THE ROYAL Scottish National Orchestra will bring music to the ears of Angus folk during a New Year tour of the county.

It will spend a week performing concerts, workshops and community projects, culminating in the public reopening of the refurbished Webster Theatre in Arbroath.

Their Out And About In Angus initiative, supported by The Courier and a host of others, gets under way on January 14, with the first public concert the following day.

That will take the form of a brass ensemble performance at Reid Hall, Forfar, exploring the many ages of music, from baroque and jazz to pop and contemporary.

During the week two string groups, assembled from the core of the RSNO musicians, Bagatelle and The Octomore Quartet, will link up with pupils from Montrose Academy and Brechin High School.

The partnership will culminate in a joint performance at Montrose Town Hall on January 18.

The day after, the full forces of the RSNO perform the opening concert of the Webster Theatre.

Assistant conductor with the RSNO David Danzmayr will lead the orchestra for a gala performance, featuring Schubert’s Symphony No 5, Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro overture and waltzes, polkas and marches from the Strauss family.

Throughout the week, RSNO musicians will also be out and about in Angus, appearing at a range of locations and in various forms, such as duos, wind trios, string quartets and brass quintets.

They will perform two REMIX! concerts for secondary schools and two Monster Music concerts for pre-school children, all conducted by David Danzmayr and presented by Paul Rissmann, at the Reid Hall and Webster Theatre.

RSNO director of education and audience engagement Ellen Thomson said, “We have devised a programme of events which should have something for everyone, from first-time concert-goers to aficionados of orchestral music.”

Tickets for the Reid Hall and Montrose Town Hall events on January 15 and 18 are £5 and the Webster Theatre concert on January 19 are £12/£9, with concessions (£10/£8) only available if bought in advance.

They are available by calling 08700 600 100; logging on to www.rsno.org.uk or in person from the Webster Theatre box office (opening mid-December), libraries, museums and ACCESS points throughout Angus.

The orchestra said the project is in association with Angus Council and made possible through generous support from The Courier, GlaxoSmithKline, Aberbrothock Charitable Trust, Arbroath Improvement Trust, Miss F B Dundas Trust, Colin Grant Charitable Trust, West Hall Charitable Fund, Kinpurnie Charitable Trust, Leng Charitable Trust, Lethendy Charitable Trust, Northwood Charitable Trust and Garfield Weston Foundation.