A weekend of Chamber Sessions in Edinburgh

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In October 2026, we hosted our first Chamber Sessions in Scotland, in partnership with Hebrides Ensemble at St Mary’s Music School in Edinburgh. Nine Thrive musicians aged 9–16 from across Scotland joined Hebrides Ensemble musicians and three Thrive alumni for a dedicated weekend exploring chamber music. Led by internationally renowned violinist and educator Francis Cummings, the musicians developed their ensemble playing skills through side-by-side music-making and mentoring.

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About Hebrides Ensemble

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Hebrides Ensemble pride themselves on “making new music familiar and familiar music new”. One of the most highly acclaimed chamber music collectives in the UK, they perform regularly in venues and festivals throughout the UK and Europe, though their roots are firmly in Scottish culture. 

Thrive musicians were joined by William Conway (Artistic Director, cello), Kanako Storey (violin) and May Halyburton (double bass) for our insightful Chamber Sessions weekend.

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Day one: learning and preparation

On Saturday 10 October, Francis Cummings led Thrive musicians in workshops exploring chamber music, ensemble skills and core musicianship. Meanwhile, Hebrides Ensemble coached our Alumni in leadership, mentoring and side-by-side playing.

Day two: mentoring in action

The next day, the young musicians worked on chamber music repertoire, each spending time with the Hebrides Ensemble, Thrive Alumni and Francis. A panel discussion followed with the professional musicians and Alumni sharing insightsinto their musical journeys and careers. The weekend concluded with an opportunity for parents and carers to hear their young chamber musicians in a stunning sharing performance. 

Over the weekend, the young musicians worked on a selection of pieces, including the Scottish folk song ‘Ye Banks and Braes O’ Bonnie Doon’, Brahms’ Hungarian Dance No. 5 and Michael Haydn’s Romance in A-flat, while the Alumni played Arensky’s Quartet in A minor with Hebrides Ensemble. Everyone joined together to wrap up the weekend with Terry Riley’s iconic minimalist piece, ‘In C’!

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Thank you

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We’d like to say a huge thanks to Francis Cummings, Hebrides Ensemble, The Finzi Trust, Mayfield Valley Arts Trust, Samuel Gardner Memorial Trust and St Mary’s Music School for all their support in making our first Chamber Sessions in Scotland such a success, as well as former Alumnus Trustee Max Brown for photographing the event. Finally, a big thank you to all our young Thrive musicians and Alumni for taking part!