News--Welcome to National Chiayi University

　　In the academic year 2021-2022, National Chiayi University works with the Council of Indigenous Peoples to establish “Original Rhyme and New Sound – Pop Music Performing Arts × Digital Audiovisual Interdisciplinary Program.” The credit program is set up to prepare indigenous students with competence in popular music singing, performance, choreography, stage sound and recording engineering, etc. The first phase of registration takes place from today until July 10th, the second phase from September 1st to September 10th. Indigenous and other students from various departments who are interested in indigenous music are welcome to grasp the chance to sign up for the program.

　　The program is mainly based on the courses of the NCYU Music Department including Musical Theatre, Pop Music Band and Jazz Band. With the support of the Council of Indigenous Peoples, a new series of practical and interesting popular music courses are offered. Yabu Mona, one of today’s pop music masters, is invited to jointly design the courses. Based on the new curriculum design, outstanding pop/jazz teachers including Nick Javier, Shih-Chieh Yi, Chen Yung-Cheng, Andy Wu, as well as Zhang Yu-Shao, a genius in microfilm and music video production, will be invited to deliver a rich learning experience. The students may also join courses to learn more about stage sound and recording engineering skills with the recording maestro Ivan Xu, a nominee of the Golden Melody Awards. It offers a diversity of internships that allows the students to create opportunities for their careers.

　　As host of the “Original Rhyme and New Sound” project, Prof. Tzeng Yu-fen served as an international academic committee member and chairman of the Taiwan Preparatory Committee at the “Study-Group-in-the-Making for Music and Dance in Indigenous and Postcolonial Contexts,” Symposium of the International Council for Traditional Music (ICTM) in 2020. Prof. Tzeng, who specializes in Taiwan’s indigenous music and dance, has helped the studies on indigenous people around the world secure a place in the world at ICTM, an international academic organization in formal consultative relations with United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). It is also a perfect example of cultural diplomacy in Taiwan, which allows the world to see the diversity and beauty of Taiwan’s indigenous music and dance. The program features a special course offered by Prof. Tzeng aiming to introduce students to the music styles of the 16 indigenous tribes in Taiwan. Elders from different tribes will be invited to visit NCYU and share their wisdom from past to present and broaden the horizons of the students through music and dance practices.

　　As we can barely sustain a career with a single set of skills in this ever-changing world, it is up to us to make good use of time to develop our strengths. Welcome to seize the opportunity to invest in yourself by joining the Pop Music Performing Arts × Digital Audiovisual Interdisciplinary Program.

The program’s Facebook fan page:：https://www.facebook.com/ncyu.ipm /