Graduate School of Music – Doctoral Course

Students are expected to acquire either advanced composition or advanced conducting techniques by composing works or by conducting, and studying theory. In order to achieve this, students have to do practical and theoretical research in both areas, because these areas are closely related to each other.

They also have to study deeply the historical, social and cultural aspects of music in order to create new music. Students of composition will compose musical works and do research on the theory of composition and music pieces, and will create a new piece of music.

Students of the conducting will study the role of conductors in the arts from a broader point of view. The course also aims to develop researchers with an advanced ability for the improvement of conducting techniques and for the further development of conducting education.

Throughout mankind’s long history, people in different regions and cultures have cherished the many values of art. This is because art as a rich creative activity has always given people freedom, stimulation, healing and a vibrant joy, as well as providing opportunities to sense and think deeply. Our mission as an art university is to continually question and reappraise our legacy, the meaning of art in the present era, and the means by which artists who will create the next generation of art can best be educated.

Having its roots in the Kyoto Prefectural School of Painting, which was established in the year Meiji 13 (1880), Kyoto City University of Arts has the longest history in Japan as a public art university. Fifty years have passed since it merged with Kyoto City Junior College of Music, (which had been established following World War II, in order to found the Faculty of Music), and became a truly comprehensive art university. In recent years, the university has successively established two research centers, the Research Center for Japanese Traditional Music, and the Archival Research Center, and also the Kyoto City University of Arts Art Gallery (@KCUA) as an off-campus city central satellite facility. Currently, the university is once again undergoing various exciting changes in preparation for the planned relocation of its campus in 2023.