A fundraising update by Leisa Thomas, Development Officer

Fundraising continues to go from strength to strength and we are delighted to announce three major grants from Scottish Trusts that have helped us reach the halfway mark in our fundraising endeavours. Arts philanthropists, the Dunard Fund, and Scottish stalwarts, the Wolfson Foundation, along with city locals, Edinburgh World Heritage, have each committed significant grants in support of St Cecilia’s Hall. The financial backing of these charitable bodies lends strength to the importance of our vision for Scotland’s oldest concert hall and what it means for our country’s musical heritage. We would like to extend our thanks to everyone who has supported the project and helped us attain this fantastic milestone!

A post by Sarah Deters, Audience Development Assistant, MIMED

Why is the St Cecilia’s Hall Redevelopment project so important to Musical Instrument Museums Edinburgh (MIMEd)?  There are a number of reasons. Through the redevelopment, we will be able to preserve and conserve St Cecilia’s Hall, the oldest concert hall in Scotland. By expanding the building, we will finally be able to bring together our musical instrument collections into one museum, displaying our objects in new galleries and allowing us to show the history of musical instruments under one roof. And with this improved St Cecilia’s, we can engage and embrace a new audience by expanding our opening hours, improving our facilities, providing exciting public programming, and interpreting our museum objects with a fresh perspective.

The opportunity to create an engaging space for our visitors is incredibly exciting for me as the Audience Development Assistant. Throughout the past year, I, along with the SCH Redevelopment Group and Jura Consultants, have been working hard on developing a robust Activity Plan.  This plan outlines all of the programmes, relationships, and engagement opportunities that will occur at St Cecilia’s Hall.  The plan has already been set in motion and will continue to gather speed throughout the redevelopment process.  It is a great time to be involved with Musical Instrument Museums Edinburgh and I look forward to continuing to update everyone on the project.