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Fourteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition Sponsorship Opportunities

With the Fourteenth Competition right around the corner, the Cliburn has ample sponsorship opportunities that will showcase your support of classical music. Please contact Lindy Eubank, director of development, at leubank@cliburn.org if you are interested in contributing to one of the areas listed below.

Thank you to the following foundations and corporations who have committed their support to the Fourteenth Competition:

  • Adeline & George McQueen Foundation
  • Alann P. and Charles F. Bedford Fund of the Community Foundation of North Texas
  • Alcon Foundation
  • American Airlines
  • Amon G. Carter Foundation
  • BNSF Foundation TX
  • Cantey Hanger LLP
  • City of Fort Worth, through a special grant from the Fort Worth Promotion & Development Fund
  • Communities Foundation of Texas
  • Crystelle Waggoner Charitable Trust, Bank of America Trustee
  • ExxonMobil
  • Fifth Avenue Foundation
  • FMC Agricultural Products
  • Forestar Oil & Gas
  • Fort Worth Convention & Visitors Bureau
  • Fort Worth Piano Teachers Forum
  • Frost
  • Gene and Jerry Jones Family Charities
  • Higginbotham Community Fund of the Community Foundation of North Texas
  • J.P. Morgan
  • Jane and John Justin Foundation
  • Luther King Capital Management
  • Mary Potishman Lard Trust
  • Mercedes T. Bass Charitable Corporation
  • Mollie and Garland Lasater Charitable Fund of the Community Foundation of North Texas
  • National Endowment for the Arts
  • Neal Steffen Memorial Foundation through the Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund
  • Neiman Marcus
  • Nicholas Varney Jewels, Inc.
  • Qurumbli Foundation
  • Raymond E. Buck Foundation
  • Rildia Bee O'Bryan Cliburn Foundation
  • Sid W. Richardson Foundation
  • Steinway & Sons
  • T. J. Brown & C. A. Lupton Foundation, Inc.
  • Texas Capital Bank
  • Texas Commission on the Arts
  • Texas Women for the Arts | Texas Cultural Trust
  • The Aaron Copland Fund for Music, Inc.
  • The Burnett Foundation
  • The Frill Foundation
  • The Garvey Texas Foundation, Inc.
  • The Junior League of Fort Worth, Inc.
  • The Robert S. and Joyce Pate Capper Charitable Foundation
  • The Ryan Foundation
  • The Walsh Foundation
  • William E. Scott Foundation
  • XTO Energy Inc.

as of March 21, 2013

American Composer Fees

The Cliburn has made a significant contribution to the standard piano repertoire as the rules of the Competition have required competitors to perform a newly-composed work since its inception in 1962. For the Fourteenth Competition, the Cliburn has commissioned Christopher Theofanidis to compose a new work that will be performed by all semifinalists. A native of Dallas, Texas, Mr. Theofanidis is one of the most widely performed American composers writing today.

Awards Ceremony

On June 9, after the jury has deliberated and picked the medalists, the winners are announced in an Awards Ceremony, which is filmed for the documentary covering the Competition and broadcast nationally and internationally. There will be a press conference immediately following the awards with a photo opportunity for Sponsors with the new winners in the Green Room.

Closing Reception

A Closing Reception for 800 guests will be held on June 9, 2013, at the Worthington Renaissance Fort Worth Hotel immediately following the announcement of the awards. Guests include competitors, volunteers, major donors, corporate sponsors, media representatives, VIPs, and officials from across the United States and around the world. Food, entertainment, and rousing toasts to the winners make this truly a gala finale.

Competitor Travel Expenses

The Cliburn provides round trip air fare to each competition for 30 selected competitors. Since the First Competition in 1962, the Cliburn has launched more than 80 professional piano careers and hosted 468 competitors from 69 countries, and looks forward to welcoming competitors from around the globe again in 2013. Underwriting the expenses for the competitors to travel to Fort Worth, one of the distinct aspects of the Cliburn Competition, ensures that the best talent is able to come to Fort Worth to compete.

Discretionary Support

Discretionary support allows the Cliburn the flexibility to support those Competition programs that may not be fully underwritten. This type of support ensures that the Competition maintains its high quality throughout all areas.

Hospitality Suite and Press Corps Facility

A hospitality suite at the Worthington Hotel is available for official guests, jurors, and other VIPs during the Competition. Volunteer staff at the suite gives general assistance, keeps the suite open throughout the Competition, and provides refreshments, beverages, and information.

A separate office facility is provided for the press at the Nancy Lee and Perry R. Bass Performance Hall and includes working space, photocopier, telephones, facsimile machine, supplies, computers, and refreshments. Media coverage is essential to the success of the competition.

International / National Advertising and Press Representative

Over a two-year period leading up to the Competition, the Cliburn places print ads in national and international music periodicals in order to inform music professionals, managers, presenters, and orchestra administrators of the upcoming Competition.

A press representative is hired to work in conjunction with the Cliburn's director of marketing to secure international and national print and broadcast coverage of the Competition. Major media outlets covering the 2009 Competition included: National Public Radio,New York Times, and the BBC.

Jury Expenses

The Van Cliburn International Piano Competition jury is composed of some of the world's most prestigious musicians, conductors, composers, and administrators. Since the First Competition in 1962, the Cliburn has hosted 122 jurors from 36 countries. The jurors are the core of the competition and are jointly responsible for judging and selecting 30 exceptional young pianists to determine the winners. The cost per juror includes honorarium, in-town transportation, travel, hotel meals, supplies, and other related expenses. Maestro John Giordano will lead the elite 13-member international group of highly experienced music professionals for his 11th time.

Media Project - Webcast, Radio broadcasts, and Documentary

For the Fourteenth Competition, the Cliburn will produce a media project that includes a global live streaming hosted webcast, radio broadcasts, and a film documentary intended for national broadcast on PBS. Over the three-week period, other media project activities will include social media strategies, Web blogs, chat rooms, educational components, mobile apps, video-on-demand, archived footage, CDs, and DVDs. During the Competition, the webcast will stream live performances and archived video 24 hours a day, and following the Competition, archival footage will be available for view on the Cliburn's Web site in perpetuity. The live webcast is more than a platform for showcasing the live performances of the competitors, it offers hours of supplementary educational and cultural content. Featured items will include original content, on-demand performances, rehearsals, musical commentary notes, performer bios, program information, an on-line audience vote, a live host, performer portraits, video features, broadcast of the symposia live, and backstage views.

Selections from the Semifinal Round will air American Public Media's, which is broadcast on 245 public radio stations across the country and heard by approximately 1.3 million people each week.

The Cliburn's three-year management of the six finalists' careers is significantly assisted by the competition documentary. Aired on stations of the Public Broadcasting Service in the United States and syndicated nationally, the documentary makes millions excited about the winners, and therefore eager to hear the pianists perform in their communities. The documentary may be broadcast three times over four years, reaching a potential audience of 105 million households, and are packaged as DVDs for retail sale.

Opening Dinner and Draw Party

The Opening Dinner and Draw Party on May 22, 2013, marks the formal commencement of three weeks of music, festivity, and the drama of Competition. At this event competitors draw for placement in the competition. Attendees include the competitors, members of the jury, media representatives, managers, distinguished official guests, volunteers, host families, donors, board members, and music lovers from throughout the world.

Platinum and Golden Reception area

The Platinum and Golden Circles Reception area is a specially designed, private reception location in which patrons of the Platinum and Golden Circles (purchasers of premium-located seats) relax during intermission with complimentary beverages and refreshments. Patrons often choose to stay in this area and watch the competition on closed-circuit television.

Preliminary, Semifinal, and Final Rounds

In the Preliminary, Semifinal, and Final Rounds, the field of 30 competitors is narrowed to 12, and then six. All of the rounds take place in the 2,000-seat Nancy Lee and Perry R. Bass Performance Hall and are open to the public.

The Preliminary Round is a seven-day event from May 24-May 30, 2013, that marks the first phase of the competition during which each of the contestants performs two recitals, each one not to exceed 45 minutes in length of works chosen by the pianist.

The four-day Semifinal Round from June 1-June 4, 2013, offers an opportunity for the 12 semifinalists to demonstrate their prowess with chamber music by performing a quintet with the Brentano String Quartet chosen from works by Brahms, Dvořák, Franck, and Schumann. They also will perform a solo recital not to exceed 60 minutes in length of works chosen by the pianist, including the commissioned work by Christopher Theofanidis. Each semifinalist plays twice during a historically sold-out phase of the competition.

The Final Round is held over the course of four days from June 6-June 9, 2013. The six finalists will perform two concerti of their choice, the first will be a chamber concerto chosen from works by Beethoven and Mozart, and the second will be any concerto scored for full symphony orchestra and piano. Both concerti will be performed with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra under the baton of internationally acclaimed American conductor Leonard Slatkin for the first time.

Prizes and Awards

Cash prizes are an integral part of the Competition as they recognize the superb talent and effort of the competitors. Receiving a prize from the Cliburn Competition enhances the credentials of the winners as professional pianists.

Screening Auditions and Jury

Over 250 pianists from around the world are expected to apply for the Fourteenth Competition. After an extensive screening process, approximately 120 will be invited to participate in the worldwide Screening Audition Recitals. In January and February 2013, these live Screening Auditions will be held in Moscow, Russia; Milan, Italy; Hannover, Germany; Hong Kong, and the United States in New York City and Fort Worth, Texas. The applicant's recitals will be free and open to the public and will be presided over by a five-member jury who will also be members of the Fourteenth Competition Jury. Support for the Screening Auditions and jury includes underwriting travel assistance for applicants to their nearest Screening Audition site, hall rental, piano tuning, staffing, honoraria and travel expenses for the screening jurors, and fliers to attract audiences.

Transportation for Jurors, Press Representatives, and Official Guests

Transportation to and from hotels and entertainment facilities is provided for jury members, official guests, and members of the press. It is anticipated that buses to and from satellite parking sites and Bass Performance Hall will also be required.