Department of Music

Welcome to Music at Durham
We have been rated as the top UK music department for four years running in The Complete University Guide (2018 - 2021) and for three of the past four years in The Sunday Times Good University Guide Table (2018, 2019 and 2021).
We also ranked first in the Guardian University League Table in 2019 and 2021.
Study with us
Undergraduate Study
Our expertise in this area impacts the lives of our students and many others, beyond Durham.
Postgraduate Study
The Music Department’s vibrant postgraduate research environment attracts high-calibre applicants from all over the world.
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.
What's new?
Durham Lecturers Mark Lindisfarne Gospels’ Return to the North East in Music
Durham Music Department lecturers James Weeks and Katherine Hambridge recently took part in the opening concerts of the Royal Northern Sinfonia’s season at the Sage Gateshead, which were programmed to mark the exhibition of the Lindisfarne Gospels at Newcastle’s Laing Gallery.

“in One |1” by Eric Skytterholm Egan recorded
Austin Glatthorn’s monograph published by CUP
Durham student becomes Canadian Music Laureate
Are rhythmic preferences shared across cultures?
Music Department in the All-Steinway School
Professor Peter Manning
Music Professor receives prestigious Leverhulme Major Research Fellowship
Martin Clayton, Professor of Ethnomusicology, has been awarded the Leverhulme Major Research Fellowship for his research project ‘People in time with music: how sound and movement structure human interactions’.
Durham Lecturers Mark Lindisfarne Gospels’ Return to the North East in Music
“in One |1” by Eric Skytterholm Egan recorded
O Come All Ye Faithful - Bonnie Prince Charlie and the Christmas Carol
The well known Christmas carol 'O Come All Ye Faithful' is sung at festive services across the country but music expert Professor Bennett Zon claims that many people probably don’t realise that the popular song has distinctive political roots.
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The Controversy over Christmas Carols
How our brains instantly recognise music
Upcoming events
MUSICON: EXAUDI | Chromatic Renaissance
Discover Durham Live Virtual Sessions
Leverhulme Lecture- Dancing Divas: La sonnambula on Video in 1950s Italy
Postgraduate Open Day
Questions about studying here?
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Your Durham prospectus
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Get in touch
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