The 2026 Tianjin Juilliard Piano Festival welcomes applications for performing participants, auditors, or as part of the Teacher Auditor Program.

Young Artist: ages 16 to 26 (as of August 1, 2026)  

Up to 12 Young Artist participants are selected through an application process, attend the piano festival tuition-free, and receive a stipend for international travel.

Young Artist program highlights: 

• Four lessons with TJPF faculty
• One master class
• Two performances in an Emerging Artist Recital
• Young Artist Concerto Competition
• Chamber Music readings
• Dedicated practice room
• Certificate of Participation
• Click here for more details 

Young Artists under 18 years may attend the festival without a guardian with signed permission.

Young Artists may attend the festival for a maximum of three years. 

Junior: ages 8 to 15 (as of August 1, 2026)  

Up to 36 Junior participants are selected through an application process. 

Junior program highlights:

• Four lessons with TJPF faculty
• One master class
• One performance in an Emerging Artist Recital
• Concerto rehearsal with chamber orchestra and conductor
• Junior Concerto Competition (selected applicants)
• Chamber Music readings
• Shared practice room with one other Junior
• Certificate of Participation
• Click here for more details 

All Juniors must be accompanied by an adult guardian throughout the festival. 

Adjunct: ages 16 to 26 (as of August 1, 2026)  

Adjunct Participants attend the festival for one week, either August 2-9 or August 10-16. A limited number of Adjunct Participants are selected through an application process.  

Adjunct program highlights: 

• Two lessons with TJPF faculty
• One performance in an Emerging Artist Recital
• Chamber Music readings
• Shared practice room
• Certificate of Participation
• Click here for more details

Adjunct participants under 18 years may attend the festival without a guardian with signed permission.  

Teacher Auditor:  (minimum age is 18 years old as of August 1, 2026)

The Teacher Auditor program is developed for piano teachers.The Teacher Auditor program is designed as a one-week program with an option to attend for the second week. 

The Teacher Auditor program is co-developed with Tianjin Juilliard’s Continuing Education department.

Teacher Auditor program highlights: 

• Daily professional development courses and workshops specially curated for professional or aspiring piano teachers.
• Attend all public events during the week they attend, including all guest artist recitals, master classes, Emerging Artist Recitals, lectures, the concerto competition, and chamber music concert. Teacher Auditors may not observe private lessons.  
• Certificate of Participation
• Click here for more details 

Auditor: (minimum age is 8 years old as of August 1, 2026)

Auditors are observers to the festival’s many activities and may register for the 1st week (August 2-8), 2nd week (August 9-16), or the full festival (August 2-16).  

Auditor program highlights: 

• Attend all public events during the week they attend, including all guest artist recitals, master classes, Emerging Artist Recitals, lectures, the concerto competition, and chamber music concert. Auditors may not observe private lessons.   

Auditors under 18 years must be accompanied by an adult guardian who must register as an Auditor. 

TEACHING ARTISTS

Week 1

• Hortense Cartier-Bresson, Paris Conservatoire, France
• Ching-Wen Hsiao, The Tianjin Juilliard School, China
• Yoheved Kaplinsky, The Juilliard School, USA
• Soyeon Kate Lee, The Juilliard School, USA
• Kathryn Stott, Royal Northern College of Music, UK

Week 2

• Ning An, Yong Siew Toh Conservatory, Singapore
• Jin Ju, Central Conservatory of Music, China
• Daejin Kim, Korean National University of the Arts, South Korea
• Katyrzyna Popowa-Zydroń, Academy of Music Gdańsk, Poland, Academy of Music Bydgoszcz, Poland  
• Xiaohan Wang, The Tianjin Juilliard School, China  

PERFORMING ARTISTS

The festival is honored to present the following distinguished artists as our guest performers:

Tony Yun

Asian Youth Orchestra

        John Axlerod, Conductor

        Lingfei Xie, Piano (winner of the 2025 TJPF Young Artist Concerto Competition)

QingXin Ensemble

MILA Quartet 

Online Application for Young Artist, Junior and Adjunct Participants 
 

To begin, create your Tianjin Juilliard Admissions Account, gather the required application materials, and follow the instructions to complete your application. 

Please remember your Tianjin Juilliard Admissions Account username and password as you will need it to log in throughout the entirety of the admissions process. All admissions communication will be conducted through your Account and the email address used for registration. 

Application Requirements for Young Artist, Junior, and Adjunct   

All Young Artist, Junior, and Adjunct applicants must submit: 

• Video submission (20-30 minutes for Young Artists and Adjuncts; 15-20 minutes for Juniors) from a performance within the past 6 months, playing two or more contrasting pieces. One of the pieces must be a classical sonata. First movements are allowed if the entire sonata is longer than 15 minutes. 

• A full biography (in English, Chinese, or both, no more than 200 words), including schools and teachers (past and present), concerts, achievements, and awards. 

• Juniors only: One recommendation letter from your current teacher. 

Young Artist applicants who are not accepted as Young Artists may also ask to be considered as an Adjunct Participant. 

Junior applicants who are not accepted as Juniors may also ask to be considered as an Auditor. 

Any questions about the performing participants can be sent to tjpf.admissions@tianjinjuilliard.edu.cn  

Online Application for Teacher Auditors and Auditors 

All Auditor applicants must submit an online application and will be admitted on a rolling basis beginning in April 2026. Please note that Auditor applicants younger than 18 years old must be accompanied by an adult guardian who must also apply to be an Auditor. 

Any questions about the auditor application process can be sent to tjpf.auditors@tianjinjuilliard.edu.cn. 

Application Timeline

• Once the application is successfully submitted, the application fee is non-refundable.
• The tuition does not include travel, housing, and meals which are the responsibility of each participant. A list of local hotels will be shared with accepted participants.
• International students are welcome to apply. Please note, Tianjin Juilliard cannot assist in acquiring visas for Piano Festival participants.