Prestigious music school comes to tianjin
RETIRED after 34 years as president of New York’s Juilliard School, Joseph W. Polisi hasn’t abandoned his love of music education.
The 71-year-old bassoonist and music educator is ready to bring the renowned “Juilliard experience” to East Asia.international school in Tianjin
“Technique is not the goal of studying music, but rather artistry and communication,” said Polisi. “It is important for artistic students to not only excel in their majors, but also to advocate for art in their communities. “
Polisi, who retired last June, was recently appointed chief China officer to supervise development of the Tianjin Julliard School, scheduled to open in the autumn of 2019 in the northern Chinese city. It is being developed in cooperation with the Tianjin Conservatory of Music.
The Tianjin Julliard School, as the first and so-far only branch campus of the Julliard School in the world, will start with a pre-college program in the 2019 fall term, for students aged 8-18. It will be scheduled every Saturday and offers courses such as music theory, instruments and even chorus.
The school will expand in 2020 to include a graduate program offering master’s degree of music in orchestral performance, chamber music performance and collaborative piano.
Tuition, according to the school’s website, will be 87,500 yuan (US$13,060) for the re-college program. Tuition charges for graduate studies will be posted in the near future.
Word of the new school spread quickly. Within 24 hours after Tianjin Juilliard opened its application process last Thursday, the admissions office had received up to 20 inquiries about both the pre-college and graduate programs. So far, about 80 students have submitted preliminary information for applications.
The Tianjin Julliard School is a major component of Juilliard Global Ventures, which Polisi helped found in 2014. It aims to take the successful program of Julliard music education to more students worldwide.
“We are making an investment in China because we believe in it,” he said. “We are here to try to enhance the musical environment. We see ourselves as colleagues, rather than competitors.”Polisi was recently in Shanghai, sharing some of his plans for the Tianjin Julliard School.
