Visiting our museum
Opening Hours:
Monday – Closed
Tuesday – 10:00 – 17:00 – Last entry at 16:30
Wednesday – 10:00 – 17:00 – Last entry at 16:30
Thursday -10:00 – 17:00 – Last entry at 16:30
Friday – 10:00 – 17:00 – Last entry at 16:30
Saturday – 10:00 – 17:00 – Last entry at 16:30
Sunday – Closed
2025 Weekly Tours
May Tour Dates
Wednesday 14th May | 14:00 | Free | Tickets via Eventbrite from 24th April
Join David to learn about all things keyboard to pipes.
Saturday 24th May | 14:00 | Free | Tickets via Eventbrite from 24th April
Join Jim to learn about playing music together.
Friday 30th May | 14:00 | Free | Tickets via Eventbrite from 24th April
Join Dona to learn all about our early keyboard collection.
Guided Tour ‘The Musical Instrument Collection through the Years’ | Saturday 17th May 2025 | 14:00-15:00 | FREE | Tickets via Eventbrite
Join St Cecilia’s Hall Curator Dr Sarah Deters to celebrate International Museum Day! In this tour Sarah will guide you through the development of the Musical Instrument Collection and how it responded to the changing nature of collecting practices, curatorial whims, community needs and emerging technologies.
Tickets are free, but booking is essential. See you there!
Amplifying Voices: Shining a Light on St Cecilia’s South Asian Collection
Steering Group Application | Closes May 23rd 2025 | Apply via Microsoft Form
We are looking for 10 individuals to join our collections Steering Group, which will develop new interpretations of our South Asian musical instrument collection. We want to collaborate with the South Asian community to create new audio-visual labels for our digital guide with Bloomberg Connects, reorienting our museal approach to focus on the lived experience of those who played, and still continue to play, these instruments. Each member will be paid £100, with travel expenses covered up to £10.
We are currently prioritising applications from those who identify as South Asian. This ensures that the learning and interpretations gained from this steering group are rooted in the lived experience and vibrant cultures that the instruments are tied to. Steering group members will need to be available for two sessions on the 14th and 21st of June, both a Saturday. These new audio-visual labels will launch on the app to mark the beginning of South Asian Heritage Month 2025, and will remain a permanent feature of our digital guide.
Community Day Performer/Facilitator Application | Closes June 20th 2025 | Apply via Microsoft Forms
We are currently looking for performers and workshop facilitators for an upcoming community day in August, to celebrate South Asian Heritage Month 2025. You could be a musician, a dancer, a henna artist etc. You’re also welcome to apply as a group, with a maximum of 5 people per group. Each performer/facilitator will be paid £50 for their contribution.
Our SAHM Community Day will be taking place on August 17th, 2025. Tickets will be made available soon!
Concerts at St Cecilia’s Hall
Baroque Music Festival 2025
Maxim Emelyanychev plays Mozart | Saturday 10th May 2025 | 19:00 | £12/15 | Tickets via Institut Français
Join Maxim Emelyanychev for a very special evening of Mozart celebration and final concert of the Baroque Music Festival. The passionate Russian conductor, pianist and harpsichordist will present captivating renditions from the world of Mozart played on the fortepiano, harpsichord and modern piano. The Scotsman describes Emelyanychev’s Mozart performances as ‘a near-miracle of balance and energy, sounds carefully layered […] to make Mozart’s harmonies glow vividly’.
Sypert Summer Concert Series 2025
Sypert Early Music Concert: InAlto Ensemble | Saturday 7th June 2025 | 19:30 | £8-23 | Tickets via Eventbrite
With works by J.S. Bach, Walther, Praetorius, Reiche and others, InAlto imagines the musical library of a group of wind instrumentalists in the18th century. Delving into collections from earlier centuries such as those of Leipzig’s Stadtpfeifer (town pipers), and the chorale melodies of the Lutheran Church, this programme provides an insight into the emotions and experiences of Leipzig’s citizens in the 16th and 17th centuries.
Sypert Early Music Concert: Azur Ensemble | Saturday 14th June 2025 | 19:30 | £8-23 | Tickets via Eventbrite
Azur Ensemble present their programme of works by J.S. Bach, Barsanti, Marais, Eccles, Vivaldi and others.
Sypert Early Music Concert: Jacqueline Ross and Artem Belogurov | Saturday 21st June 2025 | 19:30 | £8-23 | Tickets via Eventbrite
Beethoven’s violin sonatas are a cornerstone of the classical repertoire, performed countless times on concert stages worldwide. However, most modern performances follow Beethoven’s notations with strict adherence, potentially limiting expressive possibilities. Jaqueline and Artem’s project, Beethoven Revisited, seeks to explore alternative ways of interpreting these works by delving into historical performance practices and applying these insights to enliven realisations with dramatic impact and variety. The programme will include sonatas by Haydn and Mozart alongside those of Beethoven.
St Cecilia’s Informal Talk Series 2025
Heavenly Sound: Music in Early Modern Paintings | Thursday 29th May 2025 | 18:00-19:00 | Pay What You Can | Tickets via Eventbrite
Join us on Thursday, 29th May at St Cecilia’s Hall for one of our informal talk series lectures, this time focussing on the representation of music in early modern European paintings, delivered by Lesley Fraser.
Music was a fundamental part of life in medieval and early modern Europe. As a result, references to music crop up in many works of art. Indeed, once we begin to look, we find that paintings are positively teeming with musical instruments. It would seem that if there was one thing medieval and early modern Europeans were expecting to find in Heaven, it was definitely lots of music.
Lesley Fraser is an art historian at the University of Edinburgh where she has been teaching art history for a number of years to both undergraduates and mature students wishing to pursue the subject for personal interest.
Family Activities
Children’s Trail – Explore the Instruments at St Cecilia’s Hall | FREE
Join Tutti, a tiny, curious bird, on a musical adventure through St Cecilia’s Hall!
In music, tutti means “all together”—just like an orchestra playing in harmony. Following Tutti’s trail, you can discover the hidden wonders of eight instruments across the galleries. Along the way, little explorers can bring the trail to life with their own colours, filling the pages with creativity. A celebratory stamp awaits those who complete the trail!
This children’s trail is a collaborative project between Sarah Martin, an artist from the University of Edinburgh, and students on the MScR Collections and Curating Practices postgraduate course at the University of Edinburgh.
Family Programme
Families and children of all ages are always welcome at St Cecilia’s Hall. Come and have fun together while learning about the history of musical instruments.
Our children’s tour can help introduce the instruments to young children while our hands-on interactive ‘discover drawers’ allow visitors both young and old the opportunity to uncover how instruments work.
Children can explore the museum with our Discovery Trail – ask for it at the front desk when you arrive!
Our other children’s trail – “Explore the Instruments at St Cecilia’s Hall”- is available at the front desk or online!
We run a wide range of practical, hands-on workshops, led by musical instrument specialists throughout the year. Look at the Upcoming Events section below to see when the next activity is taking place or contact SCHevents@ed.ac.uk for more information.
In addition, tours or other activities can be arranged to cater for special interests and a varied needs. Please contact SCHgroupvisits@ed.ac.uk for more information.
Venue Hire
St Cecilia’s Hall, located off the iconic Royal Mile in Edinburgh’s Old Town provides contemporary facilities and comfort, within the stunning 1763 heritage building, uniquely home to a world class collection of musical instruments.
We welcome bookings for events that support the museum’s core purpose as a concert hall for live music, and museum of music and musical instruments.
We have two separate spaces available for hire to suit a range of events / activities and budgets:
The Sypert Concert Room (first floor) – max capacity 180 (this number includes all staffing/performers/speakers etc).
The Laigh Hall* (ground floor) – for receptions/refreshments max capacity 80.
* Note that the Laigh Hall itself is divided in 2 by a glass wall creating 2 spaces, both these spaces comprise the Laigh Hall.
Please note absolutely no catering is permitted in the Sypert Concert Room however refreshments can be served in the ground floor Laigh Hall and Historic Foyer. Catering must be arranged separately by the client as St Cecilia’s does not provide this service.
If you would like to enquire about venue hire at St. Cecilia’s full details and prices are available here or email us for more details: SCHEvents@ed.ac.uk