Frank McAveety said  that the expansion and development of the SMC along with their new interactive website will serve all tastes and provide a valuable music resource here in Scotland.

Since its inception in 1968, the Centre has gone from strength to strength, and funding from the Scottish Arts Council and others has allowed the Centre to expand from a classical music archive to one encompassing all genres.

Speaking ahead of the re-launch, the Culture Minister said:

"Scotland has an exciting and dynamic music scene ranging from folk and Celtic music, to jazz, classical, rock and popular. It's great to see the Centre expand as lead body for Scottish classical music to include many different musical tastes, and promoting itself globally through its specially compiled CD-Rom and its new-look website.

"The collection has expanded enormously over the years and it is fantastic that people from all over the world will be able to use its many services. Given my personal interest in all things music, I will certainly be making use of it.

"I am delighted to be re-launching the Scottish Music Centre which will offer a vital national resource for the promotion and support for all of Scotland's music both at home and abroad."

For more details, visit http://www.scotland.gov.uk/pages/news/2003/11/SETCS243.aspx