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EXPERIENCE THE SEVENTH CLIBURN INTERNATIONAL AMATEUR PIANO COMPETITION: IN PERSON AND ONLINE

Competition rounds and festival events open to the public;
Pianist Shields-Collins Bray to host webcast


For immediate release

Contact:
Maggie Estes, director of marketing and public relations, mestes@cliburn.org, 817.739.0459

Fort Worth, Texas, June 1, 2016—The Seventh Cliburn International Amateur Piano Competition, taking place June 19–25, 2016, at Van Cliburn Recital Hall and Bass Performance Hall, will provide many opportunities for music lovers to engage both inside the concert hall and online.

IN PERSON

ATTEND PERFORMANCES

  • Enjoy the action in person by being an audience member at Van Cliburn Recital Hall and Bass Performance Hall.
  • Subscriptions and single tickets are on sale now. Tickets are $10 for the Preliminary Round, $15 for the Quarterfinal Round, and $20 for the Semifinal Round. Tickets to the Final Round and Awards Ceremony, at Bass Performance Hall, range from $10 to $60; visit cliburn.org or call 817.212.4280 for more information. 
  • Final Round performances are with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra and conductor Damon Gupton.
  • Patrons must be 8 years or older to attend performances.


ATTEND FREE EVENTS

Enjoy symposia and workshops  covering topics from performance preparation to the changing landscape of health in music education. All symposia and workshops take place in Van Cliburn Recital Hall, 330 E. 4th St.

SYMPOSIA AND WORKSHOPS

Jury Symposium
Wednesday, June 22, 2016
10:00–11:30 a.m.

Jacques Marquis, president and CEO of the Cliburn, will moderate a discussion featuring jurors from the Amateur Competition. Topics will include the differences between evaluating amateur and professional competitions; preparation and the approach to performance; and the importance of program selection and practice.

Music & Health Panel
Thursday, June 23, 2016
10:00–11:30 a.m.    

Experts from UNT's Texas Center for Performing Arts Health will lead an informative session designed to weave health into the art and practice of music. Topics to be discussed include the biomechanics of piano play, best practice habits, the changing landscape of health in music education, postural considerations, piano modifications, and more. 

Conversation with Olga Kern
Saturday, June 25, 2016
10:00–11:30 a.m.    

The Cliburn’s Shields-Collins Bray will talk life and career with the dazzling Olga Kern, gold medalist of the 2001 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition and jury chairman of the Amateur Competition.

COMMUNITY PERFORMANCE

Open Piano Night
Friday, June 24, 2016
5:00–10:30 p.m.
The Live Oak Music Hall & Lounge, 1311 Lipscomb St.

Join the competitors for lively, come-and-go open mic night. A full bar and food menu will be available during this fun, informal evening of music making.

ONLINE

WEBCAST

  • Available at Cliburn.org, the webcast will bring the Competition to life around the world in real time with over 40 hours of live broadcasts of performances, interview segments, and awards ceremonies over the 7-day period.
  • All performances and videos will be available live and on demand.
  • Shields-Collins Bray will serve as webcast host, providing competitor information and Competition commentary, and conducting interviews to provide behind-the-scenes insight. 

AUDIENCE CHAT

  • While watching the live webcast, viewers can participate in a live chat with fellow fans from around the world to share thoughts and cheer on competitors. 

AUDIENCE VOTE

  • Patrons both in the Hall and around the world are encouraged to vote for their favorite competitors each day on Cliburn.org.
  • Participants can vote once a day for a competitor active in the Competition at that time.
  • Results will be tallied on Saturday, June 25, and the competitor with the most votes will be awarded the Audience Award at the Final Awards Ceremony and two tickets to the Final Round of the Fifteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 2017.

SOCIAL MEDIA


BROADCAST

  • WRR Classical 101.1 FM
    • WRR will air a combination of live and taped reports during the Competition and will broadcast the Final Round performance live on air. http://www.wrr101.com/


ABOUT THE SEVENTH CLIBURN INTERNATIONAL AMATEUR PIANO COMPETITION
The Seventh Cliburn International Amateur Piano Competition  will take place June 19–25, 2016, in Fort Worth, Texas, in Van Cliburn Recital Hall (330 E. 4th Street) and Bass Performance Hall (4th & Commerce streets). 

The Cliburn International Amateur Piano Competition 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.  

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 (Fifteenth edition, May 25–June 10, 2017) 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.  It shares the transformative powers of music with a wide global audience, through a fully-produced webcast 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 Amateur Piano Competition for outstanding non-professional pianists 35 and older, and held its inaugural Cliburn International Junior Piano Competition and Festival in June 2015, for exceptional 13 to 17-year-old pianists. 

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 200,000 area elementary students. During the same time period, it garners the world’s attention with over one million visits from 155 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
Junior League of Fort Worth, Inc.
Pinnacle Bank
Southwest Bank
Steinway Hall-North Texas/Houston
Sundance Square
Texas Commission on the Arts

Cliburn Sponsors are:
Arts Council of Fort Worth
Crystelle Waggoner Charitable Trust
The Edith Winther Grace Charitable Trust, J.P. Morgan, Trustee
Sid W. Richardson Foundation 
The Walton Family Foundation
William E. Scott 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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