The SCO appears regularly at the Edinburgh, East Neuk, St Magnus and Aldeburgh Festivals and The Proms.
A highlight of the year 1980 was a BBC TV recording with Raymond Leppard of all six Brandenburg Concertos and over the next couple of years the relentless schedule continued with concerts in Barcelona, a residency in the Scottish Highlands, performances at the St. Magnus Festival in Orkney, a recording of Vivaldi's Four Seasons with violinist Jaimie Laredo, tours of the UK and Europe with mezzo soprano Teresa Berganza, concerts with the Polish conductor, Jerzy Maksymiuk, and an introduction to the up and coming young English conductor, Simon Rattle in a concert involving the American opera singer, Jessye Norman.
Based on this appearance, in May 2018, the SCO announced the appointment of Emelyanychev as its sixth principal conductor, effective with the 2019-2020 season.
[12] The SCO's work in contemporary music has included collaborations with Gordon Crosse,[13] John McLeod,[14] and Peter Maxwell Davies, notably the series of Strathclyde Concertos.
[18] The SCO has commissioned over 100 new works, from composers including Peter Maxwell Davies (the SCO's Composer Laureate), Mark-Anthony Turnage, Judith Weir, Sally Beamish, Karin Rehnqvist, Lyell Cresswell, James MacMillan, Hafliði Hallgrímsson, Einojuhani Rautavaara, Stuart MacRae, Edward Harper and Martin Suckling (appointed SCO Associate Composer in 2013).
In April 2016, the SCO announced the appointment of Gavin Reid as its current chief executive, effective 29 August 2016.