TIANJIN, CHINA – The Tianjin Juilliard School and the Asian Youth Orchestra (AYO) announced a partnership to promote orchestral training and provide professional development opportunities for students. On March 21, 2024, Wei He, CEO and artistic director of The Tianjin Juilliard School and Keith Lau, CEO of the Asian Youth Orchestra signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on behalf of the two institutions.
This summer, The Tianjin Juilliard School and the Asian Youth Orchestra will launch a series of artistic exchange programs. The Asian Youth Orchestra will hold its summer festival and rehearsal camp at Tianjin Juilliard. Tianjin Juilliard graduate students will have the opportunity to participate by competitive audition. Resident faculty will hold master classes for AYO members. The School’s Public Education division will also work with the Asian Youth Orchestra to create an exciting summer camp program. The Asian Youth Orchestra will also present a special concert at Tianjin Juilliard before embarking on their tour across 12 cities in Asia.
This agreement is an important milestone for Tianjin Juilliard in expanding institutional partnerships with major artistic performing organizations around the globe. Wei He, CEO and artistic director of Tianjin Juilliard noted that, “The Tianjin Juilliard School and the Asian Youth Orchestra share a similar artistic vision and commitment to music education. Both institutions strive to cultivate a new generation of professional musicians and advocate collaborative music-making. We are thrilled to partner with the Asian Youth Orchestra and welcome young musicians from all over the world to our beautiful campus this summer.”
Keith Lau, CEO of the Asian Youth Orchestra remarked, “We are honored and excited to partner with The Tianjin Juilliard School, and to hold the AYO Summer Festival at their campus. Both AYO and TJS have the same goal in strengthening talented musicians in the region. We are delighted to have this great opportunity and look forward to our collaboration.”
Under the MOU, both institutions will encourage exchange between faculty and students, and collaborative performances. From July 13 to September 1, 2024, the Asian Youth Orchestra will hold their summer festival at Tianjin Juilliard, and kick off their tour in Hong Kong, Zhuhai, Shenzhen, Shanghai, Beijing, Singapore, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Chiayi, Taipei, Yokohama, and Tokyo. This year, led by principal conductor Joseph Bastian and principal guest conductor Jader Bignamini, the Asian Youth Orchestra will present works by Ravel, Debussy, Gershwin, Bernstein, Respighi, and Mussorgsky. The Asian Youth Orchestra will also perform the cello concerto by Lalo, together with cellist Jian Wang and Alban Gerhardt.
About The Tianjin Juilliard School
The Tianjin Juilliard School brings Juilliard’s artistic and educational mission to a wider global audience. It is the first performing arts institution in China to offer a U.S.-accredited Master of Music degree. This new campus offers a graduate program for a Master of Music degree from Juilliard in instrumental and orchestral studies, instrumental and chamber music studies, or collaborative piano; a Saturday conservatory-style Pre-College program for advanced students ages 8-18; continuing education programs for professionals and adult learners; public education programs for music learners of all ages; and public performances.
Juilliard developed the school in partnership with The Tianjin Conservatory of Music, Tianjin Economic-Technological Development Area Administrative Commission, and the Tianjin Innovative Finance Investment Company (T.I.F.I.). The Tianjin Juilliard School is a center for performance, practice, research, and interactive exhibitions, with communal spaces that are designed to welcome the public into the creative process and performance of music.
About the Asian Youth Orchestra
The Asian Youth Orchestra was founded in Hong Kong, China. Every summer, young musicians aged 17 to 29 from all over Asia gather to complete a three-week rehearsal camp and hold concert tours with internationally renowned conductors and soloists. Since its inaugural performances in 1990, the Asian Youth Orchestra has played over 400 concerts in Asia, Europe, North America and Australia to an audience of more than one million concertgoers. Selected annually through a strict audition process, the 100-plus orchestra members represent mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Indonesia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Macao, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. A tuition-free cultural exchange summer program providing Asia’s brightest young musicians in exceptional opportunities for study and performance in an international environment, the Asian Youth Orchestra is designed to ignite a pride for what can be achieved by Asian musicians in Asia.