[2] In the 2014 Research Excellence Framework, the School's was ranked 13th in the UK in the category Music, Drama, Dance and Performing Arts.

Barbara Hepworth's 1968 monumental bronze sculpture Three Obliques (Walk In) is situated outside the school of music.

Notable alumni include several internationally acclaimed composers including Alun Hoddinott, who was head of the school from 1967 to 1989,[9] Grace Williams, Karl Jenkins, Hilary Tann, and Philip Cashian, as well as Tony Woodcock (President of the New England Conservatory), pianist and accompanist Andrew Matthews-Owen and music scholar David Wyn Jones.

The School of Music is home to numerous ensembles, including:[10] Several of these groups have released recordings.

[12] The school's ensembles have a history of international performance tours, including to Europe, China, Malaysia and Indonesia.