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TWO NEW COMPETITORS ANNOUNCED FOR INAUGURAL CLIBURN INTERNATIONAL JUNIOR PIANO COMPETITION

The Competition takes place June 21–28, 2015, on the campus of TCU in Fort Worth, Texas.


For immediate release

Contact:
Maggie Estes, director of marketing and public relations, mestes@cliburn.org, 817.738.6536

FORT WORTH, Texas, April 28, 2015—The Cliburn announces today that Anna Larsen, 15, of the United States and Jeong Min Kim, 17, of South Korea have been added to the roster of its First Cliburn International Junior Piano Competition and Festival, taking place June 21–28, 2015, on the campus of TCU in Fort Worth, Texas.

Miss Larsen and Mr. Kim replace the following competitors, who have withdrawn from the Competition for personal reasons: Davit Khrikuli, 14, of Georgia and Adria Ye, 17, of the United States.

Bios for all 24 competitors can be viewed at http://www.cliburn.org/competitions/junior-competition/competitors/ and hi-res images can be downloaded at: https://plus.google.com/photos/111260045436593751122/albums/6124991554911673969?authkey=CLnJwdm-06fSnwE

The 2015 Cliburn Junior Competition competitors hail from all over the world, representing 13 countries: the United States (9), China (4), Canada, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, Ireland, Japan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, and Tajikistan. They range in age from 13 to 17. A selection committee chose the 24 competitors from an impressive applicant pool of 160 young pianists, through online applications and video submissions of 15 to 20 minutes.

COMPETITORS

Gavin Bala, Singapore
Age during Competition: 16

Adam Balogh, Hungary
Age during Competition: 17

Alim Beisembayev, Kazakhstan
Age during Competition: 17

Anna Boonyanit, United States
Age during Competition: 16

Johanna Bufler, Germany
Age during Competition: 16

Eoín Fleming, Ireland
Age during Competition: 17

Misha Galant, United States
Age during Competition: 17

Youlan Ji, China
Age during Competition: 16

Jeong Min Kim, South Korea
Age during Competition: 17

Yukine Kuroki, Japan
Age during Competition: 16

Anna Larsen, United States
Age during Competition: 15

Xiaoxuan Li, China
Age during Competition: 13

Wei Luo, China
Age during Competition: 16

Anastasia Magamedova, Tajikistan
Age during Competition: 17

Gregory Martin, United States
Age during Competition: 17

Evelyn Mo, United States
Age during Competition: 16

Arsenii Mun, Russia
Age during Competition: 16

Roger Shen, United States
Age during Competition: 16

Amir Siraj, United States
Age during Competition: 15

Clayton Stephenson, United States
Age during Competition: 16

Zitong Wang, China
Age during Competition: 16

Wai Yuen Wong, Hong Kong
Age during Competition: 17

Natasha Wu, United States/Taiwan
Age during Competition: 15

Tony Yike Yang, Canada
Age during Competition: 16

 

COMPETITION SCHEDULE AND TICKETS

The Junior Competition will consist of four rounds, and all seating is general admission:

Preliminary Round (4 concerts at PepsiCo Recital Hall)
June 21, 2015 (10 a.m. & 3 p.m.) & June 22, 2015 (2 p.m. & 7 p.m.)
24 pianists, each performing a 20-minute recital to include a movement of a Classical sonata and a virtuosic étude.
Tickets: free and open to the public; no tickets required

Quarterfinal Round (4 concerts at Ed Landreth Auditorium)
June 23, 2015 (3 p.m. & 7:30 p.m.) & June 24, 2015 (3 p.m. & 7:30 p.m.)
12 pianists, each performing a 30-minute recital to include a Bach Prelude and Fugue and a lyrical Romantic work.
Tickets: $10 per concert

Semifinal Round (3 concerts at Ed Landreth Auditorium)
June 25, 2015 (3 p.m. & 7:30 p.m. recitals) & June 26, 2015 (7 p.m. concertos)
6 pianists, each performing a 40-minute recital to include a modern/contemporary work, and one concerto movement with piano accompaniment.
Tickets: $20 per concert

Final Round (1 concert at Ed Landreth Auditorium)
June 28, 2015 (3 p.m.)
3 pianists, each performing one complete concerto with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra under the baton of dynamic conductor Mei-Ann Chen.
Tickets: $40 per concert

Complete Junior Competition subscriptions are $110; tickets for individual concerts from $10 to $40 (as noted above). Tickets can be purchased online at Cliburn.org, by calling 817.212.4280, or in person at the Bass Hall Box Office (525 Commerce Street, Fort Worth, TX).

Specific repertoire requirements can be found here: http://www.cliburn.org/competitions/junior-competition/rounds-repertoire/

Complete rules and requirements can be found here: http://www.cliburn.org/competitions/junior-competition/rules-and-requirements/

In addition to the Competition rounds, the Cliburn will offer a variety of events aimed at the artistic advancement of the competitors and other pianists—seminars, symposia, chamber music collaborations, and more—as well as at sharing the gifts of elite young pianists with the community, through free recitals across Fort Worth. A full schedule of these festival activities can be found HERE.

All Competition performances will be webcast live at Cliburn.org.

JURY

Jon Nakamatsu (United States) will serve as chairman of the jury. Other jury members are: Fabio Bidini (Italy), Christopher Elton (United Kingdom), Mari Kodama (Japan), Jon Kimura Parker (Canada), Orli Shaham (Israel/United States), and Blanca Uribe (Colombia). Jury biographies can be found HERE: http://www.cliburn.org/competitions/junior-competition/jury/
 

OTHER JUNIOR COMPETITION INFORMATION

The prizes for the First Cliburn International Junior Piano Competition and Festival in 2015 will be:

FIRST PRIZE:  $10,000 cash plus $2,000 scholarship
SECOND PRIZE:  $5,000 cash plus $2,000 scholarship
THIRD PRIZE:  $2,500 cash plus $2,000 scholarship

A portion of the prize ($2,000 for each of the three finalists, as noted above) is related to furthering their musical advancement. If one or any of the top three prizewinners does not make a suitable proposal for the use of the scholarship money within one year of the Competition, that winner forfeits this portion of the prize, at the discretion of the president and CEO of the Cliburn. All three top prizes will also include community residency and mentorship opportunities with the Cliburn. Other special prizes will be announced closer to the Competition dates.

“This will be a competition that will help us establish relationships with the top international talent at an earlier age,” said Cliburn President and CEO Jacques Marquis, “but, just as importantly, this will be another means for the Cliburn to use its standing and expertise to encourage tomorrow’s great artists. We are providing a valuable forum for them to express themselves and an entrance to the next step of their journeys. The top international jurors, the media and webcast, the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, and the festival atmosphere—which will include performance experience and professional career advice—all make the Competition and Festival significantly useful for a student who has aspirations of being a professional musician.”

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) 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 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 First Cliburn International Junior Piano Competition and Festival are:

Alcon

Ann L. & Carol Green Rhodes Charitable Trust, Bank of America, Trustee

Fifth Avenue Foundation

Fort Worth Convention & Visitors Bureau

Fort Worth Piano Teachers Forum

The Garvey Texas Foundation

Jill and Charles Fischer Foundation

Mercedes T. Bass Charitable Corporation

Northern Trust

Pier 1 Imports

Pinnacle Bank Texas

Texas Commission on the Arts

The Ryan Foundation

Tarrant Technology

William E. Scott Foundation

Exclusive Print Media Sponsor:

Star-Telegram

Exclusive Piano Sponsor:

Steinway & Sons – North Texas / Houston

 

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