A different tune for the future of music

The volume grew out of a leadership forum hosted by Tianjin Juilliard in May 2025, which brought together representatives from 30 leading music schools and institutions worldwide. Alongside keynote speeches and discussions, it features chapters on Tianjin Juilliard's history, orchestra building, Western art music and the development of contemporary Chinese music.

For Polisi, the aim was not simply to preserve a collection of speeches, but to capture a broader conversation about the future of music education. The book also examines emerging challenges, including artificial intelligence, and concludes with what he calls "proposing a quiet revolution" — a vision for how music institutions can rethink their responsibilities to artists and society.

That vision has taken shape at Tianjin Juilliard, the first overseas branch campus of The Juilliard School and China's first arts institution to award US-accredited master's degrees in music.

The original ambition was to bring Juilliard's tradition of musical excellence to China while working with local partners. Six years after the school began operating, Polisi says, it has remained true to that goal while expanding in ways he had not initially anticipated.

Its programs now extend beyond graduate training and concert-hall performances to include educational opportunities for children and teenagers, as well as collaborations with conservatories, professional orchestras and musicians across China.

For Polisi, the experience shows what cultural exchange can achieve when it moves beyond presenting one country's artistic traditions to engaging deeply with another.

Although Tianjin Juilliard operates as an English-speaking international school, it also offers students opportunities to learn about Chinese musical instruments, compositions and traditions. Visiting composers can immerse themselves in these traditions and incorporate them into new works.

"People often say music is a universal language," Polisi says. "It is, but not in a simplistic way."

Music does not eliminate differences, he says. Instead, it creates a setting in which people learn to work through them. Students from different countries may not share a spoken language, but rehearsing together gives them another way to communicate.