As the City of Chicago hosts musicians from around the globe at its annual World Music Festival this fall, DePaul University is nurturing an appreciation of world music among college students through a program in its School of Music.

Music majors who entered the School of Music this fall are required for the first time to take five weeks of world music and five weeks of jazz studies. The new requirement is part of the university’s plan to promote diversity in its instruction and the school’s goal to expand students’ knowledge of music to include non-Western composers and performers. The course also helps students understand the increasing scope of cross-cultural influences on Western classical and popular music during the last century.

“The course is more than simply listening and analyzing the technical aspects of the music,” said Meng-Kong Tham, coordinator of World Music at DePaul, and the conductor of the Youth Symphony of DuPage for 24 years. “We study the historical, political and social background of the world’s music in order to fully understand it. One step in the process of building bridges between different cultures is an appreciation of another culture’s music.”

Students study the music of India, China, Japan, Indonesia, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America and of Native Americans. Tham often invites musicians to perform and discuss their music with students.

For students outside of the music school, Tham also teaches an elective course called “Music of the World’s People” that is part of DePaul’s Liberal Studies program. The class has been popular, filling to near capacity when it is offered.

“World music programs are no longer a novelty at universities,” Tham said. “They are becoming a necessity as campuses promote globalization and diversity in their programs. At the same time, young people all over the world are flocking to world music concerts, so the programs are of great interest to them.”