On February 10, The Juilliard School, The Tianjin Juilliard School, and the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) renewed their memorandum of understanding (MOU) on strategic cooperation at the Beijing Performing Arts Centre. This partnership aims to strengthen and expand collaborative efforts, creating new opportunities for artistic growth, knowledge exchange, and the development of future generations of musicians and performers.
The initial MOU was signed in early 2020, marking the beginning of a strategic collaboration between the three institutions. Over the past five years, they have engaged in a series of meaningful collaborations. The Tianjin Juilliard Ensemble made its debut at the NCPA May Festival in May 2021. Tianjin Juilliard faculty members collaborated with the China NCPA Orchestra to present chamber music concerts in Beijing and Tianjin. The Tianjin Juilliard Orchestra kicked off its inaugural tour at NCPA last year. Tianjin Juilliard faculty have also been invited as guest principals with the China NCPA Orchestra, and graduate students had the opportunity to perform in concerts with the China NCPA Orchestra.
This April, the Tianjin Juilliard Orchestra will kick off the renewed partnership by participating in the Ninth China Orchestra Festival at the NCPA, marking the first collaboration under the new MOU framework. As part of this year’s festival titled 'A New Chapter in Music,' the Tianjin Juilliard Orchestra will return to the NCPA stage on April 28, five months after its debut, with a program featuring Wayne Oquin's Tower Ascending, Mozart's Sinfonia Concertante for Violin, Viola, and Orchestra in E-flat Major, and Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring.
The renewal of the MOU underscores the success of past collaborations and sets the stage for the next five years of continued partnership. Planned initiatives include:
- Joint commissions and performances, with the aim of establishing a long-term performance collaboration framework.
- Promoting mutual learning and exchanges between the principals and musicians of the China NCPA Orchestra, Juilliard and Tianjin Juilliard faculty, and students through guest performances, master classes, and student internships.
- Collaborations to enhance music education and outreach programs, offering professional development training for young artists in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, and fostering new opportunities for artist cultivation.
