Student Perspectives on Curriculum Diversification in Higher Music Education: Contrasting Encounters With Iranian and Aboriginal Australian Music

Western music conservatories emerged from European modernity and remain centred on the performance and analysis of European art music. In Australia, this legacy intersects with the colonial history of Indigenous cultural suppression and the marginalisation of non-western traditions. Despite calls for decolonisation and diversification, conservatory curricula continue to reproduce epistemological hierarchies, often engaging with other musical cultures in a tokenistic or exploitative manner. This article examines efforts to diversify aural skills training within an Australian conservatory through collaborative teaching interventions featuring Aboriginal Australian and Iranian classical music. Two workshops, led by cultural custodians and scholars, were integrated into the final semester of the undergraduate aural skills sequence. Students engaged in listening, analysis, and performance exercises that challenged them to apply their existing skills beyond the western canon. Survey responses from 48 students revealed a generally positive reception: Most valued exposure to new musical traditions, reported increased respect for cultural diversity, and reflected critically on their own musical assumptions. However, tensions also emerged, particularly around the application of a “western lens” to non-western music, expectations of curricular relevance, and the complexities of engaging responsibly with Indigenous traditions. These findings underscore both the opportunities and challenges of curriculum diversification in higher music education. We argue that small but carefully designed intercultural interventions can foster openness, critical awareness, and transferable listening skills, while also highlighting the need for ongoing dialogue about positionality, cultural sensitivity, and institutional responsibility. Ultimately, respectful collaboration with culture bearers has the potential to broaden the scope of conservatory training and strengthen intercultural musical understanding.