Making history while making music

In 1880, St Mary’s Music School was founded for the education of the choirboys at St Mary’s Episcopal Cathedral, which was completed and consecrated in 1879. Designed in the Victorian Gothic revival style by the architect Sir George Gilbert Scott, it is the only Cathedral in Scotland to maintain a tradition of daily choral services for most of the year. The School was originally based at Old Coates House, within the Cathedral grounds. In 1885, the Song School was built next to the Cathedral to provide choristers with a rehearsal space for their daily practice; beautifully decorated inside by the Irish-born artist, Phoebe Anna Traquair, it continues to be in daily use. Almost a century later, in 1972, the School began to make history as well as music…

1972

Under the guidance of Dennis Townhill (Organist and Choir Master at the Cathedral from 1961 to 1991) and Provost Philip Crosfield, St Mary’s Music School expands into a ‘new and vibrant entity’ – a specialist music school, welcoming our first instrumental pupils. Lord Yehudi Menuhin, the School’s first Patron, refers to us as ‘my younger sister-school in Scotland’.

1978

Dr Carolyn Coxon is appointed Headteacher and, in response to fixed-term contracts for instrumental teachers being cut across the city, introduces the Saturday Music Classes. These continue to be one of the School’s best-loved outreach activities, welcoming around 150 young musicians every year. Under Carolyn’s influence, the Cathedral Choir becomes the first in the UK to allow girls to sing alongside boys on the treble line and Susan Hamilton is our first female chorister. Lord Clyde becomes a Trustee of the School.

1986

Pupils at St Mary’s Music School receive funding through the Scottish Government Aided Places Scheme, helping to ensure that outstanding young musicians can access our specialist music education, whatever their circumstances.

1995

The School moves to Coates Hall, for the first time combining music teaching and practice, academic teaching, and boarding and catering facilities under one roof, along with a garden for outdoor activities.

2001

The Directors’ Recital Prize is introduced with the aim of providing pupils with the experience of public solo performance in a competitive situation. The first winner of the ‘DRP’ is Philip Higham, later appointed Principal Cello of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra in 2016, who will perform at the School’s 50th Anniversary Concert.

2012

Director of Music from 1980 to 1996, Nigel Murray left a gift to the School to fund a series of masterclasses. Launching in 2012, our annual Nigel Murray Masterclass, held in his memory, allows us to bring some of the world’s greatest musicians to the School and is extended to teachers and pupils at schools across Scotland.

2014

The Intermediate Recital Prize (for S3-4 pupils) is awarded for the first time. The first winner is Anna Michels.

2016

A proposal is put forward by the Royal High School Preservation Trust (RHSPT), with financial backing from Dunard Fund, for the old Royal High School building at Calton Hill to be transformed into Scotland’s National Centre of Music, with St Mary’s Music School as its principal tenant.

2020

A unique opportunity for our pupils to meet internationally-renowned musicians from across the globe via live video, the Celebrity 6 Series is inspired by the restrictions of lockdown, and now has a permanent place in our calendar of musical activity.

2023

In the School’s 50th anniversary year, the lease on the old Royal High School building is formally handed over to the RHSPT and we look forward to opening a new chapter in our history in 2027.