Push for public support for St Mary's Music School move

The Royal High School Preservation Trust and St Mary’s Music School are calling for the public to come together in perfect harmony, to secure the use of the iconic Thomas Hamilton building on Calton Hill as a new centre for Scotland’s national music school.

The project already has planning permission, but is unable to proceed at present because of a rival hotel bid for the site. That bid has already been refused permission by City of Edinburgh Council, with the most recent set of plans receiving more than 3,000 objections when they were made public earlier this year.

If the school was given the go ahead – it would be able to grow its number of pupils from 80 to 120 of Scotland’s most promising young musicians, while extending its existing outreach programmes, masterclasses and workshops to more than 300 children from throughout the country.

Planners believe the new 280-seat concert hall will ease the undersupply of performance space in Edinburgh and be capable of staging over 100 public performances a year, attracting audiences of over 20,000 annually and contributing approximately £110m to the Edinburgh economy over the next 30 years.

The capital project is estimated to generate at least £22.6 million for Edinburgh with the ongoing contribution to the city’s economy at around £1.6 million per year.

William Gray Muir, Chairman of The Royal High School Preservation Trust, said:

“This is an unprecedented opportunity to protect our heritage and support Scotland’s cultural future, made possible by one of the most magnanimous charitable gifts that Scotland has ever received.

“Making the Old Royal High the new home for Scotland’s national music school is the only viable scheme that sits in perfect harmony with the aspiration and original purpose of the Thomas Hamilton building. Our project will preserve and restore the building without compromising its classical beauty, while enhancing public access through the provision of a splendid concert hall and public garden.

“There is also a very tangible economic upside to our proposal that will bring direct financial benefit to the city. A report by independent experts found that moving St Mary’s Music School would contribute approximately £110m to the Edinburgh economy over the next 30 years. In addition, the capital project is estimated to generate at least £22.6m for Edinburgh with the ongoing contribution to the city’s economy at around £1.6m per year.”

Dr Kenneth Taylor, Headteacher of St Mary’s Music School, added:

“Scotland’s national music school exists to provide a centre of excellence for musically gifted youngsters from across Scotland, regardless of their financial circumstances. Our school provides the next generation of musicians and world-renowned performance artists across all fields of music from classical to jazz and traditional.

“The opportunity to move to the Old Royal High is too good to miss. It provides us with the rehearsal space we need coupled with an exciting performance space, which both in turn will allow us to develop our musical partnerships and extend our outreach programmes. It also provides the perfect stage for further international recognition for the performing arts in Scotland and enhances our credentials as a destination for cultural education and tourism.”

The Perfect Harmony campaign will run until a final decision is made on the future of the rival hotel development, which has already been refused planning permission by the City of Edinburgh Council. The developers now have two sets of plans on the table, the most recent of which received over 3,100 objections when made public earlier this year.

The campaign launched today urges people throughout Scotland to show their support by writing to their MSP or MP, joining the facebook community and getting involved on twitter. Campaign t-shirts are available via the website, which has been set up to provide information about the campaign and supporters are encouraged to send in photos of themselves in Perfect Harmony t-shirts.