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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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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

‘Lost’ Durham piece featured on new recording of music by alumna composer

A recording of the chamber music of Durham alumna Ailsa Dixon (1932–2017) is to be released on 22 August 2025 on the Resonus Classics label, coinciding with the publication of her scores by Composers Edition.
Alumni news
A woman with a lute in front of a group of students

Using computers to track the changing sound of bands

Coldplay, Radiohead or R.E.M. – which band has changed their music the most over the years?
Research news
Lead singer of Coldplay, Chris Martin, performing at a concert.
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

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

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.
A front page from a violin concerto

Practice Research Prize for Sara Salloum

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

Upcoming events

MUSICONversations I: Prof. Julian Horton: ‘How to compose a nineteenth-century symphony’

Monday 19 January 2026 - Monday 19 January 2026
7:00 PM to 9:00 PM
Birley Room, Hatfield College
A picture of a man against a white background

Richard Rijnvos: lettura del labirinto

Wednesday 21 January 2026 - Wednesday 21 January 2026
7:30 PM to 8:45 PM
Department of Music, Palace Green, Durham
An image of Venice through an archway, with the view faded and the archway in full colour

Royal Northern Sinfonia II: Beethoven’s Septet

Friday 23 January 2026 - Friday 23 January 2026
7:30 PM to 9:30 PM
Elvet Methodist Church, 8 Old Elvet, Durham, DH1 3HL
A woman playing the violin

Come and Sing Workshop: Verdi Choruses

Saturday 7 February 2026 - Saturday 7 February 2026
2:00 PM to 5:00 PM
Concert Room, Music Department
A beaded man in a hat, black and white photograph
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