Faculty of Music, University of Edinburgh

1. The Policy
   1. This Education Policy outlines the purposes and methods of the collections in supporting formal education and in promoting lifelong learning. It is not concerned with considerations of funding, staffing, or premises, all of which have to be taken into account when planning educational activities.
   2. The Policy was adopted by Faculty of Music on 25th October 2000 and will be reviewed from time to time, at least once every five years.
   3. The Policy will be implemented through the collections' annual Planning Statements, as adopted each year by the Faculty of Music, and through the Strategic Aims of the Collection of Historic Musical Instruments and the Strategic Aims of the Russell Collection of Early Keyboard Instruments, which in turn operate within the University of Edinburgh Collections Policy, adopted by the University Court. The text of that more general policy is not repeated here.
   4. The Policy will be implemented in ways consistent with the conservation requirements of the collections.

2. Use of the Collections
   1. The University holds the Collection of Historic Musical Instruments with a view to promoting the study of the history, construction and functions of instruments of music and all cognate matters, the furtherance of research and the propagation of knowledge of instrumental history. This statement of mission was embodied in the legal document re-establishing the Collection under its present name in 1980, and reflects the original educational reasons for the creation of the Collection. Promoting the study of the history, construction and use of instruments of music was the purpose of the Collection's founder, Professor John Donaldson, who wrote in 1851 about his plans for the museum of instruments:
      "Such a museum would be of great benefit to archaeologists, musicians and historians in their researches, presenting them with the opportunity to pursue their scholarly studies advantageously, and to publish the results of their efforts and diligence to the world."
   2. The University holds the Russell Collection with a view to promoting the study of the history, construction and functions of harpsichords, virginals, spinets, organs and fortepianos from the period of their first construction to the period around 1820 and all cognate matters, and the furtherance of research and the propagation of knowledge of keyboard instrument history and construction and design methods. The promotion of the study and performance of keyboard music and of the history, construction and functions of early keyboard instruments was the specific intention of Raymond Russell when he decided to give his Collection to the University of Edinburgh.

3. The Audiences
   1. The target audiences of the collections are: (i) specialist visitors such as researchers, instrument makers, and performing musicians; (ii) students in higher and further education undertaking courses or research projects for which the collections are relevant; (iii) pupils from schools; (iv) members of the public at all levels of attainment who can visit in person; (v) people world-wide interested in the collections' holdings.
   2. The collections will foster interest in musical instruments and support education and lifelong learning for all, regardless of country of residence.
   3. The highest priority for educational support from the collections will be students matriculated in the University of Edinburgh and staff of the University engaged in formal teaching and in research, and students and staff from elsewhere in the UK higher education sector.
   4. The collections will wherever possible encourage the formal study of musical instruments through taught and research courses offered by the University of Edinburgh and other institutions.
   5. The collections will organise conferences and symposia to foster learning and research at the highest level.

4. Access
   1. Specialist visitors will be given access to items in the collections by appointment. Access will be consistent with the CIMCIM "Recommendations for Regulating the Access to Musical Instruments in Public Collections" (1985).
   2. Students in higher and further education undertaking courses for which the collections are relevant will be encouraged to visit singly or in groups, and will whenever possible be welcomed by an appropriately qualified member of staff. Students will also find useful information on the collections' websites which can be used in research and project work.
   3. Schools, colleges, and other universities will be encouraged to send organised parties with their teachers or tutors to visit and study the instruments in the collection with particular emphasis on the repertory appropriate to them. Participatory activities will be organised for school parties, including the use of worksheets to structure viewing of the collections' displays, interactive computer technology, and handling objects. Where appropriate and subject to conservation requirements, the playing of the instruments in the Russell Collection by the students will be encouraged. This conforms to the expressed wishes of Raymond Russell, the major donor of the Collection.
   4. Members of the public will be encouraged to visit in person. Groups will be given guided tours by arrangement. Inexpensive guides and brochures will be available with information about the more important instruments on display that can be seen during a typical visit.
      1. Members of the public will find at EUCHMI a rich and varied permanent display with expertly-written, informative labels. Interactive computer technology has been installed to demonstrate how musical instruments work and sound.
      2. Members of the public will be given individual tours of the Russell Collection.
   5. Items from the Collection of Historic Musical Instruments will be lent for temporary exhibition elsewhere in museums in Britain and overseas, subject to normal conditions of borrowing. In conformity with the expressed wishes of the original donor, Russell Collection instruments will, however, not leave St Cecilia's Hall for loan to other exhibitions or concerts.
   6. People world-wide who may not be able to visit will be offered substantial information about the collections' holdings through publications and through the collections' websites which will provide materials including pictures and sound recordings of historic instruments. The web sites will also be used for the publication of research on the many different aspects of the instruments in the collections. Individual enquiries for which the collections' resources are relevant will be answered by post and e-mail where possible within the staff time available.

5. Management
   1. The management of the collections will integrate the educational purpose of the collections with all other activities including acquisition, conservation, documentation, exhibition, and publication.
   2. The curatorial duties related to the collection will as far as possible be undertaken by staff responsible for teaching organology in the University.

6. Liaison and Resources
   1. Liaison will be maintained and cooperation will be undertaken with educational staff in the Department of Physics, Department of Fine Arts, and other departments of the University.
   2. A balanced proportion of the collections' budget and staff time will be devoted to promoting educational use of the collections.

7. Friends' Activities
   1. The Friends of St Cecilia's Hall and the Russell Collection exist to promote the work of the Collection; a major part of their activities involve assistance with the provision of facilities to support the educational aims expressed in this document. This activity will be supported by the Curator.

8. Feedback
   1. The success of this Education Policy will be measured by: (i) acknowledgements of the collections' contribution in published books, articles, theses and dissertations; (ii) feedback from students visiting in person and website visitors; (iii) comment from teachers accompanying parties from schools; (iv) comments in the visitors' books; (vi) the questions answered and comments on the website sent by e-mail.

Link to EUCHMI Website

Link to Russell Collection Website

This page updated: 25.10.00