Music graduate recognised in New Year Honours 2026

Wednesday 14 January 2026

Submitted by Dr Wan

Dr Blanc Wan has received the British Empire Medal in the 2026 King's New Year Honours.

The award is for "service to UK Higher Education and Music Culture in Hong Kong".

Dr Wan is a graduate of the MSt in Music, focusing on performance, in the University's Music Faculty. He said: "The rigorous intellectual environment and the inspiring mentorship from the Faculty of Music not only equipped me with knowledge but awakened a lifelong passion for exploring what it truly means to be human.

"Oxford's Humanities taught me that true progress lies not just in advancement, but in the thoughtful, human-centred ways we choose to move forward. With heartfelt thanks to my tutors, colleagues, and the entire Oxford community for guiding me on this journey."

In concert: how shared wonder opens our minds

12 November 2026

How can shared experiences of music, art and natural beauty expand our imagination and help us better understand each other? Professor Naomi Waltham-Smith explores how moments of shared aesthetic attention can amplify our sense of curiosity and wonder, bringing our imaginative lives into our relationships with others.

Professor Peter Asimov awarded SMT Emerging Scholar Award

09 November 2026

Professor Asimov's article 'The Melakartas and the ‘République Modale’: Naturalizing Indian Scales in French Musical Modernism' wins the Emerging Scholar Award at this year's Society for Music Theory annual meeting.

Listening to the Law research network

09 November 2026

Professor Nomi Dave is co-directing a new research network, with Professor Nicole Stremlau (Faculty of Law) and Dr Tareeq Jalloh (Faculty of Philosophy). The network, Listening to the Law, is funded through TORCH for three years. It brings together academics, students, legal practitioners, artists, and others working on questions of sound and the law. To join the network or attend events, please email listening.law@torch.ox.ac.uk

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27 October 2026

Professor Ouzounian will launch her new book, The Trembling City: The Sonic and Atmospheric Violence of Vibrational Warfare (MIT Press, 2026), at Ibraaz in London on Sunday 8 November at 3pm, in conversation with artist and writer Susan Schuppli.