On November 28, 2018, the Xinghai Conservatory of Music in Guangzhou, will celebrate the inauguration of the “Chou Wen-chung Music Research Center.” The opening ceremony of the Center will be followed by a two-day academic conference. Music scholars from China and abroad will present papers on the composer’s music and his scholarly contributions to the field.

Chou Wen-chung has donated to the Conservatory his personal library of books and scholarly research materials to be made available to conservatory faculty and students as well as to visiting scholars from around the world. The collection represents the publications which Chou acquired over a period of seventy years since his arrival in the U.S., and which he used for his teaching at Columbia University from 1964 to 1991.

The archives is comprised of books on the history, theory and aesthetics of both Asian and Western music. Also included are publications on art, archeology, literature and a wide range of cultural topics which Chou considers to be essential reading for well-educated composers and music scholars. Chou deems all of these reference materials to be as relevant today as they were when he first acquired them.

The Chou Wen-chung Music Research Center is also envisaged as a lively platform for initiating programs of scholarly value such as international conferences and lecture series by distinguished music professionals from China and around the world.

Xinghai Conservatory is one of nine conservatories in China. Its research department, established in 2005, is home to the nation’s sole collection of academic resources on music history.