Joseph W. Polisi, honorary president of The Juilliard School in New York, announced a plan for building the first overseas Juilliard campus in Tianjin in 2015. He has come to Tianjin many times to promote the school's construction and personal exchanges. Last year, when he visited again, he found that the school had welcomed its first students.

Tianjin Juilliard School has introduced the concept of pre-college classes of The Juilliard School in New York and offers different combinations of courses. Polisi said: "About 20 percent of New York pre-college students do go on to conservatories around the United States of the world, but 40 percent of our graduates from pre-college go to the most selective universities in America like Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford, etc. So, it's a wonderful model and I think it's a little new for China."

Polisi said musicians should not only perform, but also realize the social function of art. "Artists should step off the stage to have an impact on the development of society, although these effects are likely to take decades or more to be detectable," he said.

The school's distinctive education and teaching model demonstrates its strength. As an international leading music education institution, Tianjin Juilliard is not only a degree-granting institution with a cohort of students, but also a catalyst for generating new projects, new ideas and imaginative processes throughout China, East Asia and the globe.

Tianjin Juilliard is committed to promoting the development of performing arts and music education. In mid-May 2021, Tianjin Juilliard and the National Centre for the Performing Arts of China launched a series of performance exchanges and visits.

"One of the reasons I am here right now, not just the dedication of the building, is to work on a 5-year plan for the school. And within that context, we are exploring other majors. And the majors would enhance the educational and artistic environment not only for the school but for Tianjin." Polisi said.

Tianjin Juilliard has benefited from strong support from Tianjin's government, relevant departments and cooperative partners. 

The Tianjin campus is The Juilliard School's first international campus. Polisi said: "When we came to China and Tianjin, I was pleasantly surprised to find that Tianjin's urban development concept is very consistent with our original intention. The dream of a music education school has gradually become a reality since then," Polisi said.

With international cooperation and advanced music education, Tianjin Juilliard has become a new platform for promoting cultural exchanges between China and the United States, and contributed to the development of high-level performing arts and music education.