- Dunard Centre welcomed The Duke of Kent as its first royal visitor last week
- The visit celebrated Dunard Centre’s artistic partnership with Wigmore Hall
- Royal Conservatoire of Scotland musicians offered a glimpse of the venue’s future programme
- The visit followed a major milestone in the venue’s construction programme
The Dunard Centre, Edinburgh’s first new concert hall in over 100 years, welcomed its first royal visitor, The Duke of Kent, to its St Andrew Square site last week.
The Duke, who is the Patron of Wigmore Hall, enjoyed live music and heard more about the vision for the world-class venue, following the announcement of Wigmore Hall’s new artistic partnership with the Dunard Centre earlier this year.
The visit began with a short performance by two students at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, piper and whistle player Hamish Martindale and guitarist Anja Maclennan, giving a glimpse of the venue’s future multi-genre programme.
His Royal Highness also met representatives from some of the Dunard Centre’s key partners, including Edinburgh International Festival, Scottish Chamber Orchestra and the Royal Bank of Scotland, alongside Wigmore Hall Director John Gilhooly.
Jo Buckley, Chief Executive of the Dunard Centre, said: “It’s not every day you get the honour of welcoming a royal visitor to site, and it was a particular pleasure to welcome The Duke of Kent to the Dunard Centre, marking the start of our new partnership with London’s Wigmore Hall.
“Together, we took a moment to reflect on our mutual commitment to world-class programming and to the warm welcome afforded to our audiences by the intimacy of our design.
“His Royal Highness is a huge music lover, and it was a joy to see him tapping his foot to traditional jigs performed by two students from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland – just a small taste of the breadth and calibre of music that will be heard on our stage in years to come.”
The high-profile visit comes shortly after the project celebrated a major construction milestone, with piling works concluding in June and excavation of the 10-metre-deep, two-storey basement now underway.
Designed by David Chipperfield Architects with Reiach and Hall Architects, the Dunard Centre will be the first concert hall in the UK to be designed by world-leading Japanese firm Nagata Acoustics.
Supported by Royal Bank of Scotland, and located behind its Head Office building at No. 36 St Andrew Square, the ‘Hall for All’ will be a vibrant hub for all kinds of musical performance, events, learning and community activities, as well as the new permanent home of the Scottish Chamber, and a new venue for the Edinburgh International Festival.
The collaboration between the Dunard Centre and London’s Wigmore Hall, announced in March this year, was one of a series of unprecedented academic and artistic partnerships to be launched by the globally-renowned Wigmore Hall in celebration of its 125th anniversary.
The collaboration will see Wigmore Hall Director John Gilhooly leading the Dunard Centre’s new artistic advisory committee, as well as a range of shared programming and commissioning initiatives.
A lifelong supporter of the arts and a passionate music fan, The Duke has been Patron of Wigmore Hall for 10 years, regularly attending concerts at the venue.
In October 2025, at a recital marking his 90th birthday celebrations, His Royal Highness was presented with the Wigmore Medal by mezzo-soprano Dame Janet Baker in recognition of the contribution to the hall’s musical life.