Music institute hits right note

"Having this program in China means that the Juilliard School has a global presence," says Polisi, 71, in Beijing, the day before the announcement of the resident faculty for the Tianjin Juilliard School.

"It will be our first campus outside New York, which will offer an authentic Juilliard experience for students. It's an important part of our global strategy."

Polisi, who is a bassoon player and took his position at Juilliard in 1984, now serves as the chief China officer and the president emeritus of the Juilliard School.

The new school is located in the Yujiapu Pilot Free Trade Zone in the Tianjin Binhai New Area, a one-hour high-speed train journey from the capital. It is designed by the US architecture firm Diller Scofidio and Renfro, the same company responsible for the 2006-09 expansion of Juilliard's New York home at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.

According to He Wei, the artistic director and dean of the Tianjin Juilliard School, the resident faculty members of the Tianjin Juilliard School have played in the world's top symphony orchestras, taught at prestigious conservatories, and won awards as soloists and chamber musicians. They include Harbin-born double bassist Zhang Daxun, American violinist Julia Glenn and Chinese-American pianist Alvin Zhu.

"We've spent a year on the recruitment of our resident faculty members of the new school, and the final 21 teachers, who stood out after 10 rounds of interviews, came from seven countries," says He, the Chinese-American violinist, who was born in Chengdu, Sichuan province, and has taught at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music for more than 20 years. He will also teach violin and chamber music at the Tianjin Juilliard School.