Emerging Artist Benefactors

Want to support new talent? Our Emerging Artist Benefactors help us give young artists, including singers, directors, composers and costume trainees, the opportunity of a lifetime – a period of full-time training and professional experience with the Company to help them launch their careers.

At Scottish Opera, we're proud of our long history of developing young talent. We've been there at the start of many illustrious careers, from Dame Janet Baker to Simon Keenlyside and Lisa Milne.

The journey from postgraduate study to established careers can be tough without professional help. In 2009, we launched our Emerging Artists programme to provide this career stepping-stone here in Scotland, and to help safeguard the skills needed for opera to thrive for generations to come.

'I cannot thank the Emerging Artist Benefactors enough. Their support enabled me to have a start to my career that I could only have imagined. I made my Royal Opera House debut soon after finishing my time at Scottish Opera, and with the training and experience I gained, I knew I was ready.'
— Nadine Livingston, Inaugural Emerging Artist 2009/11

We offer a sustained period of full-time work to exceptional young artists including singers, repetiteurs (specialist opera piano accompanists), composers, costume makers and directors. All artists benefit from being part of the life of a busy national opera company, receiving one-to-one training and guidance from our expert staff and visiting professionals, as well as opportunities to perform and develop their craft.

As well as enjoying many performance opportunities, our Emerging Artists receive valuable training in a variety of disciplines necessary to a successful career including vocal and language coaching, audition preparation and financial management.

Our Emerging Artists programme is one of the few in the UK and the only one of its kind in Scotland. We need your help to sustain and grow this fabulous programme so we can continue to provide the opportunity of professional work and mentor the stars of the future.

You can play a crucial role in helping these young people develop their careers. As a supporter, you will follow our Emerging Artists as they take their first professional steps, and see how your gift is helping them progress.

'I have taken my first proper steps into the world of costume and I am learning every day from the talented and experienced professionals around me.'
— Sally Donegan, Costume Trainee 2014/15

Your gift will provide young artists with high quality training which will benefit them for the rest of their careers.

£3,000 a year could provide a series of singing masterclasses, sustained one-to-one mentoring with top industry professionals, or pay for a residential artisan craft course to widen knowledge and experience.

£1,000 a year could pay for a series of one-to-one singing or piano lessons with a chosen tutor, or for composers and directors to travel to a wide range of other performances across the UK, deepening their understanding of the artform.

£500 a year could allow all Emerging Artists to attend both national and international auditions and interviews, a vital step towards the next exciting phase in their careers.

'I am delighted to support the Emerging Artists. In all fields of the arts it is crucial to nurture new talent, and it's a tough world out there for people who are at the start of their creative lives. I know because I've been there.'
— Ian Rankin, writer and Emerging Artist Benefactor

For more information, please contact Sarah McCleery, Individual Giving Manager, who will be happy to answer any questions.

0141 242 0596

sarah.mccleery@scottishopera.org.uk

EMAIL SARAH