Scottish Opera has won the prestigious Classical:NEXT Innovation Award for its ground-breaking project Breath Cycle.
Started in 2012, it helps those with lung conditions, such as Long Covid, using breathing techniques in singing and songwriting workshops. It beat competition from across the world to pick up the award at a ceremony in Berlin on Wednesday (14 May).
The Classical:NEXT Innovation Award is decided by nominations from renowned international journalists and leaders in the arts and is selected by the Classical:NEXT community. It recognises organisations and projects that ‘push the boundaries of classical music through innovative approaches, audience engagement, and artistic excellence’.
Breath Cycle was praised for its pioneering work supporting people with respiratory conditions, which included its innovative response to the COVID-19 pandemic by bringing the project back to life through the lens of Long COVID.
Since then, the project has relaunched to include new video and audio resources, one-to-one song writing sessions exploring the participants’ experiences of living with Long COVID – resulting in The Covid Composers Songbook – and a series of intimate performances showcasing these heartfelt and emotive songs in 2023 and 2025, including A Story of Healing:Breath Cycle on Stage.
Jane Davidson MBE, Director of Outreach & Education at Scottish Opera, and composer Gareth Williams, travelled to Germany for the award ceremony.
Jane Davidson said: ‘Voice is such an integral part of what makes us human. Your voice is yours and yours alone, and to lose control over it can be devastating. We’ve learnt so much about how loss of voice through lung conditions of all types, attacks the very core of one’s identity, often leading to profound loneliness and isolation.
“So, from the beginning, the challenge for us was twofold: to help alleviate the physical symptoms of their illness, and to help participants regain their self-worth through the song-writing programme. Hearing these authentic voices ‘singing’ out is an artistic and a human experience that speaks to us all.’
Breath Cycle began in 2012 as a partnership between Scottish Opera and Gartnavel General Hospital Cystic Fibrosis Service in Glasgow. The programme has since worked with nearly 2,500 people, with participants reporting improvements in mental and physical health and wellbeing.
The 2025 Breath Cycle sessions have shown remarkable results, with participants reporting significant improvements in their wellbeing, physical and mental health, as well as reductions in stress levels and increases in energy and motivation.
Classical:NEXT 2025, the world’s largest networking event for classical music professionals, featured over 220 contributors and delegates from 54 countries.
Scottish Opera shared the Innovation Award spotlight with two other recipients: OPERA APERTA (Ukraine) and Clásica No Convencional (Chile).
Scottish Opera’s Outreach & Education department is the oldest outreach and education unit of any opera company in Europe, forming in 1971 under the leadership of Scottish Opera’s founder Sir Alexander Gibson.
Breath Cycle will continue throughout Scottish Opera’s 2025-2026 Season with support from The Scottish Government, Cruach Trust, The Murdoch Forrest Charitable Trust, WM Mann Foundation, Souter Charitable Trust, and Scottish Opera’s Education Angels.
For more information about Breath Cycle, visit Breath Cycle | Scottish Opera
For full details about Classical:NEXT, visit Innovation Award – Classical:NEXT