Live Season Finale:
Ode to Joy Fri 12 – Sat 13 June

Patrick Hahn is Principal Guest Conductor of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, General Music Director of Sinfonieorchester und Oper Wuppertal and Principal Guest Conductor of Münchner Rundfunkorchester of the Bayerischer Rundfunk. He is one of the most sought after and exciting conductors of his generation.

In his fourth season in Wuppertal, Patrick Hahn’s symphonic and choral programmes include Mahler’s Symphony No.5, Bruckner’s Symphony No.5, and Messiaen’s Turangalila, to name but few. The operas there this season include R. Strauss’ Salome and Mozart’s Don Giovanni.

As a guest conductor in the 2024/25 season, Patrick Hahn makes his first appearances at hr-Sinfonieorchester, Brussels Philharmonic with Patricia Kopatchinskaja and Anastasia Kobekina, RAI with Truls Mork, Semperoper Dresden conducting R. Strauss’ Intermezzo and Staatsoper Hamburg with Wagner’s Parsifal. Return visits include Deutsche Symphony Orchester Berlin with Gabriela Montero, Wiener Symphoniker and Tonhalle Orhestra Zürich. He will also take part in the Johann Strauss 2025 celebration in Vienna, celebrating the 200^th anniversary by conducting a concert performance of Der Karneval in Rom.

Previous seasons’ highlights include his successful debut at Zürich Opera House with Barrie Kosky’s new production of Die lustige Witwe and New National Theatre Tokyo with Der Fledermaus as well as debuts with Bamberg Symphony, alongside Sol Gabetta and SWR with Istvan Vardai. Patrick Hahn enjoys a regular relationship with Klangforum Wien and Wiener Symphoniker, most recently conducting Schoenberg’s Ertwartung with Dorothea Röschmann at the Vienna Musikverein. Patrick has acted as Principal Guest Conductor and Artistic Advisor for Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic between 2021/23.

Patrick Hahn’s has conducted many cornerstones of the repertoire in his time in Wuppertal, such as R. Strauss’ Eine Alpensinfonie, Bruckner’s Symphony No.4 and No.9, Mahler’s Symphony No.1 and No.2, Beethoven’s Symphony No.9, Wagner/Maazel’s Ring without Words, Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde and Tannhauser, Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro, as well as rarely performed gems such as Charles Ives’ Symphony No.2, von Einem’s Capriccio, Op.2.

Patrick Hahn and Münchner Rundfunkorchester’s exploration and recordings of rarely performed repertoire such as Viktor Ullmann’s Der Kaiser von Atlantis and Alexander Zemlinsky’s Eine Florentinische Tragoedie have received critical acclaim. Other recordings include Alpha label’s Britten and Bruch’s Violin Concertos with Kerson Leong and Philharmonia Orchestra and Beethoven’s Piano Concertos No.1 and 2 with Olivier Cave and Kammerakademie Potsdam.

Aside from his work in classical music, Patrick Hahn accompanies himself on the piano singing cabaret-songs by the Austrian satirist and composer Georg Kreisler. As a jazz pianist, he received awards from the Chicago Jazz Festival and the ‘Outstanding Soloist Award’ from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse as the best jazz pianist of the 37th Annual Jazz Festival.

Winner of a 2023 Carole Rees Award from The Mastersingers, Scottish Soprano Eleanor Dennis is a graduate of the Royal College of Music’s International Opera School and a former Harewood Artist at English National Opera.

Her roles for English National Opera have included Penelope Gloriana, Helena A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Countess Almaviva Le nozze di Figaro, whilst engagements elsewhere have included Miranda in Sir Malcolm Arnold’s The Dancing Master at Buxton International Festival; Helena A Midsummer Night’s Dream for Aldeburgh and Grange Festivals; Miss Jessel The Turn of the Screw for Opera North; The Witch Hänsel und Gretel and Fiordiligi for Opera Holland Park; and Countess Almaviva and Liù Turandot for Scottish Opera. 

Singing under conductors including David Afkham, Rolf Beck, Martyn Brabbins, Daniel Harding, Leo Hussain, Vladimir Jurowski, Christian Macelaru, Andrew Manze, Cornelius Meister, Juanjo Mena, Andris Nelsons, Sir András Schiff, Thomas Søndergård, Ilan Vlkov and Ryan Wigglesworth, regular concert engagements have included Beethoven’s Egmont with BBC Philharmonic, Christus am Ölberge with Bamberg Symphony Orchestra, Missa Solemnis with RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra and Symphony No. 9 with BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra at the BBC Proms, Orquesta y Coro nacionales de España and Royal Scottish National Orchestra; Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem and Elgar’s Une voix dans le désert with City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra; Britten’s Spring Symphony with BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra; Haydn’s Harmoniemesse with Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra; Mendelssohn’s Elijah at Three Choirs Festival; and Richard Strauss’ Four Last Songs with Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

With BBC Concert Orchestra, she has recorded The Dancing Master, which won a BBC Music Magazine Award, on Resonus Classics, Cellier’s Captain Billy, Ford’s Mr Jericho and Sullivan’s The Light of the World on Dutton Epoch; whilst with The Mozartists, she has recorded Mozart in London, available on Signum. Most recently released is Hagerval Brian’s Agamemnon with English National Opera Orchestra conducted by Martyn Brabbins, on which she sings the role of Clytemnestra, on Hyperión.

Recent and current engagements include Miss Jessel The Turn of the Screw and Ofglen The Handmaid’s Tale for English National Opera, Donna Elvira Don Giovanni for Da Ponte Festival, Senta Der fliegende Holländer for Opera Holland Park, Eva Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg for Saffron Opera Group, Freia Das Rheingold and Gerhilde Die Walküre for Longborough Festival Opera, also singing one performance as Sieglinde, J. S. Bach’s St John Passion with Academy of Ancient Music, Mathias’ This Worlde’s Joie with Philharmonia Orchestra at Three Choirs Festival, Stanford’s Stabat Mater with BBC Concert Orchestra and Friday Night is Music Night at Snape Maltings.

See Eleanor Dennis perform Ode to Joy with the RSNO on 12 & 13 June 2026.

Scottish mezzo-soprano Karen Cargill is one of the most renowned singers of her generation. Winner of the 2002 Kathleen Ferrier Award, Karen has gone on to be nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Operatic Recording as part of the Metropolitan Opera’s recording of Dialogues des Carmélites. In July 2018 Karen was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.

Karen’s operatic roles include Geneviève Pelléas et Mélisande, Judith Bluebeard’s Castle, Mère Marie Dialogues des Carmélites, Dryade Ariade auf Naxos, Dido Dido and Aeneas & Anna Les Troyens. Famed for her interpretation of Wagner, Karen regularly sings Erda Das Rheingold and Siegfried, Fricka Das Rheingold, Brangäne Tristan und Isolde, Waltraute Götterdämmerung and Magdalena Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. Last season Karen made her role debut as Zia Principessa Il trittico for Scottish Opera directed by Sir David McVicar and returned to Glyndebourne for a new Barrie Kosky production of Dialogues des Carmélites as Mère Marie.

Following her critically acclaimed Brangaene Tristan und Isolde at the Glyndebourne Festival, Scottish mezzo-soprano Karen Cargill’s 2024/25 season saw her return to the role with Yannick Nézet-Séguin and the Philadelphia Orchestra, and with Sir Simon Rattle and the Bayerischer Rundfunk Orchestra. She also made her role debut as Brigitte in Die Tote Stadt in concerts with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Andris Nelsons. Karen returned to the Montreal Symphony Orchestra for Schoenberg’s Gurrelieder with Rafael Payare; the San Francisco Symphony for Verdi’s Requiem with Esa-Pekka Salonen; the Toronto Symphony for Mozart’s Requiem with Jukka-Pekka Saraste; and the San Diego Symphony for Mahler Symphony no. 3 with Rafael Payare.

Her 2023/24 season included a revered tour of Die Walküre (Fricka) with the Rotterdam Philharmonic and Yannick Nézet-Séguin; Bartók’s Duke Bluebeard’s Castle (Judith) with Karina Canellakis and the Boston Symphony; Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde with the Wiener Symphoniker and Robin Ticciati; and Berlioz La mort de Cléopȃtre with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and Maxim Emelyanychev.

With her recital partner Simon Lepper Karen has performed at Wigmore Hall London; Concertgebouw Amsterdam; Kennedy Centre Washington and Carnegie Hall New York, and regularly gives recitals for BBC Radio 3. With Simon, Karen also recently recorded a critically acclaimed recital of Lieder by Alma and Gustav Mahler for Linn Records, for whom she has previously recorded Berlioz Les nuits d’été and La mort de Cléopâtre with Robin Ticciati and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra.

Karen is Patron of the National Girls’ Choir of Scotland and in 2018 was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. She sang in the National Service of Thanksgiving and Dedication for King Charles III following his Coronation in 2023.

See Karen Cargill perform Sir James MacMillan’s Three Scottish Songs with the RSNO on 12 & 13 June 2026.

Baritone Andrew Hamilton is currently a member of the ensemble at the Bayerische Staatsoper (2022-2025), he is also former member of the Opera Studio at the Bayerische Staatsoper. Beginning in the 2025/26 Season, Andrew will be a member of the Ensemble at the Staatsoper Hamburg.

In the 2024/25 Season, Andrew made his role debut as Valentin in a new production of Faust at the Teatro Massimo, Palermo; while at the Bayerische Staatsoper his appearances included his role debut as Dandini La cenerentola and Schaunard La bohème and he will make his debut at the Tiroler Festspiele Erl in concert performances of Rigoletto and La traviata. On the recital stage he gave his first Solo Recital at the Wigmore Hall with pianist Michael Pandya and he will join pianist Iain Burnside at the Ludlow English Song Weekend. While on the concert platform he will appear with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra in Walton’s Belshazzar’s Feast and the Münchner Runfunkorchester in Carmina Burana conducted by Patrick Hahn.

Last season, Andrew made his debut at Theater an der Wien as Paris in a new production of Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette; while his appearances in Munich included: Aeneas Dido and Aeneas; Morales Carmen conducted by Daniele Rustioni and in a new production of La Grand Macabre conducted by Kent Nagano.

During his time in Munich, Andrew has appeared as Ned Keene Peter Grimes; Schaunard La bohème; Ottokar in Der Freischütz; Marcellus/Spieler 3 in Brett Dean’s Hamlet; Lesbo Agrippina; Silvano Un ballo in maschera; Mecure in a new production of Les Troyens, Ping Turandot; as well as in productions of Wozzeck and The Nose.

A committed recitalist – he enjoys a close collaboration with pianist Michael Pandya, and they have recently given a Liederabend with the International Hugo-Wolf-Akademie in Stuttgart and appeared together at the Norfolk and Norwich Music Festival in a recital recorded for the BBC.

See Andrew Hamilton perform Beethoven’s Ode to Joy with the RSNO on 12 & 13 June 2026.

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.