The Royal Scottish National Orchestra wins prestigious Association of British Orchestras’ Award for Innovation Posted Thu 5 February 2026
The Royal Scottish National Orchestra (RSNO) has been announced as the winner of the Association of British Orchestras’ (ABO) Innovation Award at a ceremony on Wednesday (4 February) evening in London’s Southbank Centre.
Presented by Classic FM’s Ritula Shah and collected on behalf of the RSNO by Chief Executive Alistair Mackie, the ABO Impact Award for Innovation recognises the RSNO for the creation of its state-of-the-art recording studio, Scotland’s Studio. The bespoke facility has repositioned Glasgow as a destination that competes directly with London and Los Angeles for recording film, TV and videogame soundtracks. Most recently, the RSNO recorded the soundtracks for Nuremberg (Sony Pictures) and Now You See Me: Now You Don’t (Lionsgate). This diversification and innovation has enabled the RSNO to fund its extensive community engagement programme which, in 2025, reached 80,255 individuals across Scotland with 38 initiatives including community choirs, career development programmes for young professionals and work in healthcare settings.
The RSNO joins Dame Kathryn McDowell DBE, DL, Managing Director of the London Symphony Orchestra; Orchestras for All; National Youth Folk Ensemble; Royal Liverpool Philharmonic’s In Harmony programme; and Deborah Annetts, Chief Executive of the Independent Society of Musicians in the list of winners.
The annual ABO Award is presented annually to the individual or institution considered by the membership to have made the most important contribution to the orchestral life of the UK. The ABO Award is unique among the many prestigious awards and prizes in the music world because its recipient is nominated by the members orchestra themselves.