The First Cliburn International Junior Piano Competition and Festival for 13- to 17-year-old pianists is in full swing in the Ed Landreth Auditorium and PepsiCo Hall on the campus of TCU in Forth Worth, Texas. It started June 21 with 23 of the world’s finest young pianists and will wrap up June 28 . If you’re not in Fort Worth, you can watch the live webcast and view past performances at Cliburn.org. The talent of these young pianists will blow you away.
The competitors hail from all over the world, representing 13 countries: the United States (9), China (5), Canada, Hong Kong, Hungary, Ireland, Japan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, and Tajikistan. A selection committee chose the competitors from an impressive applicant pool of 160 young pianists, through online applications and video submissions of 15 to 20 minutes. The Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra will perform with each of three finalists under the baton of dynamic conductor Mei-Ann Chen. Competition performances will be open to the public, and will also be webcast live at Cliburn.org. For a complete listing, biographies, and repertoire, please visit: https://www.cliburn.org/competitions/junior-competition/competitors/
1997 Cliburn Gold Medalist, in-demand touring artist and esteemed adjudicator Jon Nakamatsu (United States) is serving as chairman of the jury. Other jury members include: Lydia Artymiw (United States), Christopher Elton (United Kingdom), Mari Kodama (Japan), John Kimura Parker (Canada), Orli Shaham (Israel/United States) and Blanca Uribe (Colombia).
Yesterday, Jon Nakamatsu, chairman of the jury for the First Cliburn International Junior Piano Competition announced the six pianists advancing to the Semifinal Round.
The semifinalists are:
Alim Beisembayev, 17 (Kazakhstan)
Youlan Ji, 16 (China)
Yukine Kuroki, 16 (Japan)
Wei Luo, 16 (China)
Evelyn Mo , 16 (United States)
Arsenii Mun, 16 (Russia)
For the complete schedule of Semifinal Round performances, click here.
PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE FOR SEMIFINALS ON FRIDAY, JUNE 26
Beginning at 7:00 p.m.
Arsenii Mun
Youlan Ji
Wei Luo
20-minute intermission
Alim Beisembayev
Evelyn Mo
Yukine Kuroki
WEBCAST: Available at Cliburn.org, the webcast will bring the Competition to life around the world in real time with hours of live broadcasts of performances, interview segments, and awards ceremonies over the 8-day period. All performances and videos are available live and on demand. Piano duo Anderson & Roe are serving as webcast hosts for the first time ever. They are providing competitor information and Competition commentary, and conducting interviews to provide behind-the-scenes insight.
TICKETS: Tickets are on sale now and all seating is general admission. Tickets to individual concerts are $20 for each concert of the Semifinals and $40 for the Finals. For additional information about and to purchase tickets for the First Cliburn International Junior Piano Competition and Festival in Fort Worth, please visit https://www.cliburn.org/competitions/junior-competition/tickets