Today we announce a significant deepening of our partnership with the University of Huddersfield as we relocate our registered office to the University’s 3M Buckley Innovation Centre.
Sound and Music is the UK’s accelerator for new music and sound, our mission is to be the basecamp for anyone in the UK who wants to make, experience or support new music and sound to shape the modern world. The move to Huddersfield is a demonstrable and symbolic commitment to our nationwide role and remit.
It comes as we prepare to hold our flagship young artist development programme, In the Making – the only of its kind in the UK – at the University’s music department for the third year this summer.
We have had a longstanding affiliation with the university and the area:
- We moved the British Music Collection, our internationally recognised contemporary music archive to a purpose-built facility at Heritage Quay at the University, funded by the University and the Heritage Lottery Fund, in 2014, ensuring its preservation, cultural and research value and public accessibility for the future
- In 2022, we centred some of our recent groundbreaking research into new music cultures on DIY scenes in Huddersfield and a host of our alumni hail from and still work in the area
- Since relocating our youth programme to Huddersfield in 2024, we have seen a significant increase in participants from across Yorkshire and the North of England and the partnership with the university has flourished.
In the Making participants exploring the archive at Heritage Quay, University of Huddersfield
Boosting Huddersfield as a beacon for new music
Our move to Huddersfield strengthens the town and region’s position as a rich cultural centre. The University’s music department has long been a leading institution for composition, as has the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, which is the UK’s largest international festival of new and experimental music.
Our location in Huddersfield creates significant investment and opportunity for the musical ecology of the area. In the Making employs dozens of local creators, collaborators and technicians, including staff from the University Music department and key organisations from the region such as Yorkshire Sound Women’s Network.
Our registered office: 3M Buckley Innovation Centre, Firth Street, Huddersfield, HD1 3BD.
A pipeline for musical progression in Huddersfield
We ring-fence places on In the Making for participants from Kirklees and Yorkshire and In the Making is supported and championed across the area’s music ecosystem.
Sophie Cooper, a multi-disciplinary composer, artist, educator and Sound and Music alumni, says of the move:
“I’m delighted to welcome Sound and Music to our thriving and creative region. Sound and Music were the first funders of my Todmorden-based Tor Festival in 2019. They took the time to understand our specific, place-based needs, offering thoughtful guidance and support, and connecting us with a wider network of DIY curators across the country.
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.”
It also brings a UK-wide cohort of young creators to the University, introducing new pathways into the study of and careers in music while providing a pipeline of potential applicants for the University’s Music Department.
At a time when music provision in universities and across education is under increasing pressure, the University of Huddersfield continues to demonstrate a strong and visible commitment to music, composition and innovation—providing an important foundation for the future of the sector.
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.”
Professor Rupert Till, Head of the department that houses Huddersfield’s music courses, 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 our own and we are looking forward to working more closely with them.”
This partnership offers a powerful example of how national cultural organisations can work in and with localities—contributing to local economies, supporting regional talent, and building connections between communities, education and the creative industries.
By combining national reach with local investment, Sound and Music and the University of Huddersfield are helping to shape a more connected, representative and sustainable future for music in the UK.
Learn more about In the Making
Visit the University of Huddersield Website
Visit 3M Buckley Innovation Centre Website