Monthly Archives: May 2015

St Cecilia’s captures donor’s imagination

The project to renovate Scotland’s oldest concert hall has received a generous donation from a University alumnus.

The bequest of £5,000 was donated by Robert McCracken, LLB who graduated in 1979.

Mr McCracken said: “I donated to the St Cecilia’s Hall project because it captured my interest and imagination in a number of different ways that were important to me.

“Firstly, it has strong historic significance for the City of Edinburgh, where I attended school and university, and to which I still have strong links. Secondly, it appealed to my interest in music, both for its beauty and potential as a venue for baroque music, and as a home for a wonderful period collection of harpsichords and other similar instruments.

“After very kindly being given a guided tour of the instruments, including a fascinating chat with the curator, I was hooked!”

The donation is a further boost to the project, which received a £100,000 award from Edinburgh World Heritage earlier this year, and £825,500 from the Heritage Lottery Fund in March 2014.

If you would like to find out more about supporting the St Cecilia’s Hall project, please email Leisa.Thomas@ed.ac.uk.