When the noise of the world quiets, what's left is the same heartbeat. 

Joseph W. Polisi, president emeritus and chief China officer of the Juilliard School, puts it simply, "A student from China sits down on the same violin stand, together in an orchestra from the United States. Someone speaks only English. Someone speaks only Mandarin, and yet they play the same music together. They understand it together. There is no need for translation." 

Deemed a "transformative" president by the New York Times upon stepping down from his role, Polisi led the Juilliard School for 34 years, the longest presidential term in the institution's history.  

A master's degree in International Relations in hand, Polisi has long championed the power of music as a bridge towards a more harmonious world.

In his book The Artist as Citizen, published in 2004, Polisi voiced concerns over the US approach to multilateral relations, which, according to him, "borrows more from war than it does from diplomacy." Instead, Polisi endorses the course of "cultural diplomacy," a path to mutual understanding with other countries and different cultures through open exchange of ideas.  

His vision led him to seek a place where artistic expression and cultural exchange can thrive together, with music serving as a bridge across differences.

China became the place where that vision came to life. 

Polisi's first visit to China was in 1987, when he led the Juilliard Orchestra on a performance tour in various cities, including Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. Following his presidency of the Juilliard School in 1984, he felt compelled to "really make a difference" by having something permanent in China.

In 2015, Polisi officially announced that the Juilliard School would build a research institute in Tianjin. 

Peng Liyuan witnessed the announcement during her visit to Juilliard's campus in New York. Peng, wife of Chinese President Xi Jinping, has long been committed to endeavors that create platforms for promoting cultural and people-to-people exchanges between China and the US. 

Noting that art is a bridge that "crosses national boundaries and connects people," Peng said that strengthening education cooperation between China and the United States is conducive to nurturing more talents, deepening cultural exchanges, and promoting art and friendship.

In 2021, Peng sent a congratulatory letter to the campus inauguration of Tianjin Juilliard School. 

In the letter, she called on China and the US to carry out extensive cultural and people-to-people exchanges, and promote mutual understanding between the two peoples, so as to inject impetus into the friendship between the Chinese and the American people.

Now at the Tianjin Juilliard School, collaboration is a central motif. The graduate program here is offered exclusively in collaborative areas – Instrumental and Orchestral Studies, Instrumental and Chamber Music Studies, Collaborative Piano, and Composition. These programs become fertile ground for budding musicians to collaborate, which encourages communication and partnership for students from all cultures. 

Extensive opportunities for collaboration provide a unique environment for students from both China and the US to connect. As Polisi says, "We are not going to change geopolitical issues, but we can begin to listen to each other better."