Glasgow Cathedral Festival returns with a celebratory programme for our 10th anniversary.

The theme for this year's festival is Rooted in Discovery, as we reflect on where we come from and what continues to grow from those foundations.

The cathedral, Glasgow’s oldest building, has been our cradle and home since the first festival in 2016. Ten years on, and now a recognisable feature of the city’s cultural calendar, Glasgow Cathedral Festival explores the power of place within the cathedral’s ancient walls.

The programme for this year features everything from intimate recitals and evening concerts by world-class artists to atmospheric silent film screenings and a series of ten talks and tours reflecting a decade of GCF.

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Conserving the Cathedral

Join Glasgow Cathedral’s master stonemasons for a behind-the-scenes look at the ongoing conservation of the building’s magnificent steeple.

This guided tour offers a unique opportunity to learn how traditional masonry techniques and modern technologies are being used to safeguard the structure of one of Scotland’s most important medieval buildings.

Whether you’re visiting for the first time or returning for an update, this tour offers fresh insight into the preservation of a historic landmark.

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Glasgow's Gaelic Place Names

Uncover the Gaelic roots hidden beneath our city’s streets, in this illuminating workshop with Alasdair Whyte: Gaelic singer, writer, and Research Fellow in Celtic & Gaelic at the University of Glasgow.

Discover how Shettleston preserves the memory of a medieval woman, Nighean Sheadna, learn how Gartnavel's name recalls long-vanished orchards, try out pronunciations and even learn some music from the shipyards that draws on Glasgow’s Gaelic past.

No prior knowledge or experience required. This is a free event, but we have limited spaces available, so book now to avoid disappointment!

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Lullaby Booths

Supriya Nagarajan and Duncan Chapman will explore the universal tradition of lullabies as expressions of love, memory, care and cultural identity.

At the heart of their project are Lullaby Booths: welcoming spaces where you are invited to share bedtime songs, stories and memories from your own family and cultural traditions.

Please come along to contribute your experiences, which will be recorded or transcribed and form part of the soundscape of this reflective, site-specific performance.

No booking required—just visit Duncan and Supriya in either the St Mungo Museum or the Cathedral Nave at the appropriate time.

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Inside the Organ

Glasgow Cathedral’s first organ dated from the 15th century, with keys wide enough to be struck by a fist.

The current instrument, built in 1879, is a far more sophisticated affair with 3,500 pipes and hundreds of tiny valves, switches and mechanisms packed into the cathedral rafters—but mostly people only get to see the tip of the iceberg.

Andrew Forbes, the cathedral’s Director of Music, will lead this rare opportunity for you to see behind the instrument’s facade, and show you how this mighty beast has filled the cathedral with sound for almost 150 years.

This is a free event, but we have very limited spaces available, so book now to avoid disappointment!

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Pop-up Palace

Whilst the People's Palace undergoes a major renovation, its collections are going on tour. Learning & Access Curator Lyn Mooney is taking the museum's treasures, and Glasgow's vibrant social history with them, to venues across the city.

These Pop-up Palace workshops offer a rare chance to encounter the People's Palace collections in new settings, curated by and for the people of Glasgow.

Join us to hear about the People's Palace and Winter Garden project, and get hands-on with activities inspired by the collection itself.

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Building Organs, Building Ragas

So you want to build an organ? Join this two-part workshop event, suitable for all ages, led by Andrew Forbes, Duncan Chapman, and Supriya Nagarajan. No experience necessary, just bring your curiosity!

Working with Scotland’s first Orgelkids kit, you’ll have the chance to construct key mechanisms, assemble ranks of pipes, and connect a winding system—then, once the organ’s ready to play, we’ll make music with it using the building blocks of Raga, an Indian compositional framework.

This is a free event, but we have limited spaces available, so book now to avoid disappointment.

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The Old Burying Ground of Glasgow Cathedral

Colin Campbell (Chair, Society of Friends of Glasgow Cathedral; Trustee, Friends of Glasgow Necropolis) has spent years tending to the cathedral’s grave markers and researching the stories behind them.

This tour commences with Medieval Glasgow and takes you through Scottish history as reflected in the lives and times of those laid to rest in the Old Burying Ground.

We visit the churchmen, philanthropists, industrialists, engineers, soldiers, colonialists and ordinary people who helped make Glasgow ‘the Second City of the Empire’ in Victorian times.

This is a free event, but we have limited spaces available, so book now to avoid disappointment.