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Info for Media

2025 Competitors

Cliburn in the Classroom is an interactive concert experience designed specifically for elementary audiences. We bring our own Steinway baby grand piano into every school, along with a virtuoso pianist to perform impressive music. A teaching-artist leads students through activities and bridges connections between the music and theme of the program.

The Cliburn International Competition for Conductors in June 2028 will be the first major international conducting competition in North America. The new event represents another major expansion for the Cliburn’s almost 65-year-old history: the creation of a new top-level contest as well as the production of its first large-scale project in Houston, Texas.

The world’s top pianists perform over 18 days, through 4 exhilarating rounds of competition, totaling 27 concerts; with the hopes of winning the gold medal and launching an international career.

Van Cliburn's Legacy

The Cliburn International Competition for Young Pianists was established in 2015 as another means for the Cliburn to use its standing and expertise to encourage tomorrow’s great artists, to provide a valuable forum for them to express themselves, and to give them an entrance to the next step of their journeys. Key ingredients are top international jurors, the media and webcast, Final Round performances with orchestra, and the festival atmosphere, which included performance experience and artistic workshops.

A multiday event examining different perspectives in music—such as the work of a singular composer, the music of a particular moment in history, or a significant stylistic movement.

Jury for the 2027 Cliburn International Competition for Young Pianists