The hidden benefactor funding Edinburgh's new concert hall awarded Carnegie Medal for Philanthropy

The American benefactor has poured money into a new concert hall and a National Centre for Music in Edinburgh.

She is one of of Scotland’s great arts philanthropists - a behind-the-scenes figure who has ploughed millions into realising the vision for a grand new concert hall and National Centre for Music in Edinburgh.

Now the contributions of American benefactor and former concert pianist Dr Carol Colburn Grigor are being publicly recognised. She is to be honoured with the prestigious Carnegie Medal for Philanthropy at a ceremony in Edinburgh on Wednesday night.

Carol Grigor at the Dunard Centre site in Edinburgh | Ian Georgeson Photography

The biennial medal ceremony will highlight Dr Grigor’s investment, and how it will benefit the city’s economy by creating jobs and attracting new performers and audiences.

Past winners of the medal include singer Dolly Parton (2022) and businessman Sir Tom Hunter (2013).

Dr Grigor’s Pitlochry-based Dunard Fund has contributed £35 million to help bring to life the mooted Dunard Centre, a 1,000-seat concert hall off St Andrew Square.

READ MORE: When Edinburgh's new concert hall will open and why the £114m New Town venue will be 'transformational'

The venue will become the new home of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and host Edinburgh International Festival performances. However, the opening was earlier this year delayed until 2029 amid a change in contractor. Once open, the venue will be the first purpose-built concert hall in Edinburgh for more than 100 years.

The Dunard Centre will be a 1,000-seat concert hall complete with a multi-purpose space, café and bar connected to the a-listed Dundas House, in Edinburgh's New Town | David Chipperfield Architects, Reiach and Hall Architects

The National Centre for Music, to be created on the site of the former Royal High School building, will meanwhile boast three indoor performance spaces, two with a capacity of up to 150 and the main auditorium, for audiences of around 300.

READ MORE: Work on new £69m Edinburgh music centre to begin within months as National Lottery backing secured

Under plans released last year, the site would also feature Edinburgh’s biggest new public gardens for more than 200 years. Plans were approved last year, following a £45m cash injection from the Dunard Foundation.

Jo Buckley, chief executive of the Dunard Centre, said: “I am delighted to see Carol’s transformative philanthropy being celebrated on the global stage, and it is especially fitting that this year’s ceremony is taking place in Edinburgh, which was Carol’s home for many years.

“It is no exaggeration to say that her long-standing support has helped to make Edinburgh the cultural capital that it is today, with its future assured by her powerful investment in two landmark capital projects, the Dunard Centre and the National Centre for Music.

“Cultural transformation relies on the dogged persistence and determination of visionary individuals, as Andrew Carnegie’s legacy has shown us over the past century.

“As we look to create Edinburgh’s first new concert hall in over a century, it is tantalising to think ahead to the exceptional performers it will attract, and the profound economic, social, educational and cultural impact that Carol’s philanthropy will have on Scotland for generations to come."

The Dunard Fund has also provided millions of pounds worth of grants to charities in the arts and heritage sectors, including the National Galleries of Scotland, National Library of Scotland and Britain's major opera companies.

British screenwriter Richard Curtis and comedian and actor Sir Lenny Henry will also be recognised at Wednesday night’s ceremony for their work as co-founders of Comic Relief, with the pair to received the Carnegie Catalyst Award.