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
Weekly Tours
October Tour Dates
Friday 11th October | 14:00 | FREE | Tickets via Eventbrite
Join Dona for a tour of our keyboard galleries and learn all about our early keyboard collections.
Wednesday 16th October | 14:00 | FREE | Tickets via Eventbrite
Join David for ‘The Pipes: From Bliss to Bedlam‘ and learn about all things keyboard to bagpipes.
Saturday 26th October | 14:00 | FREE | Tickets via Eventbrite
Join Jim for a tour of the Wolfson Gallery and learn about the development of instruments over time.
Wednesday 30th October | 14:00 | FREE | Tickets via Eventbrite
Join Katya for a tour highlighting the many animals that feature in our collection.
Concerts at St Cecilia’s Hall
Concert for Ukraine | 12th October 2024 | 19:30-21:30 | £25 | Tickets available here
This concert, with pianist Daria Golovchenko, winner of Channel 4’s The Piano, will raise funds for families affected by the war in Ukraine and every penny from ticket sales will go to Sunflower Scotland. There will be an opportunity to donate on the night as well.
Queer Voices in Music Concert Series
An Autumn concert series centred around unique artists whose work relates to LGBTQ+ narratives and themes.
Concert Three: Finn Anderson | 19th October 2024 | 18:00-19:00 | Tickets: £0/£4/£8 | Tickets via Eventbrite
Join us for a performance by Finn Anderson, one of Scotland’s most enchanting storytellers and composers. His work bridges the worlds of music and theatre, crafting songs that go straight for the heart.
A Concert for Esther Inglis | 20th October 2024 | 14:45 – 16:15 | FREE | Tickets via Eventbrite
Join us at St Cecilia’s Hall to celebrate the quatercentenary anniversary of Esther Inglis’ death with a concert inspired by Inglis’ life and work.
The programme will feature polyphonic settings of French poetic texts of which Esther Inglis copied into her exquisite manuscripts: Antoine de Chandieu’s Octonaires sur la vanité et inconstance du monde, and the Quatrains du sieur de Pybrac. The programme will also include Sheena Phillips’ original settings of poetic works by and for Esther Inglis: Un Petit Pseautier and Gerda Stevenson’s Nine Haiku for Esther Inglis.
Performed by Eric Thomas (lute), Héloîse Bernard (soprano), Sally Carr (soprano), Calum Robertson (clarinet and bass clarinet), and Juliette Philogene (piano). Presented by Dr Jamie Reid Baxter (University of Glasgow) and Anna-Nadine Pike (University of Edinburgh).
Georgian Concert Society
Songs & Duets from the Age of Monteverdi: The Gonzaga Band | 26th October 2024 | 16:30 | £10/23/25 | Tickets via the Queen’s Hall
The Gonzaga Band demonstrates the new genre of solo song that emerged from Italy in the early 17th century and represented the musical avant-garde of its day, seeking to find
a more direct way of expressing the meaning and emotion of secular texts. Music by Monteverdi and his contemporaries including Merula, Rossi, Marini and more.
Bach Cello Suites Nos 1, 2 & 3: Jonathan Manson | 18th January 2025 | 16:30 | £10/23/25 | Tickets via the Queen’s Hall
Edinburgh-born cellist Jonathan Manson appears frequently as a principal and continuo player with leading early music groups including the Dunedin Consort. He plays the first three of Bach’s six cello suites, composed in the early 1720s while the composer worked at Cöthen. Among the earliest works for solo cello, they exploit the contrapuntal possibilities of the instrument in dazzling sets of dances, preceded by arpeggiated preludes.
St Cecilia’s Informal Talk Series 2024
November | Faust and Furious: A History of Edinburgh’s Old Town | Wednesday 20th November | 18:00-19:00 | Tickets: Pay What You Can | Tickets available on Eventbrite
Join us for a talk by Jim Slaven, a member of Edinburgh Detours, that will take us on a tour through the history of Edinburgh’s Old Town.
Family Activities
Halloween Family Trail | 1st – 31st October 2024 | FREE | Tickets bookable via Eventbrite
Join us this October for a free, fun Halloween-themed family trail!
Following the usual route around the museum, see if you can spot the 8 ghosts hidden throughout the galleries and answer each of their music-related questions to win a Halloween-themed sticker at the end!
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!.
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