Joseph W. Polisi, president emeritus and chief China officer of the Juilliard School in the United States, gestures at a donation ceremony in north China's Tianjin, May 20, 2024. (Xinhua/Zhao Zishuo)

After serving as president of the New York-based Juilliard School for 34 years, American music educator Joseph W. Polisi decided it was time for a change, and he set his sights on China.

In June 2018, he became the Juilliard School's chief China officer, coordinating the establishment of Tianjin Juilliard School, a historic collaboration between the renowned U.S. school and its partners in China.

On May 24 this year, Polisi, also Juilliard's president emeritus and chairman of the board of directors of Tianjin Juilliard, sent congratulatory greetings to all 30 master's graduates from seven countries and regions, including China and the United States, at their commencement ceremony in Tianjin Juilliard.

JUILLIARD IN TIANJIN

This year marks the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the United States. Polisi firmly believes that the people of China and the United States can understand each other better when they work, study and play together.

He likens Tianjin Juilliard to a "catalyst" that provides new "ideas" for China-U.S. cooperation and exchanges.

The school's campus was inaugurated in the Binhai New Area in Tianjin Municipality in October 2021. However, a program connecting China and the United States like this has been in his mind for decades.

"China has always been part of my thinking," he said. Ever since he was an undergraduate student, he has been interested in China, its people, history, tradition and cuisine.

After he became president of the Juilliard School in 1984, he felt the compelling need to "really make a difference" by having something permanent in China. The Tianjin Juilliard School is the result of this vision.

He said that in China, Juilliard found its ideal partners who valued the Juilliard experience and were willing to work together to realize a very elaborate dream. Tianjin's proximity to Beijing and the convenience of the high-speed rail network were also factors to consider.

Tianjin Juilliard offers selective, audition-based programs at both pre-college and graduate levels. The graduate school teaches modules in English and offers a U.S.-accredited master's degree from the Juilliard School in New York.

In the main building of the campus, there is a project called "Juilliard Imagination" that provides an interactive musical experience for people of all ages.

It has become a very interesting source of activity for the Chinese people and attracts many international visitors, Polisi said, noting that in the 21st century, artists have the responsibility to reach out to the community and interact with people to help them realize the significance of art for society.

Visitors listen to the audio at the Juilliard Imagination exhibition held by the Tianjin Juilliard School in north China's Tianjin, Oct. 25, 2023. (Xinhua/Sun Fanyue)

Tianjin Juilliard has set up the Joseph W. Polisi Prize for students exemplifying the school's values of "artist as citizen."

In September last year, Polisi was awarded the Lifetime Honorary Prize at China's inaugural Orchid Awards in recognition of his contributions and achievements in Sino-U.S. music exchange and education over the years.

On May 20, he donated his prize money to the Tianjin Juilliard School Education Development Foundation to support the Tianjin Juilliard School.

"A GREAT PLACE TO COME"

Polisi first visited China in 1987, leading the Juilliard Orchestra on a performance tour in various cities including Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.

"The change between 1987 and 2024 is so extraordinary that it's hard to describe," he said, noting the remarkable development of both major cities and smaller ones. He explained that during his first trip to China, he saw thousands of bicycles in large cities but "now, you see thousands of automobiles."

He said exchanges between China and the United States as well as other Western countries have grown exponentially over the past 37 years.

Recalling his first visit to the Great Wall in Beijing, Polisi said he was taken aback by how steep it was since he had assumed it was flat.

He toured China with the Juilliard Orchestra again in 2008 as a part of a pre-Olympic event. "We love the Chinese audience," he said, adding their enthusiasm could be felt by musicians on stage.

On his previous trips to China, he would perform and move on, but now he spends more time whenever he is in the country and has made many friends here.

He often travels by high-speed train in this vast country and he describes his experience as "extraordinary." "In the United States, we are enviable of that transportation level."

Joseph W. Polisi, president emeritus and chief China officer of the Juilliard School in the United States, speaks during a meeting in the Tianjin Juilliard School in the Binhai New Area of north China's Tianjin Municipality, March 25, 2023. (Xinhua)

Polisi said he had always respected Chinese culture, adding that mutual respect is crucial in cultural and people-to-people exchanges. "You can't play in an orchestra, you can't play in a chamber group effectively, at least unless you respect your colleagues."

Born into a musical family in New York City in 1947, Polisi plays the bassoon. Among the many traditional Chinese instruments, he enjoys listening to the erhu and the pipa.

He said that the differences between Eastern and Western instruments are merely cultural since they are "designed for a certain type of music" and "the important thing is that each of the sounds is unique to itself."

"The realization of the Tianjin Juilliard School is a blending of two very rich cultures," Polisi said. "I'm very proud of that."

He said he learned a lot while developing this program. "But I think what I've learned most, or it's been reinforced at least, is the very high level of creativity, of imagination, of energy, of work ethic that exists in China," he added. "It's quite exemplary."

"I think that type of creativity allows the country to flourish," Polisi said.

He has invited many of his friends in the United States to visit China. "Once you are here, there are wonderful places to stay, and the food and the geography and the history and the people," he said. "It's a great place to come."