China becomes destination of choice for young, foreign musicians, as symphony orchestras around the country welcome new members, many of whom were part of the first graduating class of Tianjin Juilliard School, Chen Nan reports.

The growing interest in classical music among Chinese people successfully proves that China holds the key to the future of the genre. As more and more concert halls pop up and new symphony orchestras are established in the country, the extraordinary growth of China's classical music market is also having an impact on the global musical community.

Young musicians from around the world are looking increasingly to China when planning their careers.

South Korean violist Jeong Ji-soo is one of the new members joining the Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra, which just celebrated its 40th birthday last year.

"I always wanted to audition for a Chinese symphony orchestra. There were many more audition opportunities than I had expected and it was really tough to choose exactly which orchestras I would audition for," recalls Jeong, who started playing the violin at the age of 5 and later studied the viola during high school.

In 2020, she moved to China to join in the graduate program of the Tianjin Juilliard School, studying with violist Honggang Li of the Shanghai Quartet after graduating from the Yonsei University's College of Music.

When the Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra announced that it had viola positions available, she knew immediately that she wanted to audition for it, relishing the thought of life in the Guangdong province metropolis.

"The food in Shenzhen is a bit similar to my home in Seoul and I had prior interest in this city, so that was one of the biggest reasons I chose to audition there," says Jeong. "When I auditioned, I was as nervous as at any other audition I had taken. However, I felt so much more prepared after spending one year at the Tianjin Juilliard studying with my professors Sheila Browne and Honggang Li. When I was onstage, I felt nervous, excited, challenged, and so many other emotions all at once. I did my best and I was happy with my performance. After I learned that I had won the spot, I couldn't believe it!"