This cornerstone of Scottish musical life was founded in 1935. The composer and conductor Ian Whyte created the first full-time orchestral ensemble in Scotland, beginning as a small studio orchestra, one of many ensembles that were employed by the BBC in cities across Britain.
The orchestra fulfills a busy schedule of studio recordings and concerts, the majority being broadcast on BBC Radio 3. The orchestra is active in commissioning and promoting new music, having worked with many leading composers over the years from Britten and Shostakovich to Kurtág and Tan Dun, and it is especially proud of its support for Scottish composers. It appears in all the major towns and cities in Scotland, with a season of concerts in Glasgow, Aberdeen, Stirling and Ayr. Elsewhere it performs in major UK venues, and gives concerts each summer at the BBC Proms in London.
The BBC SSO plays a unique role in the Edinburgh International Festival as interpreter of the most challenging scores, from Schoenberg's huge opera Moses und Aaron to last year's first complete performance of the monumental work Triduum by Scottish composer James MacMillan.
In the past few years the orchestra's international standing has been enhanced by visits to major European cities such as Berlin, Amsterdam, Vienna, Rome, Zurich and Frankfurt. In November 2000 it made a major two week tour of China, the first Scottish orchestra ever to tour there, and in March 2001 the SSO toured the eastern seaboard of the USA.
At the beginning of January 2006 the BBC SSO moved from Broadcasting House, Glasgow - its base for nearly 70 years - to the fully refurbished City Halls at Candleriggs, which is now the orchestra's permanent home, administrative, performance and recording base. Famed for its fine acoustic, City Halls is being developed as a major centre for music performance and education.
The British Royal Philharmonic Society presented the BBC SSO with its award for Best Orchestra in 2002, and its Chief Conductor, Ilan Volkov with the prize for Best Young Artist in 2004.
The BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra has recorded extensively for a number of labels, and has won two of the major annual awards from Gramophone magazine. For Marco Polo the orchestra has a disc of music by Havergal Brian, CD Review magazine stating, "For anyone interested in British music of this century this disc is a mandatory purchase". It has also made a number of recordings for Naxos including music by Grieg, Benjamin Britten, Rawsthorne, and Tippett.
