The Faculty of Music announces new DPhil scholarship

Thanks to the generosity of Australian musicologist Dr Nigel Nettheim a new scholarship has been created for one DPhil student joining the Faculty of Music in the 2026/27 academic year.

The Nigel Nettheim Scholarship for Schubert Studies celebrates the musical achievements of one of the greatest composers of the Romantic period, Franz Schubert. Although he was only 31 years old when he died, Schubert produced an enormous body of work, from opera and symphonies to chamber music, as well as the genre where he was considered most masterful, lieder (art song).

Dr Nettheim said: “I have studied Schubert’s music for sixty years and now is the time to pass the torch to another enthusiast. Schubert was a highly instinctive composer whose work inspired many others. This scholarship will enable an early career researcher at Oxford to explore Schubert’s music through an analytical lens and throw new light onto his compositions”.

Professor Laura Tunbridge, Fellow of Wadham, Heather Professor of Music and Faculty Board Chair, said: “We are immensely grateful to Dr Nettheim for his important support of graduate studies in Music. It is an exciting time to be joining the Faculty: the incoming scholar will benefit from the state-of-the-art learning facilities and performance spaces in our new home, the Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities. 2026 is also the 400th Anniversary of the Heather Professor of Music, marking four centuries of music teaching and research at Oxford”.

The award will cover the full DPhil course fees at the Home rate and a living stipend for three years.

The scholarship recipient will be resident at Wadham, an eminently suitable place for a music student. We have a strong reputation for music, with a diverse cohort of graduate students and an active music-making culture across the College. Wadham is also home to the Holywell Music Room, believed to be the first purpose-built concert hall in Europe. The Holywell hosts chamber music and recitals, and is home to many College, Music Faculty, and a number of renowned arts organisations events, such as the Oxford International Song Festival, throughout the year.