University of Huddersfield to become new home for Sound and Music charity

The University of Huddersfield’s expertise and reputation in contemporary music has seen it become the new base for Sound and Music, the UK’s accelerator for new music and sound.

A not-for-profit organisation, Sound and Music is supported by Arts Council England. It has long-established links with the University of Huddersfield, which houses its British Music Collection contemporary music archive in the Heritage Quay facility on campus. 

The partnership between the University and Sound and Music has flourished since it relocated its youth programme to Huddersfield in 2024, resulting in a significant increase in participants from across Yorkshire and the North of England.

The University has long been a leading institution for contemporary music and composition, while the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival (HCMF), an internationally renowned new music showcase for nearly 50 years, takes place in venues around the town, including on campus, every November.

In 2025 the University welcomed local music charity Musica Kirklees, which teaches music and coordinates musical events for children and young people in the area, to its campus.

Sound and Music’s In the Making employs dozens of creators, collaborators and technicians, including staff and students from the University’s music courses as well as key organisations from the region such as Yorkshire Sound Women’s Network. 

In The Making hosts its young artist development programme at the University for the third time this summer, with Sound and Music ring-fencing places for young artists from Kirklees and Yorkshire .

Professor Rupert Till, Head of Department of Humanities, Professor of Music, said: “Our University has had close links with Sound and Music for over 40 years, if you include its four precursor organisations.  I worked closely with their team to offer them a new home for their summer school a couple of years ago and we’re really pleased to build stronger ties with them. Their philosophy and approach has so much in common with our own and we are looking forward to working more closely with them.” 

Experimental musician Sophie Cooper, currently studying for an MRes Music at the university and who has performed at HCMF, commented, “I’m delighted to welcome Sound and Music to our thriving and creative region. 

"As a music educator, I’ve long been impressed by their In the Making programme for young artists, which I’ve had the privilege of working on. It’s breadth of opportunities is remarkable, and as is its bespoke, person-centred approach, designed to help individuals truly flourish. 

"I’m grateful for Sound and Music’s continued support, and I hope that the move to West Yorkshire will raise awareness of their outstanding work among local artists, encouraging more people to get involved. For younger people in particular, having such a long-established organisation in the area can only be inspiring, helping to open up pathways into the creative industries.”

Will Dutta, Chief Executive of Sound and Music, said: “The University has been a champion of our work since we first moved our archive and then In the Making here. We are hugely excited by the opportunity this presents for deeper engagement with the University, the local area and wider region in the years ahead.

“This partnership is about building something long-term—working together to support young people, develop talent, and contribute to a thriving and inclusive music ecology rooted in Kirklees and Yorkshire. As a national organisation, it powerfully anchors us in a locality with the opportunities for place-based investment, collaboration and learning that offers.”