FORT WORTH, Texas, April 1, 2016—The Cliburn announces today the 72 competitors selected to participate in the  Seventh Cliburn International Amateur Piano Competition, taking place June 19–25, 2016, at Van Cliburn Recital Hall and Bass Performance Hall.

The 2016 Cliburn Amateur Competition competitors hail from all over the world, representing 21 countries: Brazil, Canada, China, Cuba, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, South Africa, South Korea, Taiwan, Turkey, United Kingdom, and United States. They range in age from 35 to 68. A selection committee chose the 72 competitors from an outstanding application pool of 159 pianists, through online applications and video submissions of 15 to 20 minutes.

The winner of the Richard Rodzinski First Prize Award will receive a cash prize of $2,000; second prize is $1,500; and third prize is $1,000. Other special prizes will also be awarded.

“A celebration of music, and the people who have to make music, no matter what,” (The Boston Globe) the Cliburn International Amateur Piano Competition (formerly the International Piano Competition for Outstanding Amateurs™) is open to non-professional pianists age 35 and older who do not derive their principal source of income through piano performance or instruction. Established in 1999 as the first of its kind in the United States, the quadrennial festival promotes lifelong music-making as a vital part of daily life and draws 72 competitors. 

Olga Kern (Russia), gold medal-winner at the Eleventh Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 2001, will serve as chairman of the jury. Other jury members are: Akemi Alink-Yamamoto (Japan), Angela Cheng (Canada), Catharine Lysinger (United States), Fali Pavri (India), André-Michel Schub (United States), and Nelita True (United States). For jury bios, click HERE.

COMPETITORS

Competitor bios will be available on Cliburn.org on April 8, 2016.
To download images, click HERE.

Competitors are listed by the countries they are representing. Those who have given two nationalities are listed by their current residence, and additional nationalities are noted. 

UNITED STATES

Alabama
   Kevin Grigsby, 41, marketing executive (Trussville)
California
   Victor Alexeeff, 58, TV/film composer (Winnetka)
   Gorden Cheng, 35, systems engineer (Rancho Santa Fe)
   Brianna Donaldson, 35, nonprofit program director (Santa Cruz)
   John Gutheil M.D., 59, CEO/medical oncologist (La Jolla)
   Tessa Knipe, 53, attorney (San Diego); also representing South Africa
   David Lee, 37, software engineer (San Francisco); also representing Taiwan
   Yvonne Liu, 45, preschool music teacher (Foster City); also representing China
   Joann Oh, 41, office manager (Irvine)
   Janet Sommerfeld, 53, freelance writer/producer (Palos Verdes Estates)
   Summer Stone, 39, client relations (Woodland Hills)
Colorado
   Robert Biber, M.D., 63, retired physician (Evergreen)
District of Columbia
   Simon Finlow, 60, retired IT project manager/database engineer;
       also representing United Kingdom
Georgia
   Utako Tanigawa, 61, computer science and information systems advisor (Dawsonville)
Hawaii
   Mari Yoshihara, 48, professor of American Studies (Honolulu); also representing Japan
Indiana
   Brad Dunn, 43, general manager/sommelier (Bloomington)
Iowa
   Kuan-Chuen Wu, 42, mechanical engineering Ph.D student (Ames); also representing Taiwan
Maryland
   Kuei-Ling (Christine) Hsu, 39, pediatric dentist/assistant professor (Columbia);
       also representing Taiwan
Michigan
   Debby Pearlberg, 68, math tutor (Southfield)
Minnesota
   Adrienne Johnson, 62, elementary school music teacher/playwright (Minneapolis)
   Joseph Mercuri, M.D., 56, hospitalist physician (Saint Joseph)
   Stephen Stouder, 59, healthcare executive (Apple Valley)
New Jersey
   James Carter Cathcart, 62, scriptwriter/voice actor (Fort Lee)
   Alfredo Garcia Jr., 62, financial advisor (Ho-Ho-Kus); also representing Cuba
New York
   Andrea Davide Bonotto, 49, senior UI (user-interface) engineer (New York City)
   Steven Boyce, 64, risk manager (New York City)
   Lana C. Marina, 47, stay-at-home mother (New York City)
   Andrew Pak, 36, fixed-income sales director (Piermont)
   Bruce Pfeffer, 65, cell biologist (Amherst)
   Michael Slavin, M.D., 65, ophthalmologist (Manhasset)
   Max Sung, M.D., 63, physician (New York City); also representing Hong Kong
    Rebecca Kao Wang, 47, actuary (lives in Tokyo)
North Carolina 
   Gregory Knight, 53, software engineer (Morganton)
Oklahoma
   J. Spencer Thompson, M.D., 55, physician/radiation oncologist (Oklahoma City)
Pennsylvania 
   Robert Seppy, 58, healthcare executive (Philadelphia)
   David Swenson, M.D., 64, physician (Butler)
Tennessee
   J. Todd Spangler, 54, administrative law judge (Knoxville)
Texas
   Noah C. DeGarmo, M.D., 38, physician (Dallas)
   Marisa Naomi Haines, 59, emerging technology strategist (Murphy); also representing Brazil
   Clark Vann Griffith, 52, retired database programmer (Fort Worth)
   Wei Ling Wang, 52, computer network technologist (Plano)
Utah
   Jane Gibson King, 60, stay-at-home mother (Provo)
   Madalyn Taylor, 66, retail store owner (Ogden)
Virginia
   Jeanne Backofen Craig, 46, homemaker/part-time minister of music and liturgy (Forest)
   David Caldine, 61, software engineer (Fairfax)
Washington 
   Colleen Adent, 54, homemaker (Vancouver)
   Sandra Baumgarten, 37, stay-at-home mother (Brush Prairie)
   Lawrence Hsu, 58, real estate agent (Seattle)

INTERNATIONAL

Brazil
    Alexandre Leite, 54, banking executive (Sao Paulo); also representing United States
Canada
    Thomas Maurice, 56, senior program manager (lives in Baltimore, Maryland)
   Sean Sutherland, 39, entrepreneur/lecturer (Montreal);
       also representing Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
   Thomas Yu, M.D., 38, periodontist (Calgary)
France
   Xavier Aymonod, 40, strategy consultant (Paris)
Germany
   Matthias Fischer, M.D., 42, physician (Würzburg) 
Hungary
   Daniel Bodonyi, 35, management consultant (Budapest)
Indonesia
   Jasmin Tiodang, 44, stay-at-home mother (lives in Carolina Municipio, Puerto Rico)
Ireland
   Deirbhile Brennan, 46, accountant (Dublin)
Italy
   Serena Costa, 36, homemaker (Milan)
   Marco Di Marzio, 43, clinical pharmacist (lives in Dublin, Ireland)
Japan
   Ken Iisaka, 47, software engineer (lives in Foster City, California); also representing Canada
   Shinji Wada, 39, human resources (lives in Foster City, California)
   Mihono Kawamata, 47, web designer (Yokohama)
   Keiko Kircher, 35, college physics instructor (lives in Champaign, Illinois)
   Hajime Kobayashi, 50, management consultant (Niiza, Saitama)
   Yasuo Kurimoto, M.D., 55, ophthalmologist (Kobe)
   Kazuyuki Ohmura, 49, software engineering manager (Tokyo)
   Julie Saito, 57, international civil servant (lives in Bagneux, France)
Mexico
    Jorge Zamora, 43, sales director (Lomas de la Herradura, Huixquilucan)
Russia
   Serguey Veretennikov, 40, IT consultant (Redkino, Tver Oblast)
South Korea
   Yumi Ahn, 35, attorney (lives in Singapore)
Turkey
   Saffet Bayka, 57, electrical engineering manager (Ankara)
   Ipek Bozkurt, 36, professor of engineering management (lives in Seabrook, Texas)


COMPETITION SCHEDULE AND TICKETS

The Amateur Competition will consist of four rounds, with general-admission seating for the first three rounds (Preliminary, Quarterfinal, and Semifinal) at Van Cliburn Recital Hall, and reserved seating for the Final Round & Awards Ceremony at Bass Performance Hall:

Preliminary Round
Sunday, June 19 – Monday, June 20
Van Cliburn Recital Hall (330 E. 4th Street)
72 pianists, each performing a recital program of 8–10 minutes
Individual tickets to each concert in the Preliminary Round are $10. 

Quarterfinal Round
Tuesday, June 21 – Wednesday, June 22
Van Cliburn Recital Hall (330 E. 4th Street)
30 pianists, each performing a recital program of 15–18 minutes
Individual tickets to each concert in the Quarterfinal Round are $15. 

Semifinal Round
Thursday, June 23
Van Cliburn Recital Hall (330 E. 4th Street)
12 pianists, each performing a recital program of 25–28 minutes
Individual tickets to each concert in the Semifinal Round are $20. 

Final Round & Awards Ceremony
Saturday, June 25
Bass Performance Hall (4th & Calhoun Streets)
6 pianists, each performing one movement of a concerto with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra

Recital Hall subscriptions are $140; Final Round tickets at Bass Performance Hall range from $10 to $60. Click HERE for tickets.

Specific repertoire requirements can be found HERE.

Complete rules and requirements can be found HERE.

All rounds will be webcast live at Cliburn.org.

ABOUT THE CLIBURN


The Cliburn advances classical piano music throughout the world. Its international competitions, education programs, and concert series embody an enduring commitment to artistic excellence and the discovery of new artists. Established in 1962, the quadrennial Van Cliburn International Piano Competition is widely-recognized as “one of the world’s highest-visibility classical-music contests” (Dallas Morning News) and remains committed to its original ideals of supporting and launching the careers of young pianists, age 18 to 30 (fifteenth edition May 25–June 10, 2017). It shares the transformative powers of music with a wide global audience, through fully-produced webcasts and by providing commission-free, comprehensive career management and concert bookings to its winners. Rounding out its mission, the Cliburn also produces the Cliburn International Junior Piano Competition and Festival for exceptional 13 to 17-year-old pianists (inaugural edition June 21–28, 2015; second edition 2019) and the Cliburn International Amateur Piano Competition for outstanding non-professional pianists age 35 and older (seventh edition June 19–25, 2016).

Over a four-year cycle, the Cliburn contributes to North Texas’ cultural landscape with over 170 classical music performances for 150,000 attendees, through competitions, free community concerts, and its signature Cliburn Concerts series at Bass Performance Hall, the Kimbell Art Museum Piano Pavilion, and the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth. It presents 1,000 in-school, interactive music education programs for more than 200,000 area elementary students. During the same time period, it garners the world’s attention with over one million visits from 170 nations for live concert and competition webcasts; 300 concerts worldwide booked for competition winners; more than 5,000 news articles about the Cliburn and its winners; regular national radio broadcasts to 245 public radio stations; and a PBS documentary airing in a potential 105 million households.
 Detailed information about the Cliburn and its programs is available at Cliburn.org.
 

Sponsors of the Seventh Cliburn International Amateur Piano Competition are:
Alcon Foundation
BNSF Railway Foundation
Fifth Avenue Foundation
Fort Worth Convention & Visitors Bureau
Pinnacle Bank
Southwest Bank
Texas Commission on the Arts

Cliburn Sponsors are:
Amon G. Carter Foundation
Arts Council of Fort Worth
Crystelle Waggoner Charitable Trust
The Pangburn Foundation, J.P. Morgan, Trustee
ExxonMobil / XTO Energy
Mercedes T. Bass Charitable Corporation
Sid W. Richardson Foundation 

Exclusive Print Media Sponsor:
Star-Telegram

Official Piano of the Cliburn:
Steinway & Sons – North Texas / Houston

Official Hotel of the Cliburn:
Worthington Renaissance Fort Worth Hotel

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