The history of the Department is the epitome of music development in Taiwan. Over the past half century, it has cultivated more secondary school music teachers in the nation than any other music department, and many of its alumni have gone on to become leading figures in the fields of both performance and academic research all over the world.
The Department of Music at the National Taiwan Normal University began life as the two-year Special Music Training Course at Taiwan Provincial Normal College, and was expanded to a five-year music program in 1948. In June 1955, it became the Department of Music at the College of Liberal Arts of Taiwan Provincial Normal University, which itself in June 1966 became National Taiwan Normal University. In 1980, the first graduate institute of music in Taiwan was established with three areas of concentration: Musicology, Composition and Conducting. The Department and the Graduate Institute of Music were moved into the College of Arts on its establishment in August 1982. In 1992, the Graduate Institute initiated a new aspect of concentration in Instrumental and Vocal Performance and began recruiting students with expertise in various instruments. The commencement of Taiwan´s first doctoral program in Music and the establishment of the Graduate Institute of Ethnomusicology in 2001 marked a further enhancement in the academic status of the department. In August 2005, the Graduate Institute of Performing Arts was established, offering programs in Music Theater, Music Marketing and Piano Collaboration. In August 2007, The Department and Graduate Institute of Music, the Graduate Institute of Ethnomusicology and the Graduate Institute of Performing Arts were reorganized together as the College of Music. The school continues to grow and enrich its training, research and service capacities as well as deepen its interactions with other fields in the humanities, sciences and arts. It is its essential goal to lay a solid foundation for music training and cultural development in Taiwan.
The four-year Bachelor of Fine Arts undergraduate program offers six areas of concentration: Piano Performance, Vocal Performance, String Instruments, Wind Instruments and Percussion, Music Theory, and Traditional Chinese Musical Instruments. The mission of the Bachelor of Fine Arts program is to train music professionals and cultivate music teachers for secondary schools. Our master program offers five aspects of concentration: Instrumental and Vocal Performance, Composition, Musicology, Music Education, and Conducting. The commencement of Taiwan’s first doctoral program in music in 2001 at NTNU was a milestone both in Taiwan’s higher education and the development of the Department of Music, and it has retained its leading position in the field of music education in Taiwan. The Ph.D. program offers four areas of concentration: Music Education, Musicology, Performing Arts, and Composition.
The Department presents numerous concerts, conferences, seminars, lectures, and special music events, most of which offer free admission to students and the public. Its world-class faculty and globally-renowned visiting professors provide the highest artistic and educational environment in order to foster lifelong professional careers for aspiring students. The Department maintains a balance between teaching and research and places equal emphasis on practice and theory, and continues to expose talented students to a wide variety of musical perspectives, aesthetics and techniques, guiding them to discover their individualities in this diverse 21st-century."
