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Steven Osborne, jury member for the 2027 Cliburn International Competition for Young Pianists

When Arseniy Gusev was 5 years old, an upright piano was brought into his St. Petersburg home, and he immediately started playing and experimenting with it. He wrote his first piece—a romance on a Pushkin poem—shortly thereafter, and his grandmother asked him if he would like to go to music school. He went on to study both composition and piano performance at the St. Petersburg Conservatory. Upon graduation in 2018, he moved to the United States, where he attends the Cleveland Institute of Music, under the tutelage of Sergei Babayan (piano) and Keith Fitch (composition).

Born into a family of pianists in Riga, Latvia, Georgijs Osokins began his studies at the age of 5 with his father, Sergejs Osokins. After 12 years at the Emīls Dārziņš Music School, he studied with Sergei Babayan at The Juilliard School in 2015, then moved to Robert Schumann Hochschule in Düsseldorf to study with Georg Friedrich Schenck. He finds “consistent development” to be the hallmark of a great musician: “only when an artist fully embraces his responsibility of being the linking element between the creator and the recipient, can he start to generate art himself.”

Bring your family and friends for a free interactive, educational concert! In this season of Cliburn Kids on the Road, our artists present “What Makes A Hero,” a program that celebrates music with your favorite heroes.

After Vitaly Starikov completed his studies at the Ural Special Music School in his native Yekaterinburg, his “dream came true” when he began studying with Vera Gornostayeva, one of the world’s most venerated teachers, at the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory. At that time, her student, Vadym Kholodenko, had just won the 2013 Cliburn Competition, which “greatly inspired” Vitaly: “and it was then that the thought was born to someday participate in this competition.”

Noriko Ogawa, jury member for the 2027 Cliburn International Competition for Young Pianists

Taking a simple theme and writing variations on it is like catnip for composers. Almost no composer can resist the chance to display compositional chops, and these magnificent sets are written with maximum enjoyment (for pianist and listener) in mind.

Known for his charisma and expressive interpretations, Mexican conductor Carlos Miguel Prieto has established himself not just as a major figure in the orchestra world but also as an influential cultural leader, educator, and a champion of new music. In a significant career development, he will start his tenure as Music Director of the North Carolina Symphony at the beginning of the 2023–24 season.

Alexander Korsantia, jury member for the 2027 Cliburn International Competition for Young Pianists

The official artwork of the 2025 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition features “Chromesthesia” by internationally renowned, Texas-based muralist DAAS; the piece was originally commissioned for the Cliburn’s first-ever mural, painted in May 2022 at 113 South Main Street in Fort Worth’s vibrant Near Southside. The mural was a lasting gift to the city of Fort Worth and a celebration of the Cliburn’s 60th Anniversary.