Latest news with #NationalCentreforMusic
The Herald Scotland
24-07-2025
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
New Edinburgh music venues land share of £14m cash pot
The Wolfson Foundation has agreed to support the creation of a new National Centre for Music and concert hall at the former Royal High School, one of the city's most prominent landmarks, on Calton Hill. It will also be funding Edinburgh's first purpose-built concert hall for a century, which is earmarked for a site behind a Royal Bank of Scotland building in the New Town. Read more: The two projects, which have both been in the planning for more than decade, will get a share of £14m worth of grants announced by a UK-wide charity. And it is hoped they will be able to secure further support as the projects progress in the next few years. The Dunard Centre will be Edinburgh's first purpose-built concert hall for more than a century. (Image: David Chipperfield Architects) Both projects are being largely bankrolled by Scotland's biggest arts philanthropist, Carol Colburn Grigor. Her Dunard Fund has committed at least £45m to the £69m National Centre for [[Music]] project. It recently secured a pledge of up to £5m from the National Lottery Heritage Fund and £2.85m from a separate charitable trust set up by the late British philanthropist Julia Rausing. A new National Centre for Music will be created on Edinburgh's Calton Hill under plans to transform the former Royal High School building. (Image: Supplied) The Dunard Centre, which is expected to cost more than £115m to build, has secured £80m of private support, including £35m from Ms Grigor's charity, as well as £25m from the Scottish and UK governments, and the city council. The Wolfson Foundation plans to spend more than £200m across the UK over the next five years, across arts, science, health and heritage projects. The Dunard Centre concert hall will be created in the heart of Edinburgh's New Town. (Image: Supplied) The National Centre for Music project, which has been awarded an initial £500,000 from the foundation, will see three indoor performance spaces created inside the A-listed building. The grounds of the complex, which is due to open in 2027, will become home to the first public gardens in the city since the creation of Princes Street Gardens more than 200 years ago. The Dunard Centre project, which has been allocated an initial £100,000 by the foundation, will see a 1000-capacity concert hall built off St Andrew Square, next to the new St James Quarter complex, by 2029. The new venue, which is expected to showcase all forms of music, will become a new home for the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and will be used by the Edinburgh International Festival each August. A spokesperson for the National Centre for Music said: 'This grant will help protect and save the heritage of one of the most remarkable A listed buildings in Edinburgh. 'Our project will create a home for the National Centre for Music which will offer a range of ways for people who live, work and visit the city to come together to engage with the built and social heritage, and Scottish music heritage. 'The National Centre for Music is a newly created charity which will nurture and celebrate the richness of Scotland's music making – across all genres and all levels. It will become an iconic destination – where artists come to deepen their practice, make new work and connect with others, and where audiences come to expand their passions and have uplifting experiences. 'The former Royal High School will provide an inspiring setting in which to learn, make and share music. With a flexible main hall, a suite of practice rooms and a recording studio, it will provide significant new facilities for Scotland's musicians – from top professionals to those just starting their musical learning. 'The National Centre for Music will be a city centre venue for diverse musical communities, participants and audiences. A public engagement programme is being developed that will include creative learning, heritage interpretation, and community-led activity shaped by ongoing consultation. 'Particular attention is being given to reaching groups who are often underrepresented in culture and heritage, including young people, people living in local communities of socioeconomic deprivation, and people with additional support needs." A spokesperson for the Dunard Centre said: 'This generous funding will be instrumental in supporting our ambitious vision to create a new, world-class concert hall in the heart of Edinburgh, catering for 21st century audiences and artists. 'With a mission to create an inclusive, accessible hub, the venue will be 'a hall for all', offering opportunities for people of all ages and stages to learn, participate, create and engage with the arts, as well as opening up a new, free-to-access public space. 'This inaugural grant marks the first step in our relationship with the Wolfson Foundation. 'With a shared commitment to promoting and supporting excellence, we look forward to developing our relationship as plans for Edinburgh's first concert hall in 100 years progress.' Other projects being funded in Scotland include the Angus arts centre Hospitalfield, which has secured £150,000 for a restoration of its building and a new collections study centre. Earlier this year, Wolfson Foundation chief executive Paul Ramsbottom said the charity was aware of a 'crucial need' for capital infrastructure funding for projects across the UK. He said: 'There are few other similar sources of funding and yet organisations need to keep investing in their physical infrastructure. 'A majority of our funding in the next five years will therefore be allocated for infrastructure: refurbishment, equipment and new build.'
The Herald Scotland
12-06-2025
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
New Edinburgh public gardens project lands £2.85m donation
Work on the £8.4m landscaping project is due to get underway within the next few months as part of plans to create a £69m National Centre for Music at the former Royal High School, one of the city's most prominent historic landmarks, by 2027. Read more: The £2.8m donation is the second major funding boost for the project in the space of six months after it secured a £5m pledge from the National Lottery Heritage Fund. Most of the backing for the new cultural centre, which will have three indoor performance spaces, has pledged by an American arts philanthropist, Carol Colburn Grigor, through her Dunard Fund charity. The proposed grounds of the National Centre for Music in Edinburgh. (Image: Tom Stuart-Smith Studio) It was announced last year that award-winning landscape architect Tom Stuart-Smith was masterminding what is planned to become the most significant new green spaces in the heart of the Scottish capital since the creation of Princes Street Gardens in the 1820s. The Royal High School Preservation Trust, the charity pursuing the project, which will include a new indoor concert hall in the heart of the building, has pledged that the new gardens will be open to the public every day and free to access. The grounds of the new National Centre for Music in Edinburgh are planned to be open to the public throughout the year. (Image: Tom Stuart-Smith Studio) The Julia Rausing Trust, which was created in 2014, became one of the UK's biggest philanthropic funds. Although Ms Rising passed away last year, her husband Hans has pledged that it will continue in her memory and will be distributing around £100m a year. The trust will be supporting the east garden at the Calton Hill site, which will feature more than 200 varieties of flowering trees, flowers and grasses. The pavilion in the east garden will host horticultural and environmental talks, and showcase 'the story of Scotland's rich and diverse fauna.' The new National Centre for Music is expected to open in 2027. (Image: Richard Murphy Architects) Simon Fourmy, director of the Julia Rausing Trust, said: 'The transformation of the former Royal High School in Edinburgh into a new National Centre for Music is a remarkable project and it is exciting to see a new public garden created as part of this initiative. 'Supporting heritage for the benefit of all was an important part of Julia Rausing's giving and together with her interest in horticulture and love of gardens, make this a fitting project to support as part of her continuing legacy.' Tom Stuart-Smith said: 'The overall design of these gardens aims to highlight the extraordinary architectural setting of not only the building but also Edinburgh, creating a tranquil retreat accessible for everyone and recognised as an outstanding destination in the city centre.' Kate Smith, development director at the Royal High School Preservation Trust, said: 'The gardens will be an extremely important feature of the new National Centre for Music. 'They will have health and wellbeing at their heart and create an urban oasis for the whole community to enjoy. 'The old Royal High School building is one of the most important neoclassical buildings in Scotland and the gardens will form the perfect frame for the exciting new musical hub planned for the building.'
The Herald Scotland
06-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Herald Scotland
Carnegie medal for arts benefactor Carol Colburn Grigor
The American former concert pianist is the daughter of wealthy inventor Richard D. Colburn, with the family having an estimated net worth of $1.2bn. Ms Colburn Grigor and the fund have provided millions of pounds worth of grants to charities in the arts and heritage sectors, including the Edinburgh International Festival, National Galleries of Scotland, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, National Library of Scotland and Britain's major opera companies. Read More: A purpose-built concert hall, the Dunard Centre, is set to be built on St Andrew Square and will be the first in Edinburgh for more than 100 years. The National Centre for Music, which will be in the former Royal High School building on Calton Hill has also received support from Ms Colburn Grigor. Both projects are designed to be open and accessible to the wider community, supporting partnerships with Edinburgh schools, and encouraging local people to experience new genres and artforms on their doorstep. Jo Buckley, chief executive of the Dunard Centre, said: 'I am delighted to see Carol's transformative philanthropy being celebrated on the global stage, and it is especially fitting that this year's ceremony is taking place in Edinburgh, which was Carol's home for many years. It is no exaggeration to say that her longstanding support has helped to make Edinburgh the cultural capital that it is today, with its future assured by her powerful investment in two landmark capital projects, the Dunard Centre and the National Centre for Music. 'Cultural transformation relies on the dogged persistence and determination of visionary individuals, as Andrew Carnegie's legacy has shown us over the past century. As we look to create Edinburgh's first new concert hall in over a century, it is tantalising to think ahead to the exceptional performers it will attract, and the profound economic, social, educational and cultural impact that Carol's philanthropy will have on Scotland for generations to come." Jenny Jamison, chief executive and creative director of the National Centre for Music, said: 'Carol has been a driving force behind the National Centre for Music. "Not only has she enabled the preservation of the spectacular old Royal High School buildings which we are transforming into our home, she has also championed the importance of making this a welcoming place where locals and visitors, learners and professionals can enjoy and expand their musical passions every day. 'The National Centre for Music will celebrate and support all genres of music making and will be a place where Scottish musical history is made. Offering new resource and partnership opportunities to Scotland's music sector, it will ensure Scotland continues to be a leader in music and culture across the globe. "Carol's vision is very much at the heart of this ambition, and we are delighted to see her honoured this week.'
