This collection comprises some personal memorabilia of Elizabeth Herring, music teacher, and documentation of the Institute which had been her Green Point home, and which she bequeathed to the Cape Town City Council for the use of music practitioners.
The Institute had several pianos including a Steinway, as well as other instruments. It also had a large and varied library of scores and sheet music. There was a museum room which contained furniture and household effects of William and Elizabeth Herring. It opened in 1930. There is a short biography of Elizabeth and her brother William with the collection.
The Institute was run and maintained by the City Council, but during the 1990s was reported as being in a state of disrepair. The jewellery, china, glass and silver which were displayed in the museum room of the Institute were transferred to the Cape Town Cultural Museum. A newspaper clipping (dated 1995) in the collection, notes that the Institute had closed down, and questioned the City Council's right to do this.