Chancellor Xu, Dean Chu, CEO and Artistic Director, Wei He and President of Steinway & Sons Asia-Pacific, Wei Wei signed the strategic partnership agreement. Photo: Twan Vision
Following an unveiling ceremony on December 14 last year, Tianjin Juilliard is now designated as an All-Steinway School.
"The collaboration between Juilliard and Steinway extends from New York to Tianjin. At the inaugural Tianjin Juilliard Piano Festival in the summer of 2023, Steinway provided strong support in piano tuning and maintenance, sending three technicians to work alongside our team throughout the festival, impressing visiting artists with the pianos' excellent condition. The Tianjin Juilliard School and Steinway & Sons both pursue excellence, and today's signing ceremony marks a new beginning for our collaboration. We look forward to further cooperation at the 2024 Tianjin Juilliard Piano Festival and exploring more possibilities for mutual support in artistic development," said Wei He at the event.
On the day of the signing ceremony, the 11th Steinway National Youth Piano Competition Finals, hosted by Steinway & Sons Asia-Pacific Limited, also took place at the School.
When the School was being established, Yoheved Kaplinsky, Chair of the Piano Department at Juilliard’s New York campus, and Xiaohan Wang, Chair of the Pre-College Piano Department at Tianjin Juilliard went to Steinway factories in New York and Hamburg to select pianos. 120 Steinway pianos were brought to Tianjin Juilliard, their new home.
Using a Steinway Spirio player piano, faculty member Alvin Zhu performed a piano duo with himself as part of the ceremony. Photo: Yilin Yu
In addition to continued support on piano maintenance and handling, Tianjin Juilliard and Steinway will collaborate on artistic and educational endeavors, such as the next iteration of the Tianjin Juilliard Piano Festival, an annual event that is also a musical celebration for the city of Tianjin.