Jonathan Cross Appointed Director of Ertegun Humanities Graduate Programme

Image

Jonathan Cross, Professor of Musicology in the Faculty, has been appointed Director of the Ertegun Humanities Graduate Programme and Senior Scholar in Residence. 

The post begins in September 2023 and is a three-year secondment.

The Ertegun Programme was established in 2012 with a major benefaction from Ahmed and Mica Ertegun to support the world's top graduate students in the humanities. (The late Ahmed Ertegun was the founder of Atlantic Records, whose many signings range from Aretha Franklin & Led Zeppelin to Bruno Mars & Ed Sheeran; Mica Ertegun is one of the foremost interior designers of the last 50 years.) These students, representing the full range of humanities disciplines, receive scholarships to cover all fees and living expenses during their time in Oxford. They also benefit from a unique setting (Ertegun House on St Giles) that fosters dialogue across academic disciplines, cultures and generations. Ertegun Scholars leave the University prepared to be leaders - not only leaders in their chosen fields, but also leaders of global thought and opinion and leaders of positive action for the betterment of humanity.

A number of students on the MSt and MPhil in Music have benefitted from these scholarships.

Jonathan says: "I am delighted and honoured to be appointed to this role with the Ertegun Scholarship Programme. To have the opportunity to work alongside some of the finest graduate students from across the world is a genuine thrill for me. I am looking forward immensely to the coming three years and to helping develop this flagship programme for the Humanities at Oxford."

Jonathan, who is also Official Student in Music at Christ Church, arrived in Oxford twenty years ago. He has written, lectured and broadcast extensively on the music of the 20th and 21st centuries. His output includes three books centred on Igor Stravinsky, the most recent of which (a critical biography) has been translated into Turkish and Chinese, and two on the work of Harrison Birtwistle. His current project focuses on the 'spectral music' of living French composer Tristan Murail. He also gives a wide range of public talks and workshops, and appears regularly on BBC Radio 3. He was elected a Fellow of the Academy of Europe in 2015. In 2021-22 he was the holder of a British Academy/Leverhulme Senior Research Fellowship.