University welcomes young music creators for In The Making
Fifty young music makers have pushed the boundaries of their creativity at Sound and Music’s week-long In the Making residential programme, hosted at the University of Huddersfield.
In the Making is the UK's only year-long artist development programme for passionate and ambitious young music creators aged 14–18 from all over the UK.
Five days of workshops, studio sessions, collaboration and interaction with experts from Sound and Music and the university culminated in a final day of performances of the original works, composed by the young people entirely during the week of In The Making.
The exceptional creative team Sound and Music brings together to work with In The Making’s young creators includes Huddersfield alumni as well as current staff, researchers and students, alongside Sophie Cooper and Eddie Dobson from the Yorkshire Sound Women’s Network.
The 2026 edition of In the Making was the third year that the programme has been hosted by the university, and the first since it became the permanent home to Sound and Music in April 2026.
Since relocating its young artist development programme to Huddersfield in 2024, Sound And Music has seen a significant increase in participants from across Yorkshire and the North of England. Two talented Huddersfield-based guitarists, both called Callum, delighted their fellow musicians playing their original compositions with Komuna Collective, In the Making’s Ensemble in Residence, during the final day's performances in the Richard Steinitz Building.
Other performances at In The Making 2026 spanned rap, classical, jazz, electronica, pop and soul. Around half of the young people who attended were fully funded by bursaries, emphasising Sound and Music’s ethos that ability must always takes precedence over affordability.
Praise for the five days of the programme from the participants included comments, "It’s so accessible and it’s been so enriching - in spite of everything obstructing me from being here, you made it possible for me to be here”, “I've never been anywhere like this where I feel so much that I belong" and “it’s been indescribable”.
Dr Will Dutta, Sound and Music’s Chief Executive summed up the impact of the showcase at the end of the day by reflecting: “The future of music in the UK is safe in the hands of the amazing young creators we’ve heard today.”
The University has long-standing links to Sound and Music, hosting its British Music Collection contemporary music archive in its Heritage Quay archive facility on campus.
It is 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.
The 2026 In the Making cohort will now proceed on to their 12-month Development phase of online tutorials and learning pathways.
Applications for In the Making 2027 will open in February - visit soundandmusic.org.