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Festival at St Mary's Cathedral

August is the highlight of Edinburgh's year, with the Edinburgh International Festival, Edinburgh Fringe Festival and many others coming to our city, along with millions of visitors.  St Mary's Cathedral hosts a superb and varied sucession of events, focussing on music and art, and all taking place in the beautiful space of the Cathedral.

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Full Calendar

Festival at St Mary's: Music

  • Lunchtime Recital: Kla-vier Duo, piano duet
    Lunchtime Recital: Kla-vier Duo, piano duet
    Multiple Dates
    Lunchtime Recital: Kla-vier Duo, piano duet
    Thu, 01 Aug
    01 Aug 2024, 13:00 – 13:50
    01 Aug 2024, 13:00 – 13:50
    A long-running and popular series of lunchtime recitals in one of Edinburgh's most beautiful concert spaces. Today, the Kla-vier Duo play music by Rachmaninoff and Debussy.
  • Lunchtime Recital: Charles Wooler, organ
    Lunchtime Recital: Charles Wooler, organ
    Multiple Dates
    Lunchtime Recital: Charles Wooler, organ
    Fri, 02 Aug
    02 Aug 2024, 13:00 – 13:50
    02 Aug 2024, 13:00 – 13:50
    A long-running and popular series of lunchtime recitals in one of Edinburgh's most beautiful concert spaces. Today, organist Charles Wooler performs Mendelssohn and Vierne.
  • Lunchtime Recital: Susan Tomes, piano
    Lunchtime Recital: Susan Tomes, piano
    Multiple Dates
    Lunchtime Recital: Susan Tomes, piano
    Sat, 03 Aug
    03 Aug 2024, 13:00 – 13:50
    03 Aug 2024, 13:00 – 13:50
    A long-running and popular series of lunchtime recitals in one of Edinburgh's most beautiful concert spaces. Today, pianist Susan Tomes performs Haydn, Clara Schumann, and Grieg.
  • Scottish Clarinet Choir
    Scottish Clarinet Choir
    Scottish Clarinet Choir
    Sat, 03 Aug
    03 Aug 2024, 16:30 – 17:45
    03 Aug 2024, 16:30 – 17:45
    The Scottish Clarinet Choir return to St Mary’s Cathedral to perform a fun programme of popular classical music.
  • Coffee Concerts with John Bryden
    Coffee Concerts with John Bryden
    Multiple Dates
    Coffee Concerts with John Bryden
    Mon, 05 Aug
    05 Aug 2024, 11:00 – 12:00
    05 Aug 2024, 11:00 – 12:00
    Pianist John Bryden returns to St Mary's for another pair of recitals, playing a wide variety of beautiful classical music. With tea and coffee afterwards.
  • Lunchtime Recital: Gordon Ferries, guitar
    Lunchtime Recital: Gordon Ferries, guitar
    Multiple Dates
    Lunchtime Recital: Gordon Ferries, guitar
    Mon, 05 Aug
    05 Aug 2024, 13:00 – 13:50
    05 Aug 2024, 13:00 – 13:50
    A long-running and popular series of lunchtime recitals in one of Edinburgh's most beautiful concert spaces. Today, guitarist Gordon Ferries performs works by Ferrando Sor.
  • Coffee Concerts with John Bryden
    Coffee Concerts with John Bryden
    Multiple Dates
    Coffee Concerts with John Bryden
    Tue, 06 Aug
    06 Aug 2024, 11:00 – 12:00
    06 Aug 2024, 11:00 – 12:00
    Pianist John Bryden returns to St Mary's for another pair of recitals, playing a wide variety of beautiful classical music. With tea and coffee afterwards.
  • Lunchtime Recital: Soteria Ensemble, piano trio
    Lunchtime Recital: Soteria Ensemble, piano trio
    Multiple Dates
    Lunchtime Recital: Soteria Ensemble, piano trio
    Tue, 06 Aug
    06 Aug 2024, 13:00 – 13:50
    06 Aug 2024, 13:00 – 13:50
    A long-running and popular series of lunchtime recitals in one of Edinburgh's most beautiful concert spaces. Today, piano trio Soteria Ensemble perform film music, Reena Esmail, and Mendelssohn.
  • Lunchtime Recital: Ivor Klayman and John Bryden, voice and piano
    Lunchtime Recital: Ivor Klayman and John Bryden, voice and piano
    Multiple Dates
    Lunchtime Recital: Ivor Klayman and John Bryden, voice and piano
    Wed, 07 Aug
    07 Aug 2024, 13:00 – 13:50
    07 Aug 2024, 13:00 – 13:50
    A long-running and popular series of lunchtime recitals in one of Edinburgh's most beautiful concert spaces. Today, Ivor Klayman and John Bryden perform songs by Vaughan Williams.
  • Lunchtime Recital: Sinfonia Chamber Players, wind ensemble
    Lunchtime Recital: Sinfonia Chamber Players, wind ensemble
    Multiple Dates
    Lunchtime Recital: Sinfonia Chamber Players, wind ensemble
    Thu, 08 Aug
    08 Aug 2024, 13:00 – 13:50
    08 Aug 2024, 13:00 – 13:50
    A long-running and popular series of lunchtime recitals in one of Edinburgh's most beautiful concert spaces. Today, the Sinfonia Chamber Players perform Mozart and Dvorak.
  • Lunchtime Recital: St Mary’s International Piano Summer School
    Lunchtime Recital: St Mary’s International Piano Summer School
    Multiple Dates
    Lunchtime Recital: St Mary’s International Piano Summer School
    Fri, 09 Aug
    09 Aug 2024, 13:00 – 13:50
    09 Aug 2024, 13:00 – 13:50
    A long-running and popular series of lunchtime recitals in one of Edinburgh's most beautiful concert spaces. Today, students from the St Mary’s International Piano Summer School.
  • Lunchtime Recital: Oliver Morrell and Will Sims, voice and piano
    Lunchtime Recital: Oliver Morrell and Will Sims, voice and piano
    Multiple Dates
    Lunchtime Recital: Oliver Morrell and Will Sims, voice and piano
    Sat, 10 Aug
    10 Aug 2024, 13:00 – 13:50
    10 Aug 2024, 13:00 – 13:50
    A long-running and popular series of lunchtime recitals in one of Edinburgh's most beautiful concert spaces. Today, Oliver Morrell and Will Sims perform a selection of English songs.
  • Festival Choral Evensong
    Festival Choral Evensong
    Multiple Dates
    Festival Choral Evensong
    Sun, 11 Aug
    11 Aug 2024, 15:30 – 16:30
    11 Aug 2024, 15:30 – 16:30
    A service to end the day, sung by the Cathedral Choir, during the Edinburgh Festival.
  • Celebrity Organ Recital: Duncan Ferguson
    Celebrity Organ Recital: Duncan Ferguson
    Multiple Dates
    Celebrity Organ Recital: Duncan Ferguson
    Sun, 11 Aug
    11 Aug 2024, 16:45 – 17:45
    11 Aug 2024, 16:45 – 17:45
    Our world-class organists return to the superb organ at St Mary's Cathedral for three unmissable recitals.
  • Lunchtime Recital: Philomusica of Edinburgh
    Lunchtime Recital: Philomusica of Edinburgh
    Multiple Dates
    Lunchtime Recital: Philomusica of Edinburgh
    Mon, 12 Aug
    12 Aug 2024, 13:00 – 13:50
    12 Aug 2024, 13:00 – 13:50
    A long-running and popular series of lunchtime recitals in one of Edinburgh's most beautiful concert spaces. Today, the Philomusica of Edinburgh perform Purcell's famous 'Suite from Abdelazer'.
  • Lunchtime Recital: Aquillos Winds, wind quintet
    Lunchtime Recital: Aquillos Winds, wind quintet
    Multiple Dates
    Lunchtime Recital: Aquillos Winds, wind quintet
    Tue, 13 Aug
    13 Aug 2024, 13:00 – 13:50
    13 Aug 2024, 13:00 – 13:50
    A long-running and popular series of lunchtime recitals in one of Edinburgh's most beautiful concert spaces. Today, quintet Aquillos Winds perform Gershwin's famous Rhapsody in Blue.
  • Festival Choral Evensong
    Festival Choral Evensong
    Multiple Dates
    Festival Choral Evensong
    Tue, 13 Aug
    13 Aug 2024, 17:30 – 18:30
    13 Aug 2024, 17:30 – 18:30
    A service to end the day, sung by the Cathedral Choir, during the Edinburgh Festival.
  • Lunchtime Recital: Adam Brown, guitar
    Lunchtime Recital: Adam Brown, guitar
    Multiple Dates
    Lunchtime Recital: Adam Brown, guitar
    Wed, 14 Aug
    14 Aug 2024, 13:00 – 13:50
    14 Aug 2024, 13:00 – 13:50
    A long-running and popular series of lunchtime recitals in one of Edinburgh's most beautiful concert spaces. Today, guitarist Adam Brown performs Spanish and Latin American guitar classics.
  • Festival Choral Evensong
    Festival Choral Evensong
    Multiple Dates
    Festival Choral Evensong
    Wed, 14 Aug
    14 Aug 2024, 17:30 – 18:30
    14 Aug 2024, 17:30 – 18:30
    A service to end the day, sung by the Cathedral Choir, during the Edinburgh Festival.
  • Lunchtime Recital: Bruadar Duo, flute and guitar
    Lunchtime Recital: Bruadar Duo, flute and guitar
    Multiple Dates
    Lunchtime Recital: Bruadar Duo, flute and guitar
    Thu, 15 Aug
    15 Aug 2024, 13:00 – 13:50
    15 Aug 2024, 13:00 – 13:50
    A long-running and popular series of lunchtime recitals in one of Edinburgh's most beautiful concert spaces. Today, flute-and-guitar Bruadar Duo perform Schumann, Bartok and Eddie McGuire.

Festival at St Mary's: Art

  • Buoyancy in Unprecedented Times
    Buoyancy in Unprecedented Times
    Multiple Dates
    Buoyancy in Unprecedented Times
    Thu, 01 Aug
    01 Aug 2024, 09:00 – 18:00
    01 Aug 2024, 09:00 – 18:00
    Jenny Pope connects early innovations in maritime travel with today’s climate crisis through various pieces, including a sculptural ‘lifeboat’. The vessel evokes the possibility of navigating hope in uncertain times. With A+E.
  • Crisisum humanitarus
    Crisisum humanitarus
    Multiple Dates
    Crisisum humanitarus
    Thu, 01 Aug
    01 Aug 2024, 09:00 – 18:00
    01 Aug 2024, 09:00 – 18:00
    An installation inspired by the ecological crisis, dress-making, and the Cathedral's own Frosterley marble. By Jenny Pope.
  • Genesis
    Genesis
    Multiple Dates
    Genesis
    Thu, 01 Aug
    01 Aug 2024, 09:00 – 18:00
    01 Aug 2024, 09:00 – 18:00
    A new series of paintings by Edinburgh artist Steven Hood, inspired by the Cathedral’s Paolozzi Window and scientific image-making technology such as the Hubble and James Webb telescopes as well as electromagnetic microscopes.
  • A Cathedral Tentacular
    A Cathedral Tentacular
    Multiple Dates
    A Cathedral Tentacular
    Thu, 01 Aug
    01 Aug 2024, 10:00 – 17:00
    01 Aug 2024, 10:00 – 17:00
    A series of drawings by artist Sarah Gittins, exploring the Cathedral’s place in addressing contemporary environmental and social injustices. With A+E.
  • Song School Tours: the Traquair Murals
    Song School Tours: the Traquair Murals
    Multiple Dates
    Song School Tours: the Traquair Murals
    Thu, 08 Aug
    08 Aug 2024, 11:00 – 11:30
    08 Aug 2024, 11:00 – 11:30
    See the amazing murals of Phoebe Traquair in the Cathedral's Song School. Edinburgh's best-kept secret!

Festival at St Mary's: Drama

  • The Golden City: 50th Anniversary
    The Golden City: 50th Anniversary
    Multiple Dates
    The Golden City: 50th Anniversary
    Thu, 01 Aug
    01 Aug 2024, 09:00 – 18:00
    01 Aug 2024, 09:00 – 18:00
    An exhibition of materials marking the 50th anniversary of Strathclyde Theatre Guild’s groundbreaking production of The Golden City at St Mary’s Cathedral.
  • Searching for the Sacred
    Searching for the Sacred
    Multiple Dates
    Searching for the Sacred
    Tue, 06 Aug
    06 Aug 2024, 14:15 – 15:15
    06 Aug 2024, 14:15 – 15:15
    A guided walk towards the sacred in the cathedral: and also in our own hearts. A new promenade piece from writer and performer Jo Clifford.

Festival at St Mary's: with A+E

A+E is the Cathedral's Art and Ecology group.

  • Buoyancy in Unprecedented Times
    Buoyancy in Unprecedented Times
    Multiple Dates
    Buoyancy in Unprecedented Times
    Thu, 01 Aug
    01 Aug 2024, 09:00 – 18:00
    01 Aug 2024, 09:00 – 18:00
    Jenny Pope connects early innovations in maritime travel with today’s climate crisis through various pieces, including a sculptural ‘lifeboat’. The vessel evokes the possibility of navigating hope in uncertain times. With A+E.
  • Crisisum humanitarus
    Crisisum humanitarus
    Multiple Dates
    Crisisum humanitarus
    Thu, 01 Aug
    01 Aug 2024, 09:00 – 18:00
    01 Aug 2024, 09:00 – 18:00
    An installation inspired by the ecological crisis, dress-making, and the Cathedral's own Frosterley marble. By Jenny Pope.
  • A Cathedral Tentacular
    A Cathedral Tentacular
    Multiple Dates
    A Cathedral Tentacular
    Thu, 01 Aug
    01 Aug 2024, 10:00 – 17:00
    01 Aug 2024, 10:00 – 17:00
    A series of drawings by artist Sarah Gittins, exploring the Cathedral’s place in addressing contemporary environmental and social injustices. With A+E.

Festival at St Mary's: Worship

Festival at St Mary's: Calendar

July 2024
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Sun
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
1
9:00
The Golden City: 50th Anniversary
+5 more
+6 more
2
9:00
The Golden City: 50th Anniversary
+5 more
+6 more
3
9:00
The Golden City: 50th Anniversary
+6 more
+7 more
4
12:00
The Golden City: 50th Anniversary
+4 more
+5 more
5
9:00
The Golden City: 50th Anniversary
+5 more
+6 more
6
9:00
The Golden City: 50th Anniversary
+7 more
+8 more
7
9:00
The Golden City: 50th Anniversary
+5 more
+6 more
8
9:00
The Golden City: 50th Anniversary
+8 more
+9 more
9
9:00
The Golden City: 50th Anniversary
+7 more
+8 more
10
9:00
The Golden City: 50th Anniversary
+7 more
+8 more
11
10:30
Festival Cathedral Eucharist
+7 more
+8 more
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