A proposed concert hall in Edinburgh’s St Andrew’s Square has secured a one million US dollar grant from a New York philanthropic foundation.
The Carnegie Corporation of New York donated the money towards the Dunard Centre Concert Hall, Edinburgh’s first new and purpose-built concert hall in 100 years.
The planned venue will consist of a 1,000 seat auditorium alongside bars, cafes, meeting rooms and public spaces. The Dunard Centre is further planned to be a key venue for the Edinburgh International Festival, as well as the home to Scottish Chamber Orchestra (SCO).
The Carnegie foundation is led by Dame Louise Richardson, a former principal and vice-chancellor of the University of St Andrews. Including the Carnegie Corporation’s grant, the Dunard Centre has managed to generate £80m in private donations, alongside £25m in public investment (via Edinburgh’s City Region Deal).
Construction on the concert hall is scheduled to begin this year, with a report estimating it to bring 200,000 visitors annually, increasing tourism spending in Edinburgh and the surrounding region by £8.6m a year.
The head of the Edinburgh International Festival, Fergus Linehan, has praised the venue’s strengths in comparison to Edinburgh’s pre-existing Usher Hall, saying: “If you’re talking about new composers, and digital or electronic work, they [Usher Hall] don’t really fit into that.”
Jo Buckley, chief executive of the Dunard Centre, said: “The money [from the Carnegie Corporation] will help us develop and advance our engagement strategy, which is a vital element of our mission to create a ‘Hall for All’ here in Edinburgh.
“With a focus on supporting civic participation and socioeconomic mobility, we intend to build trusted relationships, design thoughtful creative engagement programmes, and establish the team that will bring this work to life when we open our doors in 2029.”
The Dunard Centre Concert Hall is scheduled to begin construction this year, before opening to the public in 2029.
“Dunard Centre site, July 2024 – 02” by Pretzelles is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.