The Kelvingrove Organ

The Kelvingrove team were saddened to hear of the passing of Dr Jim Hunter, Honorary Director of Music.

Jim first came to prominence at Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in 2002, when he came on board to support the then recently-launched Kelvingrove Refurbishment Appeal. Jim was highly proactive in raising the profile of the Appeal, organising a busy programme of musical fundraising events as Kelvingrove moved towards its temporary closure in summer 2003.

After Kelvingrove closed for its three-year programme of refurbishment, the focus of Jim’s work moved to McLellan Galleries, where he planned and directed a series of fundraising concerts. The  Kelvingrove Appeal eventually realised £12.75M, over double its original target of £5.5M. Jim played the organ at the official reopening of Kelvingrove in 2006 and went on to become Honorary Director of Music in 2007. 
 
Through Jim’s dedication to the Refurbishment Appeal and his enthusiasm for the Kelvingrove Organ sprang the concept of the daily organ recital, which was intended to rival the firing of the one o’clock gun at Edinburgh Castle as a highlight event in the city. This was a bold and ambitious proposal at the time, but Jim’s passion for the instrument shone through, and the daily recital became the much-loved and iconic feature it is today.

Jim cared deeply about Kelvingrove and the organ in particular, and a huge amount of the success of the organ fundraising events and the subsequent twenty years of musical programming at Kelvingrove is down to his singular enthusiasm and drive. We are hugely grateful and indebted to Jim for his incredible dedication to the Kelvingrove Organ and the Daily Recital Programme, and he will be greatly missed.