Kathmandu University Department of Music

In August 1996, Kathmandu University (K.U.) opened a Department of Music in Bhaktapur, where ethnomusicology (B.A. and M.A.) and practical music (North Indian classical and Nepalese local traditions) are taught to Nepalese and foreign students. The then German President, Dr. Roman Herzog, inaugurated the department during his state visit to Nepal on 29th November 1996. The academic courses are conducted by an experienced ethnomusicologist from Germany and lecturers from the U.S. and Nepal. Teaching staff for performance training includes local musicians and dancers. An exchange of academic teachers and students has been agreed upon and carried out between Kathmandu University and the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London. SOAS recognizes the exams passed at the Bhaktapur Department of Music for internal purposes. Presently, the K.U. Department of Music is the only university department in South Asia conducting full-fledged course in ethnomusicology. To date (September 2014), students from thirty five different countries have studied at the Bhaktapur department.