For over 40 years the Department has provided hundreds of graduates with a practical, creative and intellectual foundation for careers in music and music related fields. Our programme is designed to enable graduates to work intelligently and creatively towards their own areas of special interest.

There are 13 full-time and over 100 part-time and adjunct teaching staff in the Department. Many of them are leading artists and academics. Students accepted into the Department study with scholars and teachers in music theory and analysis, composition, Chinese and Western music history, music education, and performance. Students also have the opportunity to interact individually with outstanding scholars and performers from China and the West. The programme places a special emphasis on the role of technology and computers in various aspects of music, providing students with cutting-edge equipment and facilities. These include the vast array of electronic instruments and recording technology available in the Electro-Acoustic Music Centre, Laboratory for Immersive Arts and Technology and other facilities on campus. Performance is an important part of music education at the Hong Kong Baptist University. The Department of Music provides a rich experience in practical music making. Students participate intensively in solo, chamber and ensemble performance throughout the years of study.

The programme is based on the premise that music graduates should have a common foundation of academic knowledge combined with advanced creative and performance skills. This foundation uses electronic, computer, and recording technologies to support the creative, performance, and intellectual goals of the programme.

Unique Features

The B.A. (Hons.) in Music provides graduates with a practical and intellectual foundation for careers in music or music-related fields. The course is designed to enable our graduates to work intelligently and creatively towards their own areas of special interest. In Year II, students declare their specialties in one of the four Concentrations: 1) Composition; 2) Performance; 3) Directed Studies; and 4) Music Education. Depending on their chosen Concentration, a selection of concentration courses in Years II & III prepares students for the Honours Project in Year IV, in the format of a composition portfolio, a concerto and recital performance, a lecture-recital, or a written thesis on music history, theory, music education, or music-related topic.

Students accepted into our degree program study with a team of composers, performers, and music scholars who specialize in music composition, music education, keyboard performance, choral and orchestral conducting, Chinese and Western music history, and music theory and analysis. They will also have the opportunity to interact with visiting scholars and artists who come from Hong Kong, China, and many other countries, in seminars, lectures, master-classes, and recitals. The strong emphasis on solo, chamber, and ensemble performance throughout the four years provides our students with a rich experience in practical music making. The program’s emphasis on the role of technology and computers in various aspects of music is supported by cutting-edge equipment and facilities, including the Electro-Acoustic Music Centre (EMC) and the Laboratory for Immersive Arts and Technology (LIATe).

Our recent graduates have launched careers in education, arts management, audio and visual productions, and other music-related fields. Other graduates have continued their studies at graduate schools in Hong Kong, the United States, and Europe.

Career Opportunities 

The intellectual and musical elements of the core and four concentrations are basic to most music-related career options. Graduates have a wide range of employment possibilities in teaching, performance, radio/ television, music-related business, arts management and further study. People who enter a music-related profession in Hong Kong are unusually resourceful and entrepreneurial. Throughout a career, an individual’s interests and goals may change but the intellectual and physical disciplines of a good degree in music are applicable to success in many fields in the artistic life of the community. 

Remarks

Students may have the option of taking an integrated programme by extending their undergraduate study by one year, leading to the award of a bachelor's degree in that Major plus a Diploma in Education.

1) ^Subject to annual review and University's approval.