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Department of Music

Durham University's Music Department has internationally recognised research expertise in a wide variety of topics including musicology, theory and analysis, ethnomusicology, music psychology, performance, composition, and music technology.
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Welcome to Music at Durham

We have been consistently rated as one of the top UK music departments in The Complete University Guide and Guardian University League Table.

Find out more about us
6th in the UK for Research Output Quality in Music, Research Excellence Framework 2021
Athena Swan
Athena Swan Bronze Award since 2022
1st
1st The Complete University Guide 2026
2nd in the Times / Sunday Times Good University Guide 2025
QS World University Rankings 2024

World-leading status affirmed in QS World University Rankings 2026

Durham University has been named in the QS World University Rankings world top 100, a position it has achieved every year since 2010. The rankings have confirmed the University’s strong global reputation for employability (64th) and it is also 22nd in the world for sustainability.

Learn more about the QS World University Rankings

Study with us

  

Undergraduate Study

Our expertise in this area impacts the lives of our students and many others, beyond Durham.
TAPPUCINO by DIM and Buttered Toast live performance

Postgraduate Study

The Music Department’s vibrant postgraduate research environment attracts high-calibre applicants from all over the world.
A person onstage reading a book during a lunchtime concert

 

 

Work with us

The Department of Music is one of the very best UK Music Departments with an outstanding reputation for excellence in teaching, research and employability of our students.

Ranked #3 in REF2014, the Department of Music has internationally renowned research strengths in interdisciplinary research in musicology, theory and analysis, ethnomusicology, music psychology, performance, composition, and music technology.
See our recruitment pages for more opportunities
Music Students Work in the Electroacoustic Studio

 

 

What's new?

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John Snijders in Conversation with Artist Graham Dolphin at Dead Dog Gallery

On Thursday 19 March at 4.30pm, Professor John Snijders joins artist Graham Dolphin for a public conversation exploring art, performance, and contemporary music at the Dead Dog Gallery, Durham Sixth Form Centre.

Research news
A grid of photographs on a wall, reaching round a corner

Richard Rijnvos's Aphrodite Featured in New Exhibition at Vane

A thirty-minute animated film accompanying Durham composer Richard Rijnvos's Aphrodite for shō & string sextet (2022–23) is showing throughout March as part of Moments of Wonder, a new exhibition by Mike Collier at Vane gallery in Gateshead. Rijnvos will be present for a special screening on Wednesday 4 March at 4.30pm, ahead of the exhibition's opening preview.
Research news
A colourful circular artwork

New Edited Volume Explores Global Perspectives in Musicology

Dr Amanda Hsieh from our Department of Music has teamed up with Dr Vera Wolkowicz from the University of Glasgow to bring together 10 authors from around the world to ask a timely question: why do we need musicological perspectives beyond our own?
Research news
Two women standing with a book

Professor Julian Horton publishes new article on the nineteenth-century violin concerto in Music Theory Spectrum

Professor Julian Horton’s new article ‘Corpus Studies, Sonata Typology and the Nineteenth-Century Violin Concerto’ has been published in the prestigious American journal Music Theory Spectrum.
Research news
A front page from a violin concerto

Durham Hosts Week of Events Honouring Black History and Reparative Justice

A vibrant week of events (20–23 October 2025) will take place across Durham, exploring Black history, reparative justice, and decolonial thought. Organised as part of the ESRC Festival of Social Science, the programme brings together scholars, students, and community members for walking tours, film screenings, and keynote lectures that highlight critical conversations around race, memory, and historical responsibility.
Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion
Woman in front of whiteboard smiling

Practice Research Prize for Sara Salloum

Congratulations to Dr Sara Salloum, who has been awarded the RMA Practice Research Prize for 2025.
Research news
A woman playing the lute

Durham Music Department's success in Number 1 ranking of the Complete University Guide 2026

The Department of Music is proud to announce again its number one ranking in the Complete University Guide 2026.
Durham news
The Music Department on Palace Green with Durham Cathedral in the background
More departmental news

Durham Music Department's success in Number 1 ranking of the Complete University Guide 2026

The Department of Music is proud to announce again its number one ranking in the Complete University Guide 2026.

The Music Department on Palace Green with Durham Cathedral in the background

Innovation In Teaching And Learning Awards for Music Department Educators

Congratulations! Dr Ian Dickson won the ‘Innovation in Teaching and Learning’ award, for his hugely popular gamification of music theory and techniques.
Five members of the music department at an awards ceremony

Durham’s Dr Katherine Hambridge speaks on BBC’s Woman’s Hour about girls in cathedral choirs

On Good Friday Dr Hambridge outlined for Radio 4 listeners the history of the exclusion of women and girls from church music as part of a segment on the admission of girls to St Paul’s Cathedral Choir
Dr Katherine Hambridge

  • John Snijders in Conversation with Artist Graham Dolphin at Dead Dog Gallery

    On Thursday 19 March at 4.30pm, Professor John Snijders joins artist Graham Dolphin for a public conversation exploring art, performance, and contemporary music at the Dead Dog Gallery, Durham Sixth Form Centre.
    Research news
    A grid of photographs on a wall, reaching round a corner

  • Richard Rijnvos's Aphrodite Featured in New Exhibition at Vane

    A thirty-minute animated film accompanying Durham composer Richard Rijnvos's Aphrodite for shō & string sextet (2022–23) is showing throughout March as part of Moments of Wonder, a new exhibition by Mike Collier at Vane gallery in Gateshead. Rijnvos will be present for a special screening on Wednesday 4 March at 4.30pm, ahead of the exhibition's opening preview.
    Research news
    A colourful circular artwork

  • New Edited Volume Explores Global Perspectives in Musicology

    Dr Amanda Hsieh from our Department of Music has teamed up with Dr Vera Wolkowicz from the University of Glasgow to bring together 10 authors from around the world to ask a timely question: why do we need musicological perspectives beyond our own?
    Research news
    Two women standing with a book

John Snijders in Conversation with Artist Graham Dolphin at Dead Dog Gallery

On Thursday 19 March at 4.30pm, Professor John Snijders joins artist Graham Dolphin for a public conversation exploring art, performance, and contemporary music at the Dead Dog Gallery, Durham Sixth Form Centre.

A grid of photographs on a wall, reaching round a corner

Richard Rijnvos's Aphrodite Featured in New Exhibition at Vane

A thirty-minute animated film accompanying Durham composer Richard Rijnvos's Aphrodite for shō & string sextet (2022–23) is showing throughout March as part of Moments of Wonder, a new exhibition by Mike Collier at Vane gallery in Gateshead. Rijnvos will be present for a special screening on Wednesday 4 March at 4.30pm, ahead of the exhibition's opening preview.
A colourful circular artwork

New Edited Volume Explores Global Perspectives in Musicology

Dr Amanda Hsieh from our Department of Music has teamed up with Dr Vera Wolkowicz from the University of Glasgow to bring together 10 authors from around the world to ask a timely question: why do we need musicological perspectives beyond our own?
Two women standing with a book

Upcoming events

Lafcadio Hearn project – Creating a world of expression

Wednesday 18 March 2026 - Wednesday 18 March 2026
7:00 PM to 8:30 PM
Teikyo University Durham, Lafcadio Hearn Centre, Millhill Lane
An old black and white photograph of a man in a suit

Royal Northern Sinfonia III: Schubert and Haydn

Friday 8 May 2026 - Friday 8 May 2026
7:30 PM to 9:30 PM
Elvet Methodist Church, 8 Old Elvet, Durham, DH1 3HL
Four string players standing in a lobby

Songs beneath the Sacred Tree

Wednesday 27 May 2026 - Wednesday 27 May 2026
7:30 PM to 9:30 PM
Department of Music, Palace Green
A woman performing with a fan

SongPath in the Botanic Garden

Sunday 21 June 2026 - Sunday 21 June 2026
1:30 PM to 3:30 PM
Durham University Botanic Garden
Musicians performing in a forest
See all events

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We strive to provide innovative, research-led teaching that will assist our students to achieve their full potential as thinking, creative musicians and scholars.

Department of Music
Durham University
Palace Green
Durham
DH1 3RL
UK