RSNO CONTINUES PARTNERSHIP WITH ADAM MICKIEWICZ INSTITUTE Posted Mon 20 October 2025
Entitled Connecting Scotland and Poland: Through Music and Stories, the short documentary delves into a series of music workshops delivered to young people of Polish heritage living in Glasgow held at the Sikorski Polish School. A team of skilled workshop leaders, including members of the RSNO, Visible Fictions (a Glasgow-based production house) and composer Euan Stevenson, guided the young people to discover stories and music that connect Poland and Scotland. These workshops were inspired by the RSNO’s flagship early years programme, Yoyo & The Little Auk. The animated film explores themes of multiculturalism and migration through the story of a lost little auk and Yoyo’s grandparents who come from all over the world, including her Polish grandfather Itzak, affectionately known as Grandpa Zigzag. The documentary will be screened ahead of the RSNO’s Beethoven’s Eroica Symphony concerts at the usual pre-concert talk and will be presented by Sub Principal Viola Lisa Rourke and First Violin Liam Lynch. The documentary will then be released online on Monday 10 November.
Opening the RSNO’s Beethoven’s Eroica Symphony concerts is Polish composer Andrzej Panufnik’s Sinfonia Sacra. The RSNO has a long history with Panufnik: in 1978, under the baton of then Principal Conductor Sir Alexander Gibson, the RSNO gave the Polish Premiere of Sinfonia Sacra. Despite being composed 15 years prior, the piece had not yet been performed in Poland due to an effective ban on the composer’s work throughout the country. This concert is presented in partnership with IAM, as part of the UK/Poland Season 2025, a vibrant program spanning 100+ events across 40 cities in both countries. UK/Poland Season 2025 is organized by the British Council, the Adam Mickiewicz Institute, and the Polish Cultural Institute, financed by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Poland.
The RSNO’s partnership with IAM celebrates the rich cultural history between Poland and Scotland and reinforces the importance of global musical collaboration and mutual enrichment. Recently IAM, the RSNO and Linn Records released an album featuring the work of three eminent Polish composers – Grażyna Bacewicz, Witold Lutosławski and Karol Szymanowski. The partnership has also seen the production of Polska Scotland, a concert series during the RSNO’s 2020:21 Season, as well as live performances of Bacewicz, Lutosławski and Szymanowski in the 2023:24 Season.
Olga Brzezińska, Deputy Director of the Adam Mickiewicz Institute said: ‘Andrzej Panufnik was an artist whose life and music formed a true bridge between Poland and the United Kingdom. Hearing his work performed by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra is not only a tribute to a remarkable composer, but also a celebration of the dialogue and mutual understanding that have defined the UK/Polish Season 2025. Through music, we continue to build lasting connections between our nations, celebrating shared values and inspiring new generations on both sides.’
The RSNO will perform Panufnik’s Sinfonia Sacra alongside the World Premiere of Matthew Rooke’s timpani concerto and Beethoven’s Eroica Symphony on Friday 24 October at Edinburgh’s Usher Hall and Saturday 25 October at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall. Audiences can book tickets at rsno.org.uk/beethovens-eroica-symphony/