While Juilliard has a longstanding international engagement—through its international student body, world-renowned faculty, and outreach and touring programs—it is natural for Juilliard to contemplate the development of long-term endeavors in other countries. The goals of Juilliard Global are to expand the School’s presence internationally and to meet the artistic needs of other geographical areas by providing access to the educational excellence and traditions that have flourished at Juilliard. As Polisi told The Journal, “Juilliard Global has the potential to create transformative results for our partners and for the entire school community. By accessing the unique and exceptional talents of our faculty, students, and alumni, Juilliard Global will bring an exciting new perspective to how the School functions in the international arena.” 

Projects developed by Juilliard Global could range in complexity from specialized two-week summer training programs to annual music festivals to the possibility of Juilliard institutes offering pre-college or non-degree professional training programs on a year-round basis. These ventures would deliver high quality performing arts education to cities, countries, or regions to ultimately increase the potential for artists to thrive regardless of where they are situated globally. Ancillary benefits of the programs, which would be funded entirely by new sources, would be new teaching opportunities for Juilliard alumni and identification of talent in a wider array of geographical locations around the world. 

The School’s newly created Juilliard Global staff, led by Christopher Mossey, the vice president of global initiatives, has conducted fieldwork and research to actively look for prospective partners and opportunities in areas of the world where Juilliard has established relationships with other music institutes, namely in East Asia, Brazil, and Mexico. In addition, the Juilliard Global office will continue to develop international touring opportunities for Juilliard ensembles as well as teaching opportunities. “The world is changing, and Juilliard Global gives Juilliard the opportunity to be proactive in the international arena,” Mossey told The Journal. “We are looking forward to working with partners that share Juilliard’s longstanding commitment to the highest level of performing arts education.” 

The first Juilliard Global project to come to fruition is the engagement in Mexico. According to the October 18 agreement that Polisi and executives from the Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes signed, Juilliard will evaluate three conservatories in Mexico: the National Conservatory of Music and the Superior School of Music, both in Mexico City, and the Superior School of Music and Dance in Monterrey. During the exploratory visits, the Juilliard Global team—consisting of Mossey; Rosemary Reyes, the manager of global initiatives; and three Juilliard faculty members—will get a taste of how each conservatory functions by conducting interviews with students, faculty, and staff, observing classes, and then offering public master classes. At the end of each visit, the hope is that the Juilliard faculty members will identify ways to fortify existing conservatory programs and identify new directions for development.