King Charles appoints Sir James MacMillan to Scotland’s Order of the Thistle

World-renowned Scottish composer and conductor Sir James MacMillan CBE, Professor in the School of Divinity, has been appointed to the Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle by His Majesty the King. The appointment was announced by Buckingham Palace on June 7.

As Professor of Theology, Imagination and the Arts, Sir James has been instrumental in the development of TheoArtistry, a project which drew on the Institute for Theology, Imagination and the Arts’s highly interdisciplinary research to put questions of faith and theology back into public discourse about classical music. Sir James also teaches on the MLitt in Sacred Music. 

Speaking of the honour, Sir James said: “It was a huge surprise when I was contacted about this and I am honoured to be appointed to the Order of the Thistle. I see this as a recognition of the pivotal place of music in the cultural life of Scotland.”

Born and raised in Ayrshire, Sir James is one of the today’s most performed composers, with his work performed all over the world by the great international orchestras, ensembles, choirs, soloists and conductors. He is also a conductor with an international performing career.  

He has long been committed to the musical life of Scotland and has close relationships with all the major music organisations in his home country. He maintains an academic career as a Visiting Professor at St Andrews, and at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. He founded the annual award-winning Cumnock Tryst festival in 2014 in his childhood town in East Ayrshire. 

Sir James was awarded a Knighthood in the 2015 Queen’s Birthday honours and his anthem Who Shall Separate Us? was commissioned for the 2022 funeral of Queen Elizabeth II.  

Earlier this year His Majesty approved the award of The King’s Gold Medal for Music to Sir James, who presently holds roles as composer-in-residence with both the Dresden Philharmonic and Hallé Orchestras. His recent work Angels Unawares was premiered in the Sistine Chapel, Rome in March. 

Sir James also presents a pioneering series of radio programmes for BBC radio 4, ‘Faith in Music‘. In this series, he explores the religious convictions that were central to so many of history’s greatest composers.  

He is one of only two people appointed this summer to the highest order in Scotland, alongside Professor Sir James (Jim) McDonald BGE FREng FRSE, Principal and Vice-Chancellor at the University of Strathclyde. 

Membership of the Order of the Thistle is a personal gift of the Sovereign and is limited to just 16 Knights and Ladies, in addition to members of the Royal Family. Founded in its present form by King James VII in 1687, it is regarded as Scotland’s highest order of chivalry and ranks second only to the Order of the Garter in the British honours system.