About Us

The National University of Music Bucharest was established in June 1863 by decree of the Council of Ministers, presided over by Prince Alexander John Cuza. The aim was to create an institution that would merge the country’s two principal schools of music, the Institute of Vocal Music and the School of Instrumental Music, and which would have branches in both Bucharest and Jassy. And so it was that on 5 October 1864 the newly founded Conservatory of Music and Declamation first opened its doors to young men eager to study and achieve fame in the world of music.

Under the directorship of composer Alexander Flechtenmacher, the Conservatory developed into a European university specialising in vocal and instrumental musical education, with separate classes for violin, solfeggio, church choir singing, canto, piano, and harmony. A number of major figures in Romanian and international musical history were to study here and go on to shape the destiny of this famous cultural institution.

Message from the Rector

The mission of the UNMB is to train musicians, composers, musicologists, and music teachers to the highest professional standards, to discover and cultivate talent, and to lay the groundwork for the full development of artistic potential. But in addition to being a provider of professional musical education, the National University of Music must also be a centre of polarity in the arts, shaping tastes, opinions, ideas. ‘We set the tone’ — the motto of the 150th anniversary of the UNMB — encapsulates our rôle and purpose as an institution within the national musical culture and university teaching in the arts; as has been proven, we directly and indirectly set and influence the academic standards of musical life for the whole country.

Professor Diana Mos

Based on the principles of Achievement – Realism – Internationalisation – Transparency, the main goals of our overall managerial concept are as follows:

  • excellence in teaching, focused on results and the individual student’s personal development
  • continuity in teaching, with an educational package that is attractive in both its presentation and content
  • competitiveness at the highest level as a national and international centre of musical creation and research
  • efficiency as part of high-performance university management and administration

The model of a university open to dialogue and communication with society, founded on tolerance and cultural diversity, is, we believe, best suited harmoniously to integrate the conservation of traditional values with the latest musical trends to be found at the experimental stage. We encourage free and unprejudiced thinking, a lucid, critical, but also ludic spirit, capable of observing in the world around us artistic and musical potential as manifested in the most widely various forms.

It is likewise highly important that we cultivate an awareness of our belonging to a community of musicians. Under circumstances in which we are at a categorical numeric disadvantage in a society governed by consumerism, the strength of our community derives solely from the quality of the spiritual values we nurture and promote