Glasgow Improvisers Orchestra (GIO) returns this November for GIOfest XVIII, three days of adventurous music-making bringing together internationally acclaimed improvisers, artists and composers with one of Scotland’s most distinctive musical ensembles.
Taking place from 26–28 November 2026, the festival moves through three Glasgow venues — Glasgow School of Art’s Reid Building, The Old Hairdresser’s and the University of Glasgow Concert Hall — with a programme encompassing large-scale improvisation, intimate small groups, sound sculpture, virtual reality, film, networked performance and newly commissioned work.
The festival arrives as GIO approaches a landmark moment: 2027 marks 25 years since the orchestra’s first project in Glasgow. Over more than two decades GIO has developed into an internationally recognised ensemble and a hub for collaborations spanning music, visual art, film, dance, technology, research and community practice.
Rather than treating improvisation as a musical style, GIO has consistently explored it as a way of bringing people, ideas and artistic practices together. GIOfest XVIII continues that exploration, asking what an improvising orchestra can be — and who, or what, it can make music with.
All events are free — book your free tickets through Eventbrite.
