Baillie Gifford hits the right notes with SCO tie-up

The Scottish Chamber Orchestra (SCO) is to enhance its community and education projects following a new tie-up with investment firm Baillie Gifford.

The Scottish Chamber Orchestras partnership with Baillie Gifford will fund additional support projects. Picture: Fraser Band

The orchestra, which aims to inspire and motivate people of all ages through its Scotland-wide engagement programmes, unveiled the Edinburgh-headquartered firm as its new creative learning partner.

On the back of a five-year sponsorship agreement starting in April, SCO will launch a programme to support young people with mental health conditions, expand its community residency scheme in Wester Hailes, create digital resources for school across Scotland and develop its youth academy.

SCO creative learning director Kirsteen Davidson Kelly said: “We regularly witness the many ways in which high quality musical activity enriches people’s lives, in all sorts of contexts. Thanks to this investment from Baillie Gifford, we can extend our reach and realise further potential for positive social change, improve people’s well-being and raise aspirations for young people.”

Sam Pattman, sponsorship manager for Baillie Gifford, added: “As a proud sponsor of the arts, time and time again we have seen the benefits of programmes that have a strong focus on community engagement.

“This is just one of the reasons why we are proud to be SCO’s creative learning partner. This ambitious five-year programme aims to reach communities across Scotland and we look forward to seeing the impact it has.”