Assistant Leader

Assistant Leader

Salary – £816 per week plus benefits

Scottish Opera takes world-class opera to all corners of Scotland and beyond, ensuring that as many people as possible can enjoy this wonderful art form. The company is Glasgow based and the Orchestra performs main stage and medium-scale operas, participates in education and outreach work and performs concerts and recordings.

We invite applications for the position of Assistant Leader. Players have a contractual guarantee of a minimum of 29 weeks of work per year, and in November each year receive

5 months’ notice of their contracted weeks of work for the year that commences from April.

Auditions for this position will take place in Glasgow and Manchester on the following dates:

1st Round (Panel to listen to AV Recordings and consider Anonymised online Portfolios – Screened) -

Saturday 3rd October

2nd and 3rd Rounds (in person)

21st October 2026 – GLASGOW (2nd round in the AM and 3rd round in the PM)

27th October 2026 – MANCHESTER (2nd round in the AM and 3rd round in the PM)

All candidates must be able to demonstrate a pre-existing right to work in the UK and documentary proof of this will be requested prior to auditions.

Applicants should apply via Musical Chairs www.musicalchairs.info. To be considered for an audition, your application must include all of the documents specified on the Musical Chairs Website. If you have any queries regarding your application, please contact our Orchestra Coordinator, Abigail Bailey at Abigail.bailey@scottishopera.org.uk

The closing date for applications and AV recordings is Monday 28th September 2026 at 5 PM, after which the panel will select candidates to go through to the in person 2nd Round.

We have a strong commitment to promoting equality, and we particularly encourage applications from people who are under-represented in the performing arts. To eliminate any unconscious bias, we have introduced an anonymised application process together with anonymised audio recordings. We do however require an AV recording for administrative purposes only. Please refer to our Submission guidelines for further information.