Shanghai Conservatory of Music

The Shanghai Conservatory of Music (simplified Chinese: 上海音乐学院; traditional Chinese: 上海音樂學院; pinyin: Shànghǎi Yīnyuè Xuéyuàn) was founded on November 27, 1927, as the first music institution of higher education in China. Its teachers and students have won awards at home and abroad, thus earning the conservatory the name "the cradle of musicians." It is a Chinese state Double First Class University.

Shanghai Conservatory of Music
上海音乐学院
TypePublic
Established27 November 1927 (1927-11-27)
PresidentLiao Changyong
Location
Shanghai
,
China
Websitewww.shcmusic.edu.cn
Shanghai Conservatory of Music
Simplified Chinese上海音乐学院
Traditional Chinese上海音樂學院
Front gate of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music

History

The Shanghai Conservatory of Music is a music institute famous at home and abroad. It grew out of the National Conservatory of Music, which was established by Cai Yuanpei on November 27, 1927. Dr. Xiao Youmei (Shio Yiu-mei) was the director of the new school and curriculum. His teachings were based on the Leipzig Conservatory of Music, where he graduated. It was one of the first institutions of higher learning of modern music in China. It was considered the premiere institution for Western music learning. Professors came from as far as Russia and France. Several of the original professors were recruited from Russian emigres who had fled the Russian civil war (1918-1922) to China.[1]

It was renamed several times: National Training School of Music (1929), Branch of National Conservatory of Music (1943), Shanghai National Training School of Music (1945), Shanghai and Huadong Branches of Chinese Conservatory of Music (early 1950s). It received its current name in 1956.

Programs

The Shanghai Conservatory of Music consists of 13 departments. It involves six disciplines and 23 sub-disciplines, some traditional, the others newly developed.

The conservatory supports a high-level music research institute, a specialized music library with a large collection, a first-class museum of Asian instruments, and a unique music publishing house.

A six-year secondary school and a three-year elementary section were established in 1953 and 1956 to prepare better candidates for tertiary education, thus forming a self-contained system with a complete curriculum of music and academic education.

Three art centers integrate teaching, performing and scientific research: Zhou Xiaoyan International Opera Center, International String Academy, and International Piano Art Center. The conservatory has established six performing groups: Symphony Orchestra of Shanghai Conservatory of Music, New Ensemble, String Quartet, Percussion Ensemble, National Music Orchestra and Choir.

Shanghai Conservatory of Music maintains close relationships with many first-class conservatories and famous musicians, including collaborations with schools in the US, France, UK, Russia, Netherlands, Australia, Austria, Germany and Japan. Many internationally well-known musicians such as Isaac Stern, Itzhak Perlman, Yuri Shishkin,[2] Leon Fleisher, Pinchas Zukerman, Seiji Ozawa, Simon Rattle, Mstislav Rostropovich, and Yo-Yo Ma have served as honorary or guest professors.

Rankings and reputation

As of 2021, Shanghai Conservatory of Music ranked no.4 nationwide among universities specialized in Arts in the recognized Best Chinese Universities Ranking and ranked the best in China in the "Music and Dance" subject .[3][4]

Shanghai Conservatory of Music is regarded as the most prestigious music and arts school in China. It ranked 2nd in China after (the Central Academy of Drama in Beijing) and 43rd in the world by the 2022 QS World University Rankings in Performing Arts.[5]

Departments

Faculty and student body

The conservatory has 50 professors and 120 associate professors. There are approximately 1,200 students.

Notable faculty and alumni

Faculty
  • Wen Kezheng (1929–2007), former Director of the Vocal Music and Opera Department
  • Liao Changyong, Vice President of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music and Director of the Vocal Music and Opera Department (also alumnus)
  • Zhu Jian'er (1922-2017), Chinese symphonic composer and songwriter
  • Vladimir Shushlin (1896-1978), Russian vocal teacher
  • He Luting (1903-1999), alumnus and former conservatory director. The main music hall on campus was later named after him.[7]

Alumni

References
  1. Yang, Mikkonen & Winzenburg (September 2020). Networking the Russian Diaspora: Russian Musicians and Musical Activities in Interwar Shanghai. Hawaii University Press. ISBN 9780824879662. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
  2. Poeluev, Alexander. "Shishkin Held Concert at Shanghai Conservatory of Music". Archived from the original on 2013-04-13. Retrieved 2012-11-14.
  3. "ShanghaiRanking's Best Chinese Universities Ranking of Chinese Art Universities". www.shanghairanking.com. Retrieved 2022-03-02.
  4. "2021 china's best subject ranking". www.shanghairanking.cn. Retrieved 2022-03-02.
  5. "QS World University Rankings for Performing Arts 2022". Top Universities. Retrieved 2023-08-19.
  6. "Shanghai Conservatory Website".
  7. "上海音乐学院将拆墙开放！这座"神秘的音乐殿堂"里什么样？". Xinmin Evening News (in Chinese). 18 January 2021.
  • Shen, Sinyan. Chinese Music in the 20th Century (Chinese Music Monograph Series). 2001. Chinese Music Society of North America Press. ISBN 1-880464-04-7.

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