We currently hold around 25 music collections, with 23 available for researchers.
Heritage Quay is an important centre for the study of contemporary classical and art music. At the heart of our collections is the British Music Collection which contains over 60,000 scores and recordings of 20th and 21st century British music making the BMC a treasure trove of musical creativity and innovation.
The BMC is the archive of the British Music Information Centre, which alongside the Sonic Arts Network, The Contemporary Music Network and the Society for the Promotion of New Music merged to form Sound and Music, the UK’s national organisation for new music.
We have a range of smaller collections which relate to this period and area of music making
Alice Hess Collection
Catherine Kiernan Papers
Continuum Ensemble Archive
Duncan Druce Collection (also early music)
Philip Greenwood Archive research on Andrzej Panufnik
Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival Archive
Julian Rushton collection of letters from Elizabeth Maconchy and Phyllis Tate
Mervyn Roberts papers
Phyllis Tate Archive
Ralph Walter Wood Papers
If the jazz age is more your thing, the British Dance Band archive has around 21,000 recordings from that genre, recorded and released in the UK between 1911 and 1939.
Our collections also give a flavour of the rich and diverse musical life of the Huddersfield area. The archives of the Incorporated Society of Musicians, Huddersfield Branch and Huddersfield Musical Society are complemented by items from Slaithwaite Brass Band.
We also have a smaller set of archives that relate to musicians or other musical periods
Hazel Wood Collection of John Guthrie Scores
A W Kaye, Violinist: Research and Correspondence
Guy Woolfenden Band Collection
Robin Adams Early Music Collection
Support for Researchers
Some of the collections are yet to be fully catalogued so please get in touch if you think we can help. If you would like more information about performing and/or copying music in the collections click this link.