The Kathmandu University
Department of Music

With the assistance of German ethnomusicologist Dr. Gert-Matthias Wegner, Kathmandu University (K.U.) opened in August 1996 a Department of Music in Bhaktapur, where ethnomusicology (B.A. and M.A.) and practical music (North Indian classical and Nepalese local traditions) were 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. Teaching staff for performance training included local musicians and dancers.  An exchange of academic teachers and students was agreed upon and carried out between  and the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London. In 1996, the K.U. Department of Music was the only university department in South Asia conducting  full-fledged courses in ethnomusicology. The aim of the K.U. Department of Music is to train competent musicians and ethnomusicologists to document, preserve, and work creatively with the endangered musical traditions of Nepal.

There have been many developments at the K.U. Department of Music in recent years, including the relocation from Bhaktapur to Tripureshwor, Kathmandu, the addition of new faculty members, and the expansion of our academic and research programs.