Big Noise

After months of work behind the scenes and four days together in Dundee, Scotland, a 95-musician orchestra made up of Big Noise and YOLA musicians—plus 100 younger Big Noise members forming a choir—came together on stage at Edinburgh’s Usher Hall for the Festival’s Family Concert on August 16, 2026.

It was a beautiful moment. But even before they ever shared the stage, the young musicians from Scotland and Los Angeles had achieved something remarkable.

In 2018, Big Noise developed a module for undergraduate students with staff at The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.

Sistema Scotland’s Big Noise ensembles had the honor of performing for the 25th anniversary celebration of the Scottish Parliament in September.

Sistema Scotland is excited to share the learning from a recently published evaluation report by the Glasgow Centre for Population Health (GCPH). The report, titled Statistical Analysis of Educational Outcomes Among Big Noise Raploch Participants, finds that young people who take part in Big Noise Raploch are more likely to achieve positive post-school outcomes and are more likely to be in employment than those who have not participated in the program.