“Once in a lifetime opportunity”

Jo Buckley is to become IMPACT Scotland’s Chief Executive Officer, it was announced today.

Taking up the role on 1 September 2023, Jo will join IMPACT Scotland after five and a half years with the Dunedin Consort. During her tenure the acclaimed Scottish baroque ensemble won its first ever Royal Philharmonic Society and BBC Music Magazine Awards, commissioned its first opera and also developed a thriving learning and participation programme that supports musical development pathways for students of all ages, from early years to nonagenarians.      

Commenting on her appointment, Jo Buckley said:

“The Dunard Centre is a once in a lifetime opportunity to build a musical hub for a city that already hums with artistic possibility and talent, and which is ready to demonstrate to the world what it can do, all day, every day.

“Like many colleagues and peers, I’ve watched the plans for the Centre develop over these past few years, and grown increasingly excited about the possibilities this one-off, intimate space will create: not just for classical musicians, but for artists of all styles, traditions and career stages.       

“This is going to be an inclusive and welcoming place of connection and communication, a place which invites audiences to explore new genres as much as it challenges musicians to expand their repertoire. That creative collision between audience curiosity and artist experimentation is the guiding energy behind all great musical innovation: the chance to set off those reactions is a tantalising prospect and one too good to turn down!”

Ronnie Bowie, Chair of Impact Scotland added:

“We mounted an extensive UK and international search to find the Dunard Centre the outstanding CEO it deserves, and in a strong global field Jo’s extraordinary vision and energy shone through.

“Jo is an exceptional leader with countless strings to her bow: visionary company manager, in-demand music writer and scholar, and tireless champion of emerging musical talent, not to mention an experienced contributor to Scottish arts policy and assessment. Delivering Edinburgh’s first 21^st century venue will require both experience and fresh thinking, and in Jo we’ve found an overwhelming supply of both. We now wish her an energising summer filled with wonderful music-making, and look forward to fanfaring her official start in September.”

Jo concluded:

“It has been an extraordinary privilege to work with John Butt and the wonderful musicians and colleagues that make up the Dunedin Consort, and I’m determined to make the most of every last moment with the team. From our Festival appearances in Cheltenham, York and Spitalfields, to our upcoming BBC Proms performance and French tour, this summer’s programme showcases the quality, breadth and diversity for which the ensemble has become renowned. It’ll be a wrench to leave such fantastic colleagues, but I’m consoled by knowing our paths will cross again, not least in the auditorium of this wonderful new home for music!”

For further information on Dunard Centre and IMPACT Scotland please contact Susie Gray, The Corner Shop PR, susie@thecornershoppr.com 07834 073795

About Jo Buckley

After graduating from Cambridge University with a First Class degree in 2004, Jo secured her PhD in Musicology from Durham University, focusing on the role of the slow movement in Beethoven’s music. After working with Britten Sinfonia, Northern Sinfonia and Live Music Now, she moved to Scotland and was Label Manager for Delphian Records before joining Dunedin Consort, where she has been Chief Executive since 2019.      

She is also a freelance writer, specialising in programme notes for concerts and recordings, with a range of clients that include the BBC Proms, London Symphony Orchestra and Scottish Chamber Orchestra.

Jo is a former external assessor for Creative Scotland, and the author of the 2014 RCS/NMS Mapping Report on the provision of new music in Scotland. She is a member of the Royal Society of Edinburgh’s Young Academy of Scotland, and is on the Board of the Association of British Orchestras, the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra & Chorale.

About IMPACT Scotland

IMPACT Scotland is the charity established to plan, build and run the Dunard Centre, a concert hall designed by world-renowned David Chipperfield Architects with consultancy from Nagata Acoustics.

This ambitious venue scheme has been made possible by substantial philanthropic donations, including the visionary support of Dunard Fund, a long term funder of the arts and music in Scotland. The Centre is also underpinned by support from the Scottish and UK governments and the City of Edinburgh Council, as part of the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Deal. Each Government is investing £10 million, with an additional £5 million from City of Edinburgh Council. More detail is available at

www.esescityregionaldeal.co.uk

Through the support of the Royal Bank of Scotland, Dunard Centre will be built behind and directly connected to the Bank’s historic registered office on St Andrew Square in the heart of Edinburgh. It’s projected that the ambitious artistic programme will attract 200,000 visitors every year, with crowds attending performances by the resident Scottish Chamber Orchestra, the annual Edinburgh International Festival, as well as local and international artists from every imaginable genre. Accessibility sits at the heart of the venue’s masterplan, with in-community partnerships as well as in-venue campaigns designed to build and deepen audience engagement with live music.