The Composition Department aims at cultivating professional composers and composition theory talents. The core of composition department's teaching program is individual composition tutorials and composition seminars, supplemented with harmony, counterpoint, form and composition analysis, orchestration, sight-singing and ear-training, electronic music, modern music composition, and other music analysis and study courses, consists of the integrated composition teaching system which combines teaching, research and composition functions and satisfies three levels of undergraduate, graduate and doctoral study.
The six teaching groups of composition department (composition, counterpoint, harmony, music form and composition analysis, orchestration, sight-singing and ear-training) are in charged of the academic teaching and research on these six directions. In addition, they provide all the required courses and eight elective courses of the six directions for other departments' students in the conservatory. The teaching contents not only covered European traditional composition and compositional theory in eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and new compositional techniques, new concepts, new theories, and new systems since the twentieth century; but also explored numerous Chinese composers and compositions since the twentieth century and summarized the features of the music style and their achievements. Therefore, the department has formed its own teaching system according to the academic researches and composition practices since the 1950s.
The birth of the composition department synchronized the establishment of CCOM in April, 1950. The well-known composer, theorist, music educator Jiang Dingxian was the first Chair of the department. The faculty team assembled renowned composers and scholars from the former Composition Theory Department of Nanjing National Conservatory of Music, former Composition Theory Section in Music Department of Yanching University, former Composition Theory Section in Music Department of Beiping National Arts School, and oversea returned talents as the teachers. All the previous Chairs are: Wang Zhanya, Du Mingxin, Dai Hongwei, Mu Hong, Liu Kanghua, Guo Wenjing, Tang Jianping. The present Chair is Hao Weiya, Vice Chair is Chang Ping, Party secretary is Chen Yonggang.
In 1982, composition and composition theory group of CCOM was appointed to grant master degree to graduates by Academic Degrees Committee of the State Council, PRC. In 1988, the section was further approved as doctoral degree grant station. The first batch of doctoral advisors in music in China granted by the Ministry of Education of PRC included two professors of composition department, Wu Zuqiang and Su Xia (there were total four professors in China).
The composition department now has totally 35 faculty members, which include 13 professors, 17 associate professors, 3 lecturers, 1 teaching assistant, and 1 in internship. Among them, there are 19 doctoral advisors (12 of them have retired) and 24 master advisors. 12 of them have received Ph. D. degrees and 2 professors enjoy the national special entitlement benefits. The department has 128 undergraduate students, 50 master students and 21 doctoral students.
The academic leaders in different fields in composition department, such as Wu Zuqiang, Du Mingxin, Guo Wenjing, Ye Xiaogang, Tang Jianping, Duan Pingtai, Yu Suxian, Wu Shikai, Liu Kanghua, Liu Lin, Yang Ruhuai, Li Jiti, Yao Henglu, Zhao Yishan, Guo Weiguao, Huang Shuqing, Gong Xiaoting, etc, have made great influences in China and international music circles.
In the past several decades, the composition department had cultivated numerous music talents for China and the World, and many of them has become distinguished composers, such as Xin Huguang, Shi Guangnan, Wang Liping, Tan Dun, Guo Wenjing, Ye Xiaogang, Chen Yi, Zhou Long, Chen Qigang, Chen Xiaoyong, Tang Jianping, Zhang Xiaofu, Jia Guoping, Qin Wenchen, Zhang Lida, Zhao Jiping, Xu Peidong, etc.
