The Department of Music was established in 1971 by Dr. Juanelva Rose, an American missionary. From the beginning the curriculum was modeled after some of the more outstanding schools of music in the United States. Class sizes were deliberately kept small. In addition to high standards of musical performance, emphasis has always been placed on a solid foundation in music theory and music history. Tunghai was the first institution in Taiwan to set such high standards for graduation with a degree in musical performance.
In order to further nurture local musical talent, in 1992 a Master of Arts degree program was added under the leadership of Dr. Tzong-kai Kuo. The same high standards found in the undergraduate program can be seen in the graduate program as well.
There are now well over a thousand graduates of the department who have established themselves as competent musicians, both in Taiwan and on the international musical stage.
The department currently has fifteen full-time and 56 part-time faculty members. In addition to to Taiwanese faculty, there are also professors from the United States, Japan and Belarus.
Current enrolment is approximately 200 students, including Chinese from other countries and other international students. Most of the textbooks used by students are in English. There are six major performing groups: orchestra, wind ensemble, mixed chorus, opera workshop, Electone ensemble and percussion ensemble. Each semester there are public performances at various venues around the island.
For the last twenty-five years, Tunghai has sponsored a summer music festival, inviting internationally acclaimed artists to teach and perform in the school’s facilities. In the last few years the department has also hosted an international music symposium, inviting scholars from abroad to share their research findings.
In the last year, the music department established the Tunghai University Preparatory School of Music program to help nurture young talent. There are currently students ranging in age from third graders up to university level enrolled in this program.
The Tunghai University Department of Music is without a doubt an important center for the study of western art music in central Taiwan.
