SUMMER is approaching and the internationally-renowned Scottish Chamber Orchestra are preparing to embark upon their 40th year of touring across the length and breadth of Scotland.

And they are pulling up in the Borders, in partnership with A Heart of Duns, to perform on Thursday, June 7.

A lively evening of exhilarating music is guaranteed at Duns Volunteer Hall under the direction of British conductor Duncan Ward, protégé of Sir Simon Rattle.

The Orchestra received a rapturous response from their summer concert back in May 2016 and their 2017 Borders Heritage Festival project ‘Sounding Out the Past’ featuring three SCO players, Scottish folk singer Hannah Rarity and children from for local Borders schools.

This June, the SCO will perform a rich, lyrical programme ranging from the exuberant playfulness of Schumann’s compact symphony, through to Mendelssohn’s brilliant own First Symphony.

This programme also includes works by two of Italy’s most accomplished opera composers, Giacomo Puccini and Domenico Cimarosa.

The SCO has long been celebrated for the calibre of solo players amongst its ranks and this concert features two of their finest, SCO Principal Flute Alison Mitchell and Sub Principal Flute Brontë Hudnott.

Cimarosa ‘Concerto for 2 Flutes’ is a delightful work and a chance for both Mitchell and Hudnott to showcase feature at the front of the Orchestra.

A spokeswoman for the Scottish Chamber Orchestra said: "The Orchestra is passionate about sharing the experience of exceptional live orchestral music-making and inspiring new generations of classical music lovers.

"The summer tour supports this mission by making concerts as accessible as possible to younger audiences by offering free tickets to Under 18s and £6 tickets for Under 26s, students and the unemployed.

"Since September 2017, almost 1000 under 18s have attended an SCO concert."

The SCO perform at Duns Volunteer Hall on Thursday, June 7 from 7.30pm.

Tickets available from the SCO website – www.sco.org.uk - in person at Nairn's Newsagent, 24-28, Market Square, Duns.