Festival Connect highlights a different groundbreaking 20th-century composer every year and traces their legacy and influence on contemporary music. Launched in 2021, students and faculty present and premiere various works of orchestral and chamber music by featured composers at this annual festival.  At Festival Connect, we celebrate the intertwined legacies of these visionary composers with a vibrant array of performances, lectures, and interactive sessions.  

In addition to participating in the Tianjin Juilliard Orchestra, students collaborate and perform alongside resident faculty, visiting faculty, world-renowned conductors, and soloists. Led by resident conductor and director of orchestral studies, Ken Lam, the Tianjin Juilliard Orchestra presents up to ten concerts each season, performing a diverse repertoire ranging from baroque to contemporary orchestral works as well as unique pieces featuring traditional Chinese instruments. 

Tianjin Juilliard presents the finest soloists and chamber ensembles in its state-of-the-art performance venues. Guest artists engage with the Tianjin Juilliard community in a variety of settings, from interactive events with audiences to side-by-side performances with Tianjin Juilliard faculty and students.

Tianjin Juilliard welcomes audiences of all ages to a wide array of free community engagement events ranging from summer outdoor concerts to open orchestra rehearsals and after-school music enrichment programs, all designed with the aim of serving the greater community of Tianjin. Audiences enjoy free performances at the school’s outdoor stage overlooking the Hai He River, with vibrant music-making by faculty, students, and alumni of Tianjin Juilliard as well as traditional Chinese instrumentalists from Tianjin Juilliard’s partner institution, the Tianjin Conservatory of Music.