The Vocal Opera Department was founded in 1953, which was renamed Vocal Department in 1958 and in 2017 renamed Vocal and Opera Department. The previous department heads were Hao Wenxiu, Yan Ling, Lv Boke, Guan Lin, Wang Qihui, Ding Guiwen, Bao Yanyi, Xu Zhaoren. The Current department director is Zhang Ce, deputy director is Jia Nai. During the practice and exploration of musicians for several decades, the Vocal Opera Department has accumulated rich teaching experience and scientific research achievements, cultivated many excellent undergraduates and graduates. Many students have won major vocal music competitions domestic and overseas, or have been employed by national and provincial organizations and colleges. And some of them have become socially influential educators, singers and outstanding achievements, integrating teaching, theoretical research and artistic practice.
There are vocal music teaching and research section, art guidance teaching and research section in Vocal Opera Department. The teaching system consists of two levels: four-year undergraduate program and three-year master program. Courses offered by the Vocal Opera Department include Vocal Singing, Vocal Art Direction, Opera Rehearsal, Italian Phonetics, German Phonetics, French Phonetics, Russian Phonetics, Physique, Performance, Chorus, Lines, etc.
There are currently 29 full-time teachers in the Vocal Opera Department, including 11 professors, 10 associate professors, and 7 lecturers. Among them, senior titles accounted for 72.4% and other titles accounted for 27.6%; among them, teachers with master’s degree accounted for 42.3%; 46-55-year-old teachers accounted for 26.92%, 36-45-year-old teachers 42.31%, 35-year-old teachers accounted for 30.77%; Vocal music professional 98% of the teachers have experience of studying abroad. An academic echelon with increasing levels of education and a more reasonable age structure has been formed, forming a team of teachers with obvious advantages and potential for development as a whole.
The Department of Vocal Music and Opera pays special attention to the construction of the teaching team while doing a good job in teaching reform. Since the 1950s, some influential vocal educators in the country have successively taught in the department, such as: Professor Zhou Shuan, Professor Lu Bock, Professor Li Hongbin, Professor Hu Jinghua, Professor Guan Lin, Professor Cheng Hao, etc., and trained Professor Yang Yichun, Professor Wang Qihui, Professor Ding Guiwen, Professor Wang Yanan, Professor Wang Ruijiang, Professor Bao Yanyi, Professor Ren Guozhu, Professor Zheng Sulan, Professor Ding Yaxian, Professor Cang Chuande, etc. as the representative of the second generation of teaching backbone.
The Department of Vocal Music and Opera has always attached importance to the quality of talent training and constantly innovated the talent training model. Many outstanding graduates have won awards in major vocal competitions at home and abroad, such as the first place in the Fifth Italian Opera Singing International Vocal Competition; the first place in the Second Vocal Competition in Massafra, Italy; and the fourth "Rosa Ponceir" Second place in the "International Vocal Competition"; second place in the French Marmond International Vocal Competition, etc.
The Vocal Opera Department focuses on strengthening academic exchanges between international and domestic. It has hired famous domestic experts such as Jin Tielin, Ma Qiuhua, Liao Changyong, Wei Song, Luan Feng, Song Bo, Chen Qilian, etc., as well as famous professors and scholars from Russia, the United States, Britain, Italy, Japan and other countries to exchange lectures, and select young and middle-aged teachers to go to higher music academies in Germany, the United States, Italy, Russia, Belgium and other countries and China for advanced studies. At the same time, many teachers of the department were also invited to hold classes and lectures in many colleges and universities across the country, and were hired as visiting professors. In recent years, teachers of the department have published more than 100 academic papers in various national academic journals at all levels, and self-edited more than ten textbooks. Among them, "Selected Works of Chinese Vocal Music 1-14" was awarded the Second prize of the 5th Higher Education Teaching Achievement in Liaoning Province.
The Vocal Opera Department has established the Northern Youth Choir of the Shenyang Conservatory of Music with outstanding students as the main body. It has represented the conservatory for many times in major performances inside and outside the province, such as commemorating the 60th anniversary of the victory of the Anti-Fascist War and the Anti-Japanese War "The Green Mountains", Liaoning Province commemorates the 30th anniversary of the resumption of the college entrance examination large-scale music and dance party, performance of Liaoning Province education sector to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China "Motherland in my heart" concert, Liaoning Province "Red Poem Shines in Liaoning" National Day Special Party, A red classic concert to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China in the Centennial Lecture Hall of Peking University, a concert of classic vocal works of "Songs of War of Resistance" to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War. In 2015, it participated in the rehearsal performance of New China’s first national opera "A Single Spark", and performed at the National Grand Theater, Tsinghua University, Capital Medical University, China Conservatory of Music, Shengjing Grand Theater, Shenyang Normal University. In recent years, it has organized students to rehearse and perform a number of operas, such as "The Secret Marriage", "Gianni Schicchi", "Le Villi", "Returning Alcoholic" and so on, which have had a greater impact and have won praise from all walks of life.
In the future development, the Vocal Opera Department will always fully implement educational policy and literary policy of the Communist Party of China. Based on its own professional characteristics, the department constantly explores the rules of vocal music teaching, and cultivates and educates outstanding artistic talents for the country with a sound teaching system, rigorous teaching management and outstanding teaching results.
The department based on its own professional characteristics, and constantly explore the rules of vocal music teaching, with a excellent teaching system, rigorous teaching management, and outstanding teaching results. The state trains and educates outstanding artistic talents.