Voices from the field: what role does music technology training play in the curriculum design of music undergraduate degree programmes in Hong Kong?

There is a common ambivalent belief among music degree students in Hong Kong that once they graduate from university, they will likely be unemployed. This belief seems stronger for those who will have to pay student loan debt immediately upon graduation. Higher education has an imperative obligation to ensure that graduates are employable and work-ready. Therefore, it is time for educators to re-think the design of music curriculum in order to satisfy the rapidly-changing needs in the local music industry context where Cantonese pop music is one of the most prominent genres of music and is a commercially lucrative entertainment business in Hong Kong. To this end, this paper first presents an extensive overview of the curriculum design of the undergraduate degree programmes of music in Hong Kong government-funded universities, and second inquiries into how studio practitioners such as sound engineers, music producers, arrangers, studio managers and studio designers, view the importance of music technology training. The findings reveal: 1) that there is a widening gap between the curriculum design of local music degree programmes and the market needs in the music studio field, and 2) that some interviewees opine that local universities which offer music degrees should bear a responsibility to train students to be creative yet technologically-skilled in order for their career preparation to work as a professional technician in Hong Kong music studios.The qualitative data presented in this paper is part of a larger empirical research study currently funded by the Faculty Development Scheme by the Research Grants Council operated under the University Grants Committee, the Government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.