Bate Collection of Historical Musical Instruments

About

The Bate Collection of Historical Musical Instruments is a museum of musical instruments from the Middle Ages onwards. It was housed in Oxford University's Faculty of Music near Christ Church on St. Aldate's before moving to the newly constructed Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities in 2026, with a new permanent exhibition "Resonant Histories: Material Culture, Sound and Craft" curated by Dr Emanuela Vai (Head of Collections and Curator). The Bate Collection is an accredited museum under the Arts Council England Museum Accreditation Scheme UK and the International Council of Museums (ICOM), International Committee of Museums and Collections of Instruments and Music (CIMCIM). The collection is open to the public, staff and students. The collection has three strategic pillars: 1. Conservation - it cares for, develops, and widens access to the collections 2. Research and Teaching- it enables, leads and delivers world-class research and teaching (including MA courses) 3. Audiences: it provides engaging experiences for increasingly diverse audiences. A large number of instruments by important English, French and German makers, shows the musical and mechanical development of wind and percussion instruments from the Renaissance to the current day. The Bate Collection is the home of the Reginald Morley-Pegge Memorial Collection of Horns and other Brass and Woodwind Instruments; the An

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