SCO 26/27: Sheku Kanneh-Mason plays Haydn

Sheku Kanneh-Mason makes his Usher Hall debut on Thursday 12 November, playing with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra under Andrew Manze. It's his first time out with the SCO, and he's taking the lead on Haydn's First Cello Concerto, which opens the night.

That's not the only new thing on the bill. The middle of the programme is a world premiere: Pathways by Jay Capperauld, the SCO's Associate Composer. He wrote it specifically for the SCO Academy, so it's a piece that brings the orchestra's younger players into the mix alongside the main ensemble. The night closes with Beethoven's Eroica Symphony, one of the big ones that most people will recognise.

It's part of the SCO's 2026/27 season, which they've framed as a celebration of music's power to inspire, connect and transform. They've described the season as a mix of core orchestral repertoire, bold contemporary writing and deep-rooted community engagement, and this concert hits all three: the Haydn and Beethoven for the core, Capperauld's new work for the contemporary, and the SCO Academy for the community side. It's a good summary of what they're aiming for over the year.

So you've got a world premiere, a cello concerto, and the Eroica all in one evening. The concert starts at 19:30 at Usher Hall in Edinburgh.