International Experiences at KU Music
International Studies Stats
School of Music Faculty-Led Study Abroad Programs:
Music, Nations, Empires: Culture and Politics in Vienna & Prague
Students explore the famously musical cities of Vienna and Prague with music historian and KU professor Martin Nedbal. The course examines the importance of music for the emergence of modern nations and empires between 1750 and 1900 in Vienna and Prague. It focuses on select musical works and their social, cultural, and political contexts. The study abroad program occurs over winter break and is offered on alternating years. (MUSC 135/136/335/336 or 650, 3 credits)
KU Jazz at Montreux Jazz Festival
KU Music Faculty on a visit to our sister conservatory in Milan
KU Music students visit archives of Austrian National Library
Semester Study Abroad Opportunities for Music Majors:
Folkwang University of the Arts in Germany
With campuses in Essen, Duisburg, Bochum, and Dortmund, Folkwang hosts approximately 1,600 students from almost every country in the world and produces more than 300 public events each year. It is known for its innovative and interdisciplinary approach to the arts and its role as a training ground for developing young artists. This is a spring semester study abroad opportunity for students in the School of Music.
IES Abroad in Vienna Music Program in Austria
Ideal for students in music history, music theory, and composition or instrumental, this program offers KU students the opportunity to participate in a wide selection of courses focusing on music and European culture and society.
Performance Opportunities Abroad
Eutiner Festspiele
Classical Beat Festival
Cosenza Conservatory
Conservatorio Giuseppe Verdi
Study Abroad Scholarship Opportunities
Students participating in a semester or academic year program in Germany are eligible to apply for the Drs. Dean T. and Elisabeth Collins Study Abroad Scholarship. Created through an estate gift from the late Dean and Elisabeth Collins, this scholarship awards up to $10,000 for students on a semester program in Germany. The scholarship is open to all majors but preference is given for students studying music and particularly opera.
International Partnerships
Shanghai Normal University, China, Agreement of Cooperation, 3+1+1
Zhengzhou University, China, Agreement of Cooperation
Conservatorio di Musica di Stato di Cosenza S. Giacomantonio, Italy, Memorandum of Understanding
Frederic Chopin Academy of Music, Warsaw, Poland, Faculty Exchange
The Conservatorio of Milano, Milan, Italy
Samuel Buse
A 2021 graduate with a master’s degree in church music and organ performance, will study at the Instituto del Órgano Hispano in Seville, Spain with Adrés Cea Galán, a prominent performer, teacher and scholar of the historic Spanish organ.
Isabel Keleti
A 2017 BM piano performance graduate, will study in the Czech Republic with emphasis on the works of Leoš Janácek at the Janácek Academy of Music and Performing Art under the guidance of Professor Jan Jiraský, a leading scholar of Janácek.
Anthony Lee
A 2020 DMA piano performance graduate, will study at the Liszt Academy in Budapest, Hungary. Along with taking lessons and giving performances while in Hungary, Lee will research the history of the Liszt Academy, a topic that has few sources in English.
International in the News
Three KU Students Earn Fulbright Awards
Notre-Dame Organist Olivier Latry named William T. Kemper Artist-In-Residence at KU
KU School of Music strengthens ties with Chinese music institutions
Faculty Connected to area Studies Centers
Dylan Bassett
Lecturer for West African drumming, is an affiliated faculty with the Kansas African Studies Center. International research interest: Director of the African Drum Ensemble at KU since it was created in 2007 through the Kansas African Studies Center. Also, a composer, percussionist, and teacher.
Jacob Dakon
Associate professor of music education is an affiliated faculty with the Kansas African Studies Center. International research interest: Research Fellow with the University of the Free State in Bloemfontein, South Africa.
Julius Kyakuwa
Assistant professor of general music education is affiliated faculty with the Kansas African Studies Center. International research interest: Community partnerships with schools, arts integration and creative teaching of music, multicultural and culturally responsive pedagogy, and music teacher education and professional development.
Paul Laird
Professor of musicology is associated faculty with the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies and affiliated faculty for the Center for Global and International Studies. International research interest: Villancico in Spain and Latin America, music of Leonard Bernstein, Broadway musicals, early stringed instruments.
Martin Nedbal
Associate professor of musicology is a faculty affiliate for the Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies. International research interest: German and Czech music, especially opera, in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
Colin Roust
Associate Professor of Musicology is affiliate faculty with the Department of French, Francophone, and Italian Studies. International research interest: twentieth-century French music, film music, music and politics, history of band music.
Roberta Schwartz
Associate professor of musicology is associated faculty with the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies. International research interest: Early music of Spain, musical patronage, the history of recorded sound, transnational interpretations of African American music, the blues, and rock and roll.
Ketty Wong
Associate professor of musicology is core faculty with the Center for East Asian Studies and Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies and affiliated faculty with the Center for Global and International Studies. International research interest: Latin American and Ecuadorian art and popular music, identity, nationalism, and ballroom dancing in China, along with the Salgado Chamber Music Project with the Ecuador Ministry of Culture.