholm and at the Opera Academy at the Royal Opera in Copenhagen. In his early career he specialised in contemporary music and has sung more than thirty contemporary opera parts, many of them composed directly for him. He has also performed numerous oratories and art songs by contemporary composers. Church music has always been a big part of his repertory and he has sung most of the classic and baroque oratories.

In recent years he has taken interest in the classic opera repertory and has sung roles like Scarpia in Tosca, Harlequin in Ariadne auf Naxos and the title role in Verdis Macbeth. Future projects include the title role in Mozart’s Don Giovanni and Don Pizarro in Beethoven’s Fidelio.

See Andreas Landin perform Vaughan Williams’ Songs of Travel with the RSNO on 7 & 8 November 2025.

The RSNO Chorus performs in around six different programmes in up to twenty concerts across Scotland with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra each year. The RSNO Chorus has also had great success in recording with the Orchestra. Its recordings, amongst others, of Prokofiev’s Alexander Nevsky, conducted by Neeme Jӓrvi, and Holst’s The Planets, conducted by David Lloyd-Jones, have both attracted high critical acclaim.

In addition to its commitment to the Orchestra, the RSNO Chorus performs independently and has been invited to perform with orchestras in many parts of the world, establishing an international status and touring to Copenhagen, Hong Kong, Israel, Germany, Belfast, Australia, Trondheim and most recently, Amsterdam and Prague. In 2018 it performed Britten’s War Requiem with the RSNO at the BBC Proms.

The RSNO Chorus evolved from a choir formed in 1843 to sing the first full performance of Handel’s Messiah in Scotland. Today, it is one of the most successful choruses in the UK. In recent years, it 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.

Stephen Doughty has been Chorus Director of the RSNO Chorus since the start of the 2022:23 Season. Since his arrival the Chorus has seen an influx of new members, and an abundance of varied and critically acclaimed performances, including Verdi’s Requiem, Britten’s War Requiem, Bruckner’s E Minor Mass and the Scottish premiere of Sir James MacMillan’s Christmas Oratorio. He has also directed the Chorus in new and imaginative programmes in their own right, including Rheinberger’s glorious Mass in E flat for double choir, and concerts with percussion and organ featuring Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms, the European premiere of McIntyre’s Missa Brevis and Ives’ final major choral work, Psalm 90.  Stephen’s previous 12-year tenure as Chorus Master of Belfast Philharmonic Choir included a number of world premieres, most significantly James Whitbourn’s The Seven Heavens and Philip Hammond’s Requiem for the Lost Souls of the Titanic, performed exactly 100 years since the liner went down, and further European premieres of both Stuart Scott’s Requiem Brevis, which saw the 100-strong choir separated into eight choirs spaced around the audience, and Christopher Marshall’s Earthsong.

Stephen particularly enjoys working with amateur singers, not least leading regular singing days frequently involving up to 800 amateur singers. He was Musical Director of Edinburgh Bach Choir for 7 years and has enjoyed the directing the Garleton Singers for over 30 years, performing with them recently at the Lammermuir Festival.

Stephen plays harpsichord/organ continuo and orchestral piano and has given frequent organ recitals, including several on the grand Mulholland Organ in the Ulster Hall, Belfast. He is also in demand as an arranger and orchestrator, with a large portfolio of work particularly for young voices. He has produced a plethora of arrangements of the music of pianist Christopher Norton, including two publications of piano duets and a suite for wind sextet, and has received commissions from Children’s Classic Concerts, the Ulster Orchestra and the RSNO. Commissions from the BBC have seen his work being performed on BBC Alba and at the Last Night of the Proms, and his pieces feature on several recordings, including with the RSNO Chorus.

Finally, Stephen is an Examiner for the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music.