His results in his BA were disappointing, which saw the end of the Civil Service career for which his father had hoped. Given this, and with some persuasion from his friends, he persuaded his father to allow him to undertake further studies in music. In 1910 Denis Browne became organ scholar at Clare, and masterminded the installation of a new organ. In this period at Cambridge, he studied composition with Charles Wood, organ with Alan Gray, and piano with Ursula Newton (a former pupil of Ferruccio Busoni). Many of his compositions at time were premiered by the college choir or orchestra. He also became known as a promising conductor. He sang in the chorus which premiered Vaughan Williams' incidental music for "The Wasps", and also played through "Hugh the Drover" and "On Wenlock Edge" whilst Vaughan Williams was still working on them.