Pacific Alliance of Music Schools
PAMS was initiated to create closer ties between the institutions and build the region as a driving force of music education and culture:
- Auckland School of Music, University of Auckland, New Zealand
- Beijing Central Conservatory of Music, China
- College of Music, Seoul National University, Korea
- Faculty of Music, Tokyo University of the Arts, Japan
- Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, China
- San Francisco Conservatory of Music, USA
- School of Music, Taipei National University of the Arts, Taiwan
- School of Music, University of British Columbia, Canada
- Shanghai Conservatory of Music, China
- Sydney Conservatorium of Music, University of Sydney, Australia
- Thornton School of Music, University of Southern California (USC), USA
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music, The University of Melbourne, Australia
- Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music, National University of Singapore
- Mahidol University College of Music, Thailand
While collaborations have existed for some time between many institutions in the region, the inaugural summit in 2014 marked the first gathering of deans and presidents of the partner schools. The PAMS Summit occurs every April to discuss international engagement, academic and student exchange, curriculum development and collaboration.
Program
Sydney Conservatorium of Music and Beijing Central Conservatory of Music co-hosted the inaugural Asia-Pacific Music Summit in Sydney in April 2014. Sydney Conservatorium of Music’s Dean Dr Karl Kramer described the conference as “a unique opportunity to meet face-to-face with our peers from the region’s top conservatoriums and discuss best practices in music education and performance. While we all assume the Western music tradition of teaching, each institution is mutually exclusive in terms of how it operates. We are 13 unique case studies, each with different expertise to share. The summit is a starting point to forming stronger human connections between the institutions to encourage greater and more regular dialogue across the region.”
The second PAMS Summit in Beijing focused on chamber music, with a number of collaborative concerts between the many music schools, featuring four string students and Professor Ole Bohn from Sydney.
The third PAMS Summit in Singapore focused on collaborations through composition and music technology, and a strategic look at graduate outcomes for music students and whether the curriculum supported this.
The fourth PAMS Summit in Auckland focused on piano pedagogy, and a strategic look at joint music degrees, staff and student exchange, student employability and preparing students to be a portfolio music.
The fifth PAMS Summit in Los Angeles focused on international engagement and how to make our schools unique and reflective of the musical environment around us. Particularly important was the forming of a sub-committee of international officers from the participating music schools to foster improved communication about exchange and project collaborations.
The sixth PAMS Summit in Seoul focused on sharing international short-term and exchange program information, while keeping our schools distinct. It was great to have the sub-committee of international affairs managers meet again to share information and consolidate communications between the participating music schools.
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the PAMS Summit was postponed from 2020-2022.
The seventh PAMS Summit was held in Melbourne from 20-23 May 2023.