The BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra has appointed a new Chief Conductor as it launches the 2015/16 season, which also sees it celebrate its 80th birthday.
Thomas Dausgaard will take over from Donald Runnicles as the orchestra’s Chief Conductor in September 2016.
Renowned for his creativity and innovation in programming, and his extensive range of critically acclaimed recordings, Dausgaard has appeared with orchestras around the world and is currently Chief Conductor of the Swedish Chamber Orchestra, Principal Guest Conductor of the Seattle Symphony and Honorary Conductor of the Danish National Symphony Orchestra.
As a guest conductor with the BBC SSO, Dausgaard has performed a wide range of repertoire from Dvořák and Tchaikovsky to Ives, Lindberg and Schnelzer, and in a range of settings from the City Halls in Glasgow to the St Magnus International Festival in Orkney.
On his appointment, Dausgaard said: "The infectious joy of making music with the BBC SSO makes it a great honour and pleasure to become its Chief Conductor from 2016/17. I am a fond admirer of the orchestra's creativity, team-spirit and excellence, and I look forward very much to exploring all the exciting possibilities which lie ahead of us."
Ken MacQuarrie, Director of BBC Scotland, said: “Creativity is the lifeblood of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. Thomas Dausgaard will ensure the orchestra continues to be one of the most dynamic and boundary-pushing orchestras in Scotland and the world.”
Alan Davey, Controller of BBC Radio 3, said: “With Thomas Dausgaard at the helm, bringing with him extraordinary talent and ability, I look forward to seeing how this great BBC orchestra builds on the lasting legacy of Donald Runnicles’ achievements, and to bringing their concerts to over 2 million listeners. It’s going to be an exciting new chapter in the BBC SSO’s history.”
Gavin Reid, Director of the BBC SSO, said: “Attracting someone of Thomas’s calibre reaffirms the outstanding worldwide reputation of the BBC SSO. The orchestra has excelled when working with him in the past and I know he will receive a very warm welcome.”
During the 2015/16 season, Dausgaard conducts Sibelius’s three final symphonies and later will conduct Brahms’s First Piano Concerto with regular BBC SSO guest Denis Kozhukhin.
Current Chief Conductor Donald Runnicles will open and close the season with powerful performances of Gustav Mahler’s first and last symphonies. Although stepping down as Chief Conductor, from September 2016 he will continue to work with the orchestra as Conductor Emeritus.
In December 2015, the orchestra celebrates its 80th birthday with a special concert which includes a UK Premiere from Matthias Pintscher, the BBC SSO’s Artist-in-Association, as well as Mozart’s Oboe Concerto and Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde.
Another season highlight includes Martyn Brabbins conducting his own orchestration of Cecil Coles’ Sorrowful Dance. Coles was a Scottish composer who sadly lost his life during the First World War and this will be the first time this work has been performed by an orchestra.