The Conducting Department specializes in the area of choral conducting, developing in its students a mastery of choral conducting theory and technique, and preparing them to be capable musical directors of professional, school, and community choirs.  While the undergraduate program focuses on choral conducting, the graduate program includes training for orchestral and operatic conducting.  All students are given solid technical training and ample opportunity to conduct and rehearse ensembles.  The department also emphasizes the importance of developing education and research skills in the field of conducting.  Courses include:  Choral Conducting Methods, Score Reading, Choral Acoustics, Choral Literature, History of Choral Development, Compositional Theory, Harmony, Polyphony, Form and Analysis, and Instrumentation.

       One mission of the Conducting Department is to promote choral activity and the performance of Chinese choral works throughout China, particularly in distant and rural areas.  The department continues to seek new ways to nurture and send out a large number of conductors capable of leading such activities, and is in the process of establishing a nationwide choral conducting training network.