Over the past 28 years, with assistance from the Scottish Arts Council, ecat has been dedicated to the challenge of supporting new music in Scotland and cultivating an audience for it. It has promoted music across the boundaries - "classical" music, jazz, improvised and electronic music.

It has generated over 80 new commissions from composers, including pieces in almost every genre, including opera, music theatre, works for symphony orchestra, chamber orchestra, large and small ensembles, solo instruments, and computer-generated music.

It has spotted or commissioned many leading composers before they were known to the public, including James MacMillan, Sally Beamish, Gordon McPherson, David Horne. It has provided a springboard for the debut performances of several ensembles, including the Hebrides Ensemble, and has promoted a series of specialist international festivals, including MusicaItalia, new Nordic Music and New Zealand, New Music.

The tag "new music for Scotland" is an indication of ecat's (formerly Edinburgh Contemporary Arts Trust) desire to create greater exposure for contemporary music. Following on from last season's expansion to Glasgow through collaboration with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and the Scottish Ensemble, the coming season includes a significant new presence in Aberdeen through collaboration with Aberdeen University and the sound festival for two concerts.

Partnerships with Edinburgh University and the RSAMD will produce a Stockhausen commemoration day, the first in Scotland since the composer’s death last December.

The season begins on 27 October in the Queen's Hall with a special free concert -The New Music Experience – designed to break down barriers to new music. Introduced by Janice Forsyth and with performances by Yann Ghiro, clarinet, Joby Burgess, percussion and Simon Smith, piano, this concert will aim to demystify contemporary music and will foreshadow some of the sounds to be heard during the season, including a new commission from Shiori Usui.

As well as presenting outstanding Scottish and Scottish-based musicians, ecat will introduce some of the best performers from outside Scotland, including a return visit from the New Zealand String Quartet, whose last visit, in 2001, produced 5 star reviews such as "Concert so good you'll believe a Kiwi can fly" (Susan Nickalls).

The Quartet will be joined by Richard Nunns, leading specialist on traditional Maori musical instruments. The season climaxes in May with the extraordinary Instant Composers Pool Orchestra from Amsterdam, led by legendary pianist Misha Mengelberg.