Edinburgh set for new music education centre

The Royal High School Preservation Trust (RHSPT) has welcomed today’s decision by the City of Edinburgh Council’s Finance and Resources Committee to approve the restoration of the Thomas Hamilton building on Calton Hill as a centre for music education and public performance.

The proposal, submitted to the council last month, brings together a network of partner organisations, alongside St Mary’s Music School, including the Benedetti Foundation and IMPACT (International Music and Performing Arts Charitable Trust) Scotland with a vision of creating a National Centre for Music as a new platform for musical collaborations.

The bid is backed by an expanded gift from philanthropist Carol Colburn Grigor and Dunard Fund totalling £55 million, which will cover the capital costs and support the future maintenance of the Thomas Hamilton building. 

William Gray Muir, chairman of the Royal High School Preservation Trust, said: 'We are thrilled that our shared vision for a new world-class centre for music education and public performance can move forward at last.  

'The project has brought together an unprecedented range of partners, all of whom recognise collaboration as the key to realising Scotland's potential as a world leader in music education, and creating an entirely new way for the nation to engage with and enjoy classical music.  

'We would also like to recognise the efforts of everyone who has spoken up for conserving and protecting the former Royal High and all those who have voiced their support for our aims. We remain enormously grateful to the Trustees of Dunard Fund for their unfailing foresight and generosity towards the Royal High School Preservation Trust.'

Dr Kenneth Taylor, Headteacher at St Mary’s Music School, added: 'This is a truly exciting day for St Mary’s Music School. Not only does it bring us a huge step closer to having a new home for the school; it also places us at the centre of a project that will deliver and enhance world-class music education for people from all backgrounds across Scotland in a setting that will be second to none. 

'We would like to congratulate everyone who has made this possible, including the Councillors who have recognised the value that the proposal will deliver for Edinburgh and the whole of Scotland. We are also enormously grateful for the ongoing support of our stakeholders in the world of arts and education, as well as the people of Edinburgh who have backed us warmly over the past five years.  

'Our thanks in particular go to Dunard Fund, whose unfailing generosity has enabled us to be central to the shared vision of creating a new platform for musical collaborations, both within the building, online and out in the wider community.'

The full submission can be viewed here.