The Scottish Ensemble has been taking its unique concert experiences far and wide this year, with recent successful performances in Belgium, Turkey, Austria and China. 2013 will see the next step in this international touring schedule, with an 11 date tour to the USA planned for April. The Ensemble will be joined by world-renowned trumpeter Alison Balsom and will perform in 7 states, taking in prestigious venues including Los Angeles’ Walt Disney Hall and New York’s Town Hall. The tour will include the US première of James MacMillan’s Seraph, a work for trumpet and strings, which was co-commissioned by the Ensemble and Perth Concert Hall in 2010.

This is a great opportunity to take Scottish classical music to the thriving US market. Of course, a tour of this scale and ambition requires significant extra funding and so the Ensemble is gearing up to take part in the Big Give Christmas Challenge 2012. The Big Give Christmas Challenge is an online match funding system offering charity supporters the opportunity to have their donations doubled by timing their online donation to take place during the Challenge. The Scottish Ensemble hopes supporters of classical music from across the country will get involved and help make this project happen.

Artistic Director Jonathan Morton said;

The US Tour is a hugely exciting prospect for our organisation. It is the biggest international tour we have embarked on in several years and I’m thrilled we are able to take our winning partnership with Alison Balsom to new audiences across the pond. The Big Give is a really great way for the people who support us to play their part; the opportunity to get donations doubled means that any donation, no matter what size, has the potential to really make a difference.

The Big Give runs from the 6-8 December. At 10am every day a pot of match funding is released and then allocated on a first come, first serve basis until the funds for that day are exhausted. As all charities are bidding for the same pot, the earlier in the day that people can donate, the more likely it is that their donation will be doubled.

Audiences can learn more about The Big Give campaign throughout the Scottish Ensemble’s Variations tour which is taking place from 3-8 December with a programme including J.S. Bach’s iconic Goldberg Variations and Benjamin Britten’s Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge. Alternatively, more information on both the USA project and The Big Give can be found on the Ensemble’s website.

scottishensemble.co.uk

thebiggive.org.uk/project/SEUStour

Source: Scottish Ensemble