2001
USA tour & Donald Runnicles' debut
The BBC SSO made its first tour of the USA, with former Chief Conductor Osmo Vänskä (1996-2002), together with pianist Stephen Hough – 11 concerts including Boston, Philadelphia, West Point and Orlando, Florida.
Sir Donald Runnicles, later to become Chief Conductor of the BBC SSO (2009-16) and Conductor Emeritus (2016-present), makes his BBC SSO debut at the Edinburgh International Festival in a concert performance of Les Troyens (The Trojans) by Berlioz, described by The Times as "one of those evenings when lightning struck... there was throughout a truly epic breadth to his reading".
Runnicles returns in the 90th Anniversary Season to conduct Mahler's Resurrection Symphony with the Edinburgh Festival Chorus, soprano Jennifer Davis and mezzo-soprano Karen Cargill. The concert takes place at Edinburgh's Usher Hall on 1 March 2026.
