Public seminars

The Faculty hosts a number of lecture and seminar series featuring speakers from within and outside the University, by established and younger scholars. As well as the Graduate Colloquium Series, organised by current students, which covers all kinds of music-related topics, there are sessions devoted to music analysis and ethnomusicology. These public research seminars take place at 3pm on select Thursdays at the Faculty of Music.

Professor Jennifer Walshe and Martyn Harry convene a composer <speaks> online series in which visiting composers discuss their work. These take place online on select Monday afternoons at 4pm.

Professor Margaret Bent convenes the All Souls Seminars in Medieval and Renaissance Music which run online at 5pm on select Thursdays.

Students, staff and the general public are warmly encouraged to attend. Free and open to all.

Upcoming Seminars

Erin Johnson-Williams

Public seminar: Erin Johnson-Williams (University of Southampton)

22 October 2026
Seminar in Medieval and Renaissance Music

All Souls Seminars in Medieval and Renaissance Music: David Catalunya (Universidad Complutense de Madrid)

22 October 2026
Tomomi Adachi

<speaks> | Tomomi Adachi

26 October 2026
Adachi will talk about his wide-ranging practice spanning music, poetry and visual art. Topics will include human voice, composition, improvisation, performance technique (and its absence), site-specific work, technology and artificial intelligence. The talk may also include a short performance designed for the online format.
Migration, Performance & Policy graphic

Migration, Performance & Policy seminar

29 October 2026
From Photos to Forensics: Borders and Fatalities in Calais, Italy, and the Mediterranean Sea
Migration, Performance & Policy graphic

Migration, Performance & Policy seminar

12 November 2026
From Iranian Classical Music to Bad Bunny: Resistance and Global Cultures in France, Canada and the US
Seminar in Medieval and Renaissance Music

All Souls Seminars in Medieval and Renaissance Music: Davitt Moroney (University of California, Berkeley)

12 November 2026
Morton Wan

Public seminar: Morton Wan (University of Oxford)

19 November 2026
'“Scheming for Profit”: The First Made-In-China Piano'
Alexander Rehding

Public seminar: Alexander Rehding (Harvard University)

24 November 2026
Matthew P. Thompson

Public seminar: Matthew P. Thompson (University College Dublin)

03 December 2026
Seminar in Medieval and Renaissance Music

All Souls Seminars in Medieval and Renaissance Music: Karen Cook Karen Cook (University of Hartford)

03 December 2026