XRF Internship at St Cecilia’s Hall

In this week’s blog, we hear from Despoina Papazoglou who was an intern at St Celilia’s Hall from April to June 2019. Her internship focused on the material analysis of a painted 17th-century harpsichord using XRF…. 

Hello! My name is Despoina and I decided to write this article to share my experience of an eight-week journey as an intern at St Cecilia’s Hall. This is the first time I have written something for a blog, so before I started I googled “how to write my first blog?”, and seriously, I couldn’t understand a thing…just for a moment, I believed that quantum physics was easier to understand!

Let’s start with when I found the vacancy for the internship. The title “Scientific Material Analysis of Musical Instruments Internship” sparked curiosity within me as my professional background is in the field of material science. After reading and re-reading the job description I knew I wanted to be part of the project, as I realised it would not only expand my knowledge but also expose me to new challenges that would help me achieve my future career goals. I was so excited about the job and wanted to be part of it so badly that I did extensive research and learnt all about the museum and the collections displayed within it. Long story short, I sent in my CV, attended the interview and was offered the internship. I was probably the happiest person on earth! One of my biggest desires came true, and I could finally work in a museum with people who share the same passion as me – the conservation and preservation of cultural heritage.

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Conservation Work Placement at St Cecilia’s Hall

In this week’s blog, Alberto Bonza, an apprentice from Italy, describes his time working with conservators from the CRC…

I am writing this blog post at the end of my six weeks of volunteering at the CRC, which I think came far too soon!

I am an apprentice keyboard instruments maker and restorer, working with my father in our family business in Italy. Before my placement in Edinburgh, I worked on various early instruments, such as the 1788 Taskin harpsichord in Milan ‘Castello Sforzesco’, and the 1782 J. A. Stein fortepiano. My most recent work has been the reconstruction of the chromatic harpsichord owned by the Prince of Venosa, Carlo Gesualdo. A few months ago, I decided to contact Musical Instrument Conservator, Jonathan Santa Maria Bouquet, to see if I could volunteer at the CRC in order to improve my skills.

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A Hurdy-Gurdy Experience

Today’s blog post comes from Michelle Kirk, a West Dean College student (MA Conservation of Furniture and Related Materials) who undertook a conservation placement with the CRC this Summer...

Although usually practising and training within the realms of furniture, this summer kicked off to a musical start with a work placement at the CRC, under direction of their musical instruments conservator Jonathan Santa Maria Bouquet.

This was an especially exciting time due to the redevelopment of St Cecilia’s Hall, and I was presented with a number of objects to work with, one of which intrigued me more than anything else – a rather sorry looking late 18th century hurdy-gurdy (MIMEd 1052) made by ‘Ouvrard’ in Paris.

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The instrument before treatment. Photographed by Susan Pettigrew

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