St Cecilia's Hall
The University of Edinburgh has embarked on a project to transform St Cecilia’s Hall Museum of Instruments.
Our Vision
The St Cecilia’s Hall Redevelopment Project will allow us to reach out to new audiences, attract scholarship and research and ensure the future of this historic building for future generations to enjoy. St Cecilia’s Hall Museum of Instruments will take its rightful place as one of the ‘must see’ destinations for any visitor to the University and the City.
The Hall and the Museum
St Cecilia’s Hall and Museum are unique. Only at the University of Edinburgh can you see, hear and experience historic musical instruments within a historic setting. This remarkable situation provides us with a wonderful opportunity to redevelop the Hall as a centre of musical study, the principal resource for musical instrument display and teaching in Scotland, and as an outstanding performance space. 2012 will see the 300th anniversary of the Hall. Now is the time to redevelop the Museum to broaden its appeal to a wider public, increasing visitor numbers who would appreciate this hidden gem, offer longer public opening hours and new ways to experience the instruments.
The Future
The St Cecilia’s Hall Redevelopment Project is not simply a restoration project. While the exterior will be restored to its original glory and important modernisations made to the infrastructure, the emphasis will be on improving the visitor experience. The Concert Hall will be enhanced by new bespoke comfortable seating and the existing displays enhanced by additional musical instruments from our sister collection at the Reid Concert Hall. St Cecilia’s Hall will become the bespoke destination for public interaction with the University’s historic musical instrument collection, and in its updated form will continue to be an internationally important hub of scholarship and performance.
The Project
In order to fully put St Cecilia’s Hall on the map, the Redevelopment Project will focus on certain specific aims. These include:
- Improving the Concert Hall and audience experience
- Expanding and developing the gallery spaces
- Redesign and refresh the interpretation material
- Restoring the original historic frontage of the building
- Upgrading the building infrastructure
The Project will cost £5m. A full £2m has already been raised and we now seek the remaining £3m to ensure the project succeeds in creating a venue that will play an ever increasing role in developing the study of music and culture in the UK and beyond.
Supporting St Cecilia's
If you would like to discuss supporting St Cecilia's Hall, contact Niamh Donlon on +44 (0)131 650 2789, email niamh.donlon@ed.ac.uk