St Cecilia's Hall

Sounds of St Cecilia’s III: The Early Jazz Clarinet
2025-08-15 15:00 - 16:00 (Europe/London) | St Cecilia’s Hall, 50 Niddry St, Edinburgh, Scotland, EH1 1LL, United Kingdom
This concert will pay homage to jazz clarinettists of the 1920/30s including Benny Goodman and Barney Bigard. Featuring an exciting young trio of Glasgow’s finest jazz musicians: Tom Gibbs (clarinet), Alex Handyside (guitar) and Timmy Allan (bass). The performance will include period instruments from University of Edinburgh’s world-famous Musical Instrument Collection, notably a clarinet from the Shackleton Collection. Supported by The University of Edinburgh and the Shackleton Fund.

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Jacobites, Italians and Music in Edinburgh
2025-08-14 18:00 - 19:00
Join us on Thursday, 14th August at St Cecilia’s Hall for one of our informal talk series lectures, with Dr Brianna Robertson-Kirkland who will explore the story of the first generation of the Corris through images, storytelling and song.

From the Italian Jacobite court to Edinburgh’s St Cecilia’s Hall, in 1771, Charles Edward Stuart’s personal musicians, Domenico and Francesca Corri, travelled with their brother/brother-in-law, John, to start a new musical life in Scotland. Despite their Jacobite links Roman Catholic faith, and many scandals that included bankruptcy and legal battles, they emerged as one of the most important and powerful musical families in Scotland. Indeed, their story reveals much about Edinburgh’s musical history. Join Dr Brianna Robertson-Kirkland as she explores the story of the first generation of the Corris through images, storytelling and song.

Dr Brianna E. Robertson-Kirkland is a Lecturer in Historical Musicology at The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland . She has sung in master classes and private lessons with early music specialists including Emma Kirkby, Nicholas Clapton and Robert Toft and regularly performs lecture-recitals at conferences and events.

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Sounds of St Cecilia's II: Delights for Violin and Harpsichord
2025-08-13 15:00 - 16:00
George Weir, a young violinist at present studying at the RCS in Glasgow, performs music for violin and harpsichord by Bach (Sonata in G BWV 1021), Handel (Sonata in D major) and Corelli (Sonata op. 6 no. 5), as well as an unaccompanied violin piece by the little-known Austrian composer Johann Vilsmayr. John Kitchen accompanies on the 1755 Kirkman harpischord.

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Classical Bagpipe Music – Scotland’s Hidden Treasure
2025-08-10 19:30 - 21:00
In this concert you will hear a variety of piobaireachd, the classical music of the great Highland bagpipe, Scotland’s national instrument. The musicians, Alasdair Henderson, John MacDonald and Brodie Watson-Masse, are all leading exponents of this wonderful music. The tunes will be played in continuous fashion, giving a unique musical experience. Most piobaireachd are composed using pentatonic scales or variations thereof, so although the pipe has a limited number of notes, a wide variety of tonal mood is possible, as you will hear at this concert.

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Sounds of St Cecilia's I: Clair-Obscur
2025-08-09 15:00 - 16:00
Marin Marais, Silvius Leopold Weiss and J.S. Bach, recognised for the extraordinary beauty of their works, were first admired as virtuosos of their respective instruments: viol, lute, and keyboard. As composers and as improvisers, they took inspiration in each other’s harmonic language and flourishing and particular ornamentation. These three composers are brought together again, with clair-obscur pieces of indescribable darkness and melancholy, in contrast with moments of brightness and serenity. Alongside Bach’s keyboard suites, Khou has adapted for harpsichord some particularly touching pieces by Marais and Weis. Supported by the Keyboard Charitable Trust.

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From Cleopatra with Vengeance, an Abbreviated Opera
2025-08-08 15:00 - 16:10, 2025-08-08 11:30 - 12:40
One day only. When Ptolemy tries to usurp the throne, Cleopatra seduces Caesar to win it back. A one-hour reduction of Handel’s most performed opera, Giulio Cesare. An Operaland production featuring Michael Temporal-Darrell (baritone) as Caesar, Alice Wang (soprano) as Cleopatra, with Miguel Carranza’s inspired costume and stage design. The music will be performed on early period instruments from St Cecilia’s instrument collection, is part of The Cantata Series and all proceeds benefit the hall. Performed in Italian with English subtitles.

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Magical Melodies: Musical Storytelling
2025-08-05 11:00 - 12:00
From fiddlers in fairy hills to golden harps and magic geese, Scotland is filled with fantastical folklore of magical musical adventures. Join storyteller and musician Ailsa Dixon, in the music museum St Cecilia’s Hall, for a fun-filled family friendly romp through myth and legend. From learning a wee bit of Scots and Gaelic folksong, to hearing jigs, reels and legends of magical ceilidhs, this is a wonderful and accessible introduction to Scottish music for wee ones. Tales of pipers, harpers and curious melodies abound in this hour of enchanting story and song.

Highlight Tours of St Cecilia’s Hall
2025-08-01 - 2025-08-22
Each tour takes place at 2pm and lasts approximately an hour.
Join us on these guided tours of the musical treasures on display at St Cecilia’s Hall, Scotland’s oldest concert hall and home to the University of Edinburgh’s Musical Instrument Collection. Topics and guides vary daily – see the schedule below for details.

Summer Family Trail
2025-06-26 - 2025-08-29
Join us this Summer for a free, fun Summer-themed family trail! Following the usual route around the museum, see if you can spot all 8 buckets & spades hidden throughout the galleries and answer some music-related questions to win a Summer-themed sticker at the end!

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Dementia Social: Instruments of Rock
2021-06-04 10:30 - 11:30
From electric guitars to synthesizers, learn how musical instruments shaped the sounds of rock and roll.

Our Social Programme creates a friendly environment where everyone is welcome, and all contributions are valued. Sessions are online via Zoom. We will start with a time to chat and share a virtual tea and cake. This will be followed by a short presentation by the Learning Engagement Curator of St Cecilia’s Hall around the theme of the session. A lived streamed musical performance rounds off the session with a bit of time at the end for questions for our musicians. All our Social programmes are inspired by our collections, build confidence, inspire creativity, and are focussed on having fun. They are suitable for those who might be regular visitors, those who have always loved visiting, as well as those who have never come to our museum before.
Register here
Joining instructions and Zoom link will be emailed with confirmation of registration to the event.

Dementia Social: The music and instruments of Mary, Queen of Scots
2021-05-07 10:30 - 11:30
Discover the musical world of Renaissance Scotland and listen to some of the instruments that Mary, Queen of Scots would have played.

Music was an important part of the royal court of Mary Stuart and she herself played the lute and the virginal. Learn about the music and musical instruments played during her lifetime and enjoy a performance of Renaissance music.

Our Social Programme creates a friendly environment where everyone is welcome, and all contributions are valued. Sessions are online via Zoom. We will start with a time to chat and share a virtual tea and cake. This will be followed by a short presentation by the Learning Engagement Curator of St Cecilia’s Hall around the theme of the session. A lived streamed musical performance rounds off the session with a bit of time at the end for questions for our musicians. All our Social programmes are inspired by our collections, build confidence, inspire creativity, and are focussed on having fun. They are suitable for those who might be regular visitors, those who have always loved visiting, as well as those who have never come to our museum before.
Register here
Joining instructions and Zoom link will be emailed with confirmation of registration to the event.
