Friends of St Cecilia’s Hall and Museum

15/06/2026

This was great last year - get your free tickets for this year now!

SAVE THE DATE!

Join us at St Cecilia's for our second ever South Asian Heritage Month celebration!

This July, we celebrate the rich diversity of South Asia with an afternoon of South Asian music and performance in Scotland's oldest concert hall. Our event consists of a variety of performers who represent a variety of musical practices from South Asia. This event is family friendly, and a great opportunity to have a look at our South Asian musical instrument collection as well!

This event is free, but we suggest booking tickets using the link below to avoid disappointment: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/unity-in-diversity-south-asian-heritage-month-2026-tickets-1990790661459

13/06/2026

Tonight at the newly reopened St C’s: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/sypert-early-music-concert-anna-stegmann-corina-marti-tickets-1987048437366

10/06/2026

A beautiful bentside spinet!

This week’s Instrument of the Week is the bentside spinet by Thomas Hitchcock. The bentside spinet is a compact instrument and was a popular domestic instrument in its day. They were a more affordable option for the growing middle class in England.

Want to find out more? Head over to our digital guide on Bloomberg Connects and use the lookup number below!

Pictured: Bentside spinet, Thomas Hitchcock, 1728. MIMEd 4310.

04/06/2026

Hallelujah!!!

Good news! After our temporary period of closure St Cecilia's Hall will re-open on Tuesday 9 June 2026. We look forward to welcoming you back to our beautiful museum and concert hall then! Make sure to check out our What's On Page for information on our upcoming events for 2026.

https://www.stcecilias.ed.ac.uk/whats-on/

04/06/2026

Big announcement later today!!!

03/06/2026

St C’s has instruments from all over the world in the collection!

This week’s Instrument of the Week is the kora. This instrument is played by traditional storytellers, known as griots, of the Gambian River valley. These storytellers recite stories and histories while accompanied by this type of harp.

Want to find out more? Head over to our digital guide on Bloomberg Connects and use the lookup number below!

Pictured: Kora, Serrif Mballow, 2002. MIMEd 6208.

02/06/2026

Here’s my preview of the Sounds of St Cecilia’s concert series at St C’s during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August - tickets now available:

‍ Preview: Sounds of St Cecilia’s 2026 ‍ St Cecilia’s Hall and Museum August 2026 ‍ This year’s excellent series of Fringe concerts in the beautiful 18th century surroundings of St Cecilia’s Hall on Niddry Street spans music and instruments from the 14th to the 19th centuries, and from...

28/05/2026

On Tuesday the Friends of St Cecilia’s Edinburgh Organ Crawl starring Dr John Kitchen MBE, Edinburgh City Organist and Friends committee member. First was the 1757 Snetzler organ in the oldest Masonic Lodge in the world just off the Canongate. Then came the 1978 Ahrend organ in the Reid Concert Hall, and finally the 1897 Hope-Jones organ in the McEwan Hall. Dr Kitchen spoke about and demonstrated each organ in his inimitable style. Then it was back to Dr Kitchen’s lovely house to see and hear his chamber organ, harpsichords and square piano, and to enjoy a buffet supper. It was a great afternoon and evening. This was an event for Friends members - to join and enjoy exclusive events and superb concerts from only £15 a year: https://friendsofstceciliashall.com/join2/

27/05/2026

This week’s Instrument of the Week is this bassoon by Buffet-Crampon from 1924. This bassoon is representative of one of the modern forms of the instrument, with its complex key system that was developed by Buffet.

Want to find out more? Head over to our digital guide on Bloomberg Connects and use the lookup number below!

Pictured: Bassoon, Buffet-Crampon, 1924. MIMEd 2281.

25/05/2026

Here’s my review of the London Serpent Trio’s 50th Anniversary Concert - which was sssplendid!

Carlops Village Hall, 22/5/26 Nicholas Perry, Andrew Kershaw, Philip Humphries (serpents) I don’t usually begin a review by describing the instrument played in the concert, but in this case I’ll make an exception. The serpent is utterly bewildering to look at, and a fiendishly difficult brass w