Pianist Igor Parshin graduated with the highest marks from the famous Gnessin State Musical College and Russian Academy of Music. In 2015, he received a scholarship to the TCU School of Music, where he completed his Artist Diploma. He also earned a Master of Music with Dr. Michael Bukhman, a fellow Cliburn in the Classroom artist.
Igor has successfully participated in international competitions all across the globe. He has performed in solo performances throughout Europe, Asia, and the United States, but his most interesting musical experience was on board the first high polar exploration cruise ship Le Commandant Charcot, bringing concerts all the way to Antarctica! He is one of the first pianists to cross the entire Atlantic Ocean from North to South. Locally, Igor can be seen at the Piano Texas International Festival and Academy, and the Basically Beethoven Festival in Dallas.
Ivaylo Vassilev has attended the National Music School “L. Pipkov” in his hometown of Sofia, Bulgaria, for nine years—currently studying with Borislava Taneva. He has more than 20 international competition wins to his name, in Bulgaria, France, Russia, Finland, Germany, Singapore, Belgium, Spain, North Macedonia, and the United States. In his country, he has received many national honors, including the 2021 “Crystal Lyre” (the highest art award in Bulgaria by the Union of Bulgarian Musicians and Dancers) and the Special Award from the Bulgarian Ministry of Culture for High Artistic Achievements in 2018 and 2019. Ivaylo also plays viola and composes, and attends classical music concerts at least once a week. Outside of music, he enjoys mathematics, chemistry, geography, reading, foreign languages, and stamp collecting.
When he was 3 years old, Moscow native Ilya Shmukler’s mother found him jumping on the bed and beautifully singing Robertino Loreti’s “Jamaica;” she immediately recognized his musical talent and started him in lessons. It was important to his non-musician parents that he be raised as a well-rounded person, so his early years were also spent with school, table tennis, and ballroom dancing. But at 10, he says his life changed after applying for and winning his first music competition and attending the subsequent international summer academy: “There I discovered a true musical life, and I fell in love with it, inspiring me to commit my life to music.”
He performed his first recital at age 12, and made his orchestral debut at 14. He has since made solo appearances in Europe and North America, and has performed with the Mariinsky Theatre, Sendai Philharmonic, Bayer Symphoniker, Tambov Symphonic, and New Music Orchestras, among others.
Ilya is a laureate of many international piano competitions, taking top prizes at the New York Virtuoso, Lewisville Lake Symphony, Artist Presentation Society (St. Louis), Shigeru Kawai (Tokyo), Sсriabin–Rachmaninov (Bulgaria), and Rachmaninov (St. Petersburg) Competitions. He was also a competitor in the 2017 Cliburn Competition. In 2021, he won the Carnegie Weill Recital Hall Debut Audition and will make his New York debut at the venerated venue in December 2022.
He completed his master’s degree with honors at the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory in 2021, under the guidance of Elena Kuznetsova and Sergey Kuznetsov. Presently, he studies with 2001 Cliburn Gold Medalist Stanislav Ioudenitch at the International Center for Music at Park University in Parkville, Missouri.
REPERTOIRE
Preliminary Round
BACH–BUSONI Toccata, Adagio and Fugue in C Major, BWV 564
HOUGH Fanfare Toccata
STRAVINSKY Trois mouvements de Pétrouchka
Quarterfinal Round
MEDTNER Sonata reminiscenza, op. 38, no. 1
DEBUSSY Images, Book I
SCRIABIN Fantasy in B Minor, op. 28
Semifinal Round – Recital
BRAHMS Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel, op. 24
PROKOFIEV Sonata No. 8 in B-flat Major, op. 84
Semifinal Round – Mozart concerto
MOZART Piano Concerto No. 20 in D Minor, K. 466
Final Round – Concerto I
GRIEG Piano Concerto in A Minor, op. 16
Final Round – Concerto II
RACHMANINOV Piano Concerto No. 3 in D Minor, op. 30
AGE 67 I ARLINGTON, TEXAS I UNITED STATES/CANADA
EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT
“Music is the one medium that we know is happening in heaven and on earth.” Irene Longacre-Whiteside believes that with age, for her, has come a “fresh awareness of the beauty and meaning in the complexities of the music I play and hear.” Over the last 23 years, she has developed a career as a high-level administrator, most recently working at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport as an executive assistant. In her formative years, Irene studied piano formally at the Royal Conservatory of Toronto, the University of Calgary, and the Universität Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria. She then worked at The Conservatory at Mount Royal University, in her hometown of Calgary, before making the career transition away from music. And other passions abound: she enjoys the study of systematic theology, participating in international pistol shooting competitions, and scuba diving.
Repertoire
Preliminary Round
MOZART Sonata No. 13 in B-flat Major, K. 333 (I)
PROKOFIEV Sonata No. 2 in D Minor, op. 14 (IV)
SCRIABIN Etude in D-sharp Minor, op. 8, no. 12
Semifinal Round
VILLA-LOBOS “Negrinha,” “A probrezinha,” and “Branquinha” from A prole do bebê
RAVEL “Alborada del gracioso” from Miroirs CHOPIN Rondo in E-flat Major, op. 16 RACHMANINOV–GRYAZONOV Italian Polka
Final Round
SAINT-SAËNS Concerto No. 2 in G Minor, op. 22 (III)
AGE 42 I SEABROOK, TEXAS I TURKEY / UNITED STATES
PROFESSOR
Ipek Bozkurt grew up on Van Cliburn stories. Her piano teachers, Elif and Bedii Aran, with whom she studied in Ankara for 15 years (and continues to this day), were themselves Juilliard students under Mme. Rosina Lhévinne, just as Van was. She moved to the United States to pursue a master’s and then Ph.D. in engineering management and has built a career as a professor, currently program chair at the University of Houston Clear Lake. She was a self-described “newbie” to the world of amateur competitions in 2016 when she participated in the last Cliburn Amateur; she had an amazing experience, and the 2022 edition marks only her second competition appearance. She recently realized a 30-year dream of owning a grand piano—which she’s named “Black Beauty”—is fluent in two languages, working on two more, and says her “love of music can be extrapolated to all forms of art,” including film, literature, visual art, and knitting.
Repertoire
Preliminary Round
BRAHMS Ballade in G Minor, op. 118, no. 3
SCHUMANN Fantasiestücke, op. 12, nos. 1-4
Semifinal Round
MENDELSSOHN Rondo capriccioso, op. 14
BEETHOVEN Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp Minor, op. 27, no. 2 (“Moonlight”)
Pianist Isaac Foreman has appeared as a soloist and chamber musician throughout the United States, Europe, and Israel. In 2017, he performed Grieg’s Piano Concerto in A minor with the Brunesis Virtuosi Orchestra, and was a recitalist on the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra’s classical concert series. Additionally, he has performed numerous times with the Baroque ensemble, Collegium Musicum at TCU. An enthusiastic advocate of the music of J.S. Bach, he presented the complete Sinfonias in a recital in Fort Worth, Texas in 2014. Recent awards include first prize in the Texas and Southwest Divisional MTNA Young Artist Piano Competitions in 2018; second prize in the MTNA Steinway and Sons National Young Artist Piano Competition in 2019; first prize in the Baylor/Waco Piano Concerto Competition in 2016; and was a semifinalist in the 2017 Wideman International Piano Competition. He has also appeared in several music festivals including MusicFest Perugia, PianoTexas International Festival and Academy, Tel-Hai International Piano Masterclasses, TCU’s Festival of American Song, and Semper Music International Festival in Völs am Schlern, Italy where he performed Alexander Knaifel’s Piano Quintet, In Air Clean and Unseen, with the composer in attendance. As a seasoned composer himself, he has won top prizes in the TMTA Original Ensemble Composition Competition, BMI Student Composer Awards, and the ASCAP Foundation Morton Gould Young Composer Awards. Mr. Foreman also has a love for vocal accompanying, recently receiving TCU’s Judith Solomon Award in Collaborative Piano, and frequently performs duo and two-piano repertoire. He is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Music in piano performance under the guidance of Dr. Tamás Ungár at Texas Christian University as a recipient of the prestigious Nordan Scholarship and Lili Krauss Piano Scholarship.
Born and raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Ishan Loomba made his solo recital debut at the age of 8 and orchestral debut at age 10. A student of Carol Leone since age 11, he is a pre-college student in SMU’s Gifted Students Institute and attends high school at Early College Academy. Ishan has given public performances in his home state and in Texas, Florida, California, New York, and Colorado, with appearances at the Aspen Music Festival, Texas State International Piano Festival, and Colburn Music Academy Piano Festival, among others. A three-time Chopin Foundation Scholarship recipient, he has been “enraptured” by the piano since his first encounter—so much so that his parents would threaten him with “no more piano until you finish dessert!” Ishan also enjoys singing, learning languages, and running.
“I feel that music is the most important part of my life for reasons that are innate and unquantifiable, but also because music has given me a purpose beyond my own passions. This purpose is grounded in the need to communicate with others and to move them.”
Competitor Profile
Repertoire
Preliminary Round
BACH Prelude and Fugue in C-sharp Minor, BWV 873
SCHUBERT Sonata in A Major, D. 664 (III)
CHOPIN Mazurka in C-sharp Minor, op. 63, no. 3
CHOPIN Etude in G-flat Major, op. 10, no. 5 (“Black Key”)
Quarterfinal Round
BACH Toccata in E Minor, BWV 914
HAYDN Sonata in E-flat Major, Hob. XVI:52 (I)
CHOPIN Prelude in F-sharp Major, op. 28, no. 13
RAVEL Sonatine
Semifinal Round
BEETHOVEN Sonata No. 7 in D Major, op. 10, no. 3
CHOPIN Polonaise-Fantaisie in A-flat Major, op. 61
Moscow native Ilya Shmukler studies piano with Elena Kuznetsova at the Moscow Conservatory. He has frequently performed in the leading concert halls of Russia, including in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Ekaterinburg, and Kazan, as well as in Austria, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Bulgaria, Germany, Lithuania, Moldova, and Kazakhstan. Mr. Shmukler has won awards at a number of piano competitions, including grand prizes of the 2009 Musica Classica and the 2012 Scriabin-Rachmaninoff competitions in Russia, and second prize in the 2012 International Rachmaninov Music Competition. He has played with several orchestras, most notably the Mariinsky Theatre Symphony Orchestra. When not playing piano, he enjoys cinema, literature, art, swimming, and table tennis.
Preliminary Recital
HAMELIN Toccata on “L’homme armé”
HAYDN Sonata in F Major, Hob XVI:23
BACH-SILOTI Prelude in B Minor, BWV 855a
RAVEL Gaspard de la nuit
Quarterfinal Recital
BACH-BUSONI Chaconne in D Minor, BWV 1004
RAVEL Pavane pour une infante défunte
STRAVINSKY Trois mouvements de Petrouchka
Semifinal Recital
SCHUMANN Novelette in F-sharp Minor, op. 21, no. 8
DEBUSSY La cathédrale englouitie from Preludes, Book I
DEBUSSY Feux d’artifice from Preludes, Book II
PROKOFIEV Sonata No. 8 in B-flat Major, op. 84
Semifinal Concerto MOZART Piano Concerto No. 21 in C Major, K. 467
Final Round Piano Quintet
SCHUMANN Piano Quintet in E-flat Major, op. 44
Final Round Concerto
PROKOFIEV Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Major, op. 26
Ilya Maximov, winner of the 2015 G.B. Viotti International Piano Competition in Italy, has been a top prizewinner at more than 15 competitions, including the Maria Canals, Hilton Head, Jose Iturbi, and the Scottish international piano competitions. In 2011, he received the audience award at Musical Olympus festival in St. Petersburg. He has performed at top concert halls and festivals in Europe, Asia, and the United States, including Palau de la Musica in Barcelona, Salle Cortot in Paris, Carnegie Hall, Chamber Hall of Berlin Philharmonie, and more. He regularly performs as a recitalist and with orchestras such as Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Teatro Carlo Felice Orchestra, Wuhan Symphony Orchestra, Singapore Symphony Orchestra, and National Symphony Orchestra of Cuba. Born in Yekaterinburg, Russia, Mr. Maximov played his first concerto with the Yekaterinburg Philharmonic Orchestra at age 8. He graduated from Royal College of Music in London and Universität Mozarteum Salzburg. When not at the piano, Mr. Maximov enjoys chess.
Preliminary Recital
FRANCK-BAUER Prélude, Fugue et Variations, op. 18
HAMELIN Toccata on “L’homme armé”
RACHMANINOFF Prelude in G-sharp Minor, op. 32, no. 12
RACHMANINOFF Sonata No. 2 in B-flat Minor, op. 36 (1931)
Quarterfinal Recital
ALBÉNIZ “Evocación” from Iberia, Book I
ALBÉNIZ “El puerto” from Iberia, Book I
MUSSORGSKY Pictures at an Exhibition
Semifinal Recital
BEETHOVEN Sonata No. 9 in E Major, op. 14, no. 1
RACHMANINOFF Étude-tableau in C Minor, op. 33, no. 3
RACHMANINOFF Étude-tableau in D Minor, op. 33, no. 4
RACHMANINOFF Étude-tableau in C-sharp Minor, op. 33, no. 9
PROKOFIEV Sonata No. 8 in B-flat Major, op. 84
Semifinal Concerto MOZART Piano Concerto No. 21 in C Major, K. 467
Final Round Piano Quintet
DVOŘÁK Piano Quintet in A Major, op. 81
Final Round Concerto
PROKOFIEV Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Major, op. 26
Ipek Bozkurt began her piano studies at age 6 in Ankara, Turkey, at the Aran Music Center, but after 16 years moved to the United States to obtain her master’s and doctorate degrees in engineering management at Old Dominion in Norfolk, Virginia. Currently an associate professor of engineering management at the University of Houston-Clear Lake, Dr. Bozkurt’s passion for piano was reignited after attending the Fourteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 2013. A subsequent purchase of a grand piano she has nicknamed “Black Beauty” followed. When she is not playing the piano she deems too big for her living room, Dr. Bozkurt can be found attending events in the Museum District, the Theater District, or with the Sherlock Holmes Society in Houston. She feels she was pre-destined to participate in a competition bearing the Cliburn name: Her Turkish teachers, the Aran Duo, studied at The Juilliard School under Rosina Lhévinne, who also taught Van Cliburn.
COMPETITION REPERTOIRE
Preliminary Round CHOPIN Mazurka in C-sharp Minor, op. 6, no. 2
RACHMANINOV Prelude in C-sharp Minor, op. 3, no. 2
Quarterfinal Round BACH Italian Concerto, BWV 971
Semifinal Round BEETHOVEN Sonata No. 17 in D Minor, op. 31, no. 2 (“Tempest”)
Final Round BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 1 in C Major, op. 15: I. Allegro con brio
THANK YOU FOR YOUR INTEREST IN THE CLIBURN
If you would like to receive the latest news about the Cliburn's upcoming concerts, events, and competitions, please take a moment to sign up for our email newsletter.
