Challenges and benefits: Exploring the learning experiences of postgraduates with Western classical music backgrounds in a university–community Cantonese opera programme

The Chinese government has recently prioritised traditional opera education, promoting university–community collaborations. However, university music students are primarily trained in Western classical music, with limited exposure to traditional opera. This exploratory case study investigated the learning experiences of postgraduate students (N = 17) with backgrounds in Western classical music participating in a one-year university–community Cantonese opera programme in Guangzhou, China. Data were collected through participant observation and semi-structured interviews. Schippers’ Twelve Continuum Transmission Framework served as an analytical lens to examine how different modes of music transmission shape the conflicts in students’ learning processes. The findings revealed significant challenges for the students, including difficulties mastering the techniques of Cantonese opera, pedagogical limitations stemming from instructors’ limited experience, and misaligned expectations between the university and the community centre. Despite the challenges, the students gained substantial benefits, including improvements in musical skills, a deeper conceptual understanding of Cantonese opera in a community context and an increasing enthusiasm for future research, teaching and learning related to Cantonese opera. The study recommends a hybrid pedagogical model combining traditional oral transmission methods with the structured, analytical approaches. It also emphasises fostering long-term university–community collaborations to sustain and advance Cantonese opera education. Copyright © 2025 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.