Who we are
Making new music familiar
and familiar music new.
With programmes that are diverse, imaginative and inspiring, Hebrides Ensemble has established itself as one of the foremost chamber music collectives in the UK. Co-founded and led by its Artistic Director, the cellist and conductor William Conway, the Ensemble is renowned for its fresh and intelligent approach to programming, which places contemporary music at the heart of a diverse range of repertoire.
The Ensemble’s strength is its flexibility; it draws its performers from a pool of the most outstanding musicians in the UK and beyond, ensuring the exceptional performance standards for which it has become renowned. This is an international ensemble with its roots in Scottish culture, a collective which performs regularly at venues and festivals throughout the UK and Europe and is regularly featured in broadcasts for BBC Radio 3.
In recent years, the Ensemble has given premieres at the Muziekgebouw in Amsterdam, at Kings Place and Wigmore Hall in London, at the Aldeburgh Festival and in 2022 it returned to both the Edinburgh International Festival and the BBC Proms.
Hebrides Horizons supports the next generation of performers, composers, artistic directors and cultural leaders through its mentoring programme, and Hebrides Digital allows audiences around the world to be part of every performance the Ensemble gives, using livestreaming and digital technology.
Hebrides Digital allows audiences around the world to be part of every performance the Ensemble gives using streaming technologies, in addition to our extensive catalogue of commercial recordings. In March 2022 Hebrides Ensemble issued its fifth release as part of our Scotland’s Composers series of composer-focused recordings with Delphian Records. Ursa Minor, chamber music by Stuart MacRae follows on from previous award-winning releases of Judith Weir and Peter Maxwell Davies, and the success of James MacMillan’s Since it was the day of preparation… which went straight to No.1 in the Specialist Classical Charts.