Historian of musical instruments and Associate Professor at Northumbria University. UKRI Future Leaders Fellow 2024-28. Also on Instagram @RachaelDurkin. Views my own.https://bsky.app/profile/rachaeldurkin.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/rachaeldurkin.bsky.social/post/3mcu3p236v22pI’d completely forgotten I had an account here, but anyways here’s a fun conference we’re hosting in June all about musical instruments - please share, and do get in touch if you have any questions! soundstories2026.wordpress.com https://soundstories2026.wordpress.com/20 Jan 2026 11:50 +0000at://did:plc:ozomp57ufwtjrbnuevbv45du/app.bsky.feed.post/3mcu3p236v22phttps://bsky.app/profile/rachaeldurkin.bsky.social/post/3lezdo3dwuk2wA really fantastic partnership, placing quality music education at the heart of a school. Music is for EVERYONE, not just the privileged few: https://www.theguardian.com/education/2025/jan/05/banging-drum-music-education-uk-school-run-orchestra?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other05 Jan 2025 19:20 +0000at://did:plc:ozomp57ufwtjrbnuevbv45du/app.bsky.feed.post/3lezdo3dwuk2whttps://bsky.app/profile/rachaeldurkin.bsky.social/post/3lecrqjsbu22xSharing again for those who may have missed this first time round! [contains quote post or other embedded content]27 Dec 2024 20:01 +0000at://did:plc:ozomp57ufwtjrbnuevbv45du/app.bsky.feed.post/3lecrqjsbu22xhttps://bsky.app/profile/rachaeldurkin.bsky.social/post/3ldo7rxqiw22cI’m now inviting applications for 2 postdoc roles to work with me on on my UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship project ‘Global Music Technologies: Collaboration and Cultural Exchange’. Closing date 26th Jan. Please share!! https://www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DLD914/research-fellow-in-humanities19 Dec 2024 15:46 +0000at://did:plc:ozomp57ufwtjrbnuevbv45du/app.bsky.feed.post/3ldo7rxqiw22chttps://bsky.app/profile/rachaeldurkin.bsky.social/post/3lbwfkiy2h22xApplications are now open for a fully funded PhD position at Northumbria University as part of my research project ‘Global Music Technologies: Collaboration and Cultural Exchange’. The studentship will focus on global musical instruments as tools for education in the primary classroom /127 Nov 2024 11:00 +0000at://did:plc:ozomp57ufwtjrbnuevbv45du/app.bsky.feed.post/3lbwfkiy2h22xhttps://bsky.app/profile/rachaeldurkin.bsky.social/post/3lbuw27hgzk23Was great to be at the first half of the North East Heritage Forum this afternoon in the stunning Great Hall of the Discovery Museum, Newcastle. Good to hear more about the new North East Combined Authority - lots of work to do, but clear opportunities to leverage heritage for positive impact.26 Nov 2024 20:50 +0000at://did:plc:ozomp57ufwtjrbnuevbv45du/app.bsky.feed.post/3lbuw27hgzk23https://bsky.app/profile/rachaeldurkin.bsky.social/post/3lbeutk4krs2wI’m so pleased to see the first half of our double special issue on organology (musical instrument studies) published in the Journal of Musicological Research! Huge amount of hard work by some utterly brilliant colleagues - very proud of this! Check it out here: https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/gmur20/43/2-3?nav=tocList20 Nov 2024 11:46 +0000at://did:plc:ozomp57ufwtjrbnuevbv45du/app.bsky.feed.post/3lbeutk4krs2whttps://bsky.app/profile/rachaeldurkin.bsky.social/post/3kbwitj7auh2hFantastic to receive my copy of The Routledge Companion to Applied Musicology yesterday with our chapter on organology (co-authored with Darryl Martin). Such a fascinating range of topics covered, assembled and expertly edited by Chris Dromey. Very much looking forward to reading this!17 Oct 2023 06:33 +0000at://did:plc:ozomp57ufwtjrbnuevbv45du/app.bsky.feed.post/3kbwitj7auh2hhttps://bsky.app/profile/rachaeldurkin.bsky.social/post/3kbqldaqzmz2tI now have multiple invite codes to share - dm me if you have a friend looking for one! [contains quote post or other embedded content]14 Oct 2023 22:01 +0000at://did:plc:ozomp57ufwtjrbnuevbv45du/app.bsky.feed.post/3kbqldaqzmz2thttps://bsky.app/profile/rachaeldurkin.bsky.social/post/3kamuqklmj62dI have a spare code for here should you have a friend looking for one - just shout if you’d like it!30 Sep 2023 17:14 +0000at://did:plc:ozomp57ufwtjrbnuevbv45du/app.bsky.feed.post/3kamuqklmj62dhttps://bsky.app/profile/rachaeldurkin.bsky.social/post/3k7mh542yfc2uThis piano has real start of semester energy…17 Sep 2023 19:45 +0000at://did:plc:ozomp57ufwtjrbnuevbv45du/app.bsky.feed.post/3k7mh542yfc2uhttps://bsky.app/profile/rachaeldurkin.bsky.social/post/3k7jgiwaxhd2fA great couple of days at the RMA2023 conference at the University of Nottingham for a panel on the future of organology. Now have major campus envy. Shame the weather hasn’t followed me back north 🙄16 Sep 2023 14:56 +0000at://did:plc:ozomp57ufwtjrbnuevbv45du/app.bsky.feed.post/3k7jgiwaxhd2fhttps://bsky.app/profile/rachaeldurkin.bsky.social/post/3k7cghpxkg72ySuch a joy to be at the Lit&Phil library in Newcastle this evening to present a short paper as part of the John Buddle 250 celebrations. Stunning building too - worth a visit if you are in town!13 Sep 2023 20:07 +0000at://did:plc:ozomp57ufwtjrbnuevbv45du/app.bsky.feed.post/3k7cghpxkg72yhttps://bsky.app/profile/rachaeldurkin.bsky.social/post/3k6stlacv2v2eMuseum roles have the best job titles 🐟07 Sep 2023 15:19 +0000at://did:plc:ozomp57ufwtjrbnuevbv45du/app.bsky.feed.post/3k6stlacv2v2ehttps://bsky.app/profile/rachaeldurkin.bsky.social/post/3k6npb5fgjh2gLoved my time in the Netherlands last week at the CIMCIM2023 conference - top highlights include an after hours lock-in at the Rijksmuseum, a visit to high security underground collections storage, and catching up with wonderful colleagues I haven’t seen in a very long time.05 Sep 2023 14:18 +0000at://did:plc:ozomp57ufwtjrbnuevbv45du/app.bsky.feed.post/3k6npb5fgjh2g