Music College

Music College of Central University of Nationalities (CUN), founded in 1959, is the highest learning institution of music education for ethnic nationalities and the cradle for high-level music talents of ethnic nationalities. Throughout the education history for more than 40 years, the college has trained thousands of excellent music talents for the society especially for the ethnic area. They have developed into the leaders of the discipline and pillar forces of music education, composition, performance and research across China, making significant contribution to the development of ethnic music and culture.

So far, the music college has established an education structure integrating education, innovation, research and art practice, consisting of three teaching levels: specialized secondary course, undergraduate course and graduate course. Now it embraces 7 departments and more than 30 directions such as musicology，composition, vocal performance, folk music performance, orchestral performance, piano performance, music education. And there are also education and research office of relative departments and basic theory, affiliated middle school and other educational departments.

For several decades, the college has built up a strong teaching team, totaling more than 80 staffs, among whom 6 are professors and with professor title，16 associate professors and persons with associate professor title, accounting for 30% of the total number, 13 supervisor of graduates, and one person was elected by the “the Supportive Plan for the Excellent Talents of the New Century”. There has been a great deal of experts and scholars of outstanding contribution in the course of educational research and music creation, who have created many music works of considerable effect such as Dramatic Change of Liangshan, Five Warriors on the Langya Mountain, On the Road of Food Supply and etc. Students and teachers of the college have won the prize in domestic and international music competitions time after time, according to the uncompleted statistic, since the foundation of the college; there have been more than 300 persons who had won prizes in various competitions, domestic and international. There are over 30 persons whose music work won the prize of domestic and international competitions. For example, Ding Ling in grade 2001, has won the second prize of the Fourth Minapiao Italy International Piano competition (youth group); Liu Xijuan in grade 2002 won the third prize of the First International Vocal Music Competition in Urbani, Italy; Gong Yinan in grade 2004 won the third prize of “the Tenth Beijing Accordion International Competition” (youth group); Kang Yani in grade 2000, won the second prize of the “Tianhua Cup” National Youth Erhu competition”; Yao Xiaoxi in grade 2003, won the third prize of “the Flute Performance Competition of Chinese Art College” (youth professional); Xie Yimei in grade 2001, won the copper medal of “the First Ethnic Vocal Competition of Chinese Art College”, etc. For the latest 20 years, there have been over 50 educational and research projects and research outcome at various kinds and levels, over a dozen of which are of provincial and ministerial level, for instance, the national key research outcome The Anthology of Chinese Nationalities’ Folk Song (Tibet) with the teacher of music college Jiayong Qunpei as the deputy editor-in-chief won “First prize of Completion of National Key Projects of Social Science and National Key Project Compilation Achievements of Art Study” in 2004 issued by Department of Culture, Central Propaganda Department, State Ethnic Affairs Commission and China Federation of Literary and Art Circles; Doctor Bao Aijun’s monograph Multi - Cultural traits of Mongolian Buddhist Music of Surat – Chanting won the second prize of “the Eighth Research Achievements in Philosophy and Social Sciences” in 2004; Zhang Chao’s Three Mountain Song of Southern Yunan and Spring is coming have respectively won the second (2002) and the third (2004) Chinese Golden Bell Award for Music sponsored by China Federation of Literary and Art Circles and Chinese Musicians Association.

For many years, Music College persists in the education tenet and characteristic of inheriting and bringing honor to the ethnic music, endeavors to build up the center for the education, research, creation, and development of ethnic music, realizes a complete and scientific learning system step by step. The mature characteristic course system encompasses: Chinese Ethnic Traditional Music, Chinese Ethnic Vocal music performance, Chinese Ethnic Instrumental Music Performance and other courses with nation wide influence. There are over 10 different teaching materials centered around these courses, such as Selected Teaching Material of Chinese Ethnic Minorities Vocal Music and Selected Teaching Material of Chinese Folk Vocal Music edited by Meng Xinyang；Chinese Ethnic Minorities Choral Music complied by Wang Hua; Selected Chinese Ethnic Minorities Polyphonic Solfeggio Folk Songedited by Long Xiaoyun, Chinese Ethnic Minorities Music Instruments complied by Zhao Baojia, and etc. In the respect of education reform, Music College puts great emphasis on and increases the proportion of the Chinese ethnic musical culture, and takes the lead in identifying the “Chinese Ethnic Traditional Music” as an independent and compulsive course of undergraduate courses like “Chinese Han Ethnic Traditional Music”, which brings the ethnic music into the higher education system in the sense of objective learning system, and achieves the teaching goal of multiple features of Chinese Ethnic Music. The “Ethnic Music Ensemble” of Music College is characterized by the exploration, creation and performance of ethnic musical instruments; they are active on domestic and international arena for 10 years making a marked influence in the music circle. In 2004, the ensemble participated in the performance of receiving the Olympic Flag in the opening ceremonial of Athens Olympic Games, and won the Honorary Award conferred by Beijing municipal Party committee and BOCOG. The music ensemble has made many beneficial explorations regarding the exploitation and performance of ethnic instruments.

Music College sticks to centering on education, at the same time, they are constantly consolidating the research consciousness and ability of the teaching staff. Up to now, the college has shouldered many research projects of provincial and ministerial level such as Distribution and Locality change of Chinese Tibetan Buddhism Music Culture and Mongolian Religion and Sacrifice Music Culture Study，published more than 150 dissertations and music works in domestic and international academic journals and conferences. As the music college of a key University of “211 project” and “985 project”, with the support of the construction of “211 project”, the music college has completed the“211 project” research items “Chinese Ethnic Music data base” during the course the tenth 5-year plan, realizing the data cleaning, classification and input, expecting to further the construction during the 11th 5-year plan. The establishment and construction of “Chinese Ethnic Music Data Base” represents the prominently features of ethnical characteristic and data unification.

In order to well combine art practice and ethnic music, teachers and students of Music College have created great amount of ethnic music works with considerable influence for many years. In 2003, Music College began to arrange and create the folk song opera of Mongol Ethnic Minority theme “Legend of Wood Carving”, which was the first time for our college to arrange and create the original opera for itself among the music colleges of our country. The completion and performance of the opera not only displays the creative power on ethnic music of our college but provides a superb arena for the art practice of the students.

With its prominent ethnic characteristic and unique charm, Music College, the highest learning institution of Chinese Ethnic Music education, is striving with other departments to construct the Central University of Nationalities, making it a world-class university for nationalities.