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2026 Cliburn Gala Underwriters Form

2025 Cliburn Competitor Jiarui Cheng

Adopt-A-Competitor returns to local libraries this year, inviting you to see two of the 2025 competitors—Pedro López Salas and Anastasia Vorotnaya—perform 20 minutes each ahead of the upcoming 2025 Cliburn Competition. Bring your friends and family for this fun culturally inspired program.

The Brazilian-born pianist Arnaldo Cohen, now living in the United States, has long had a reputation for astonishing his audiences with the musical authority and blistering virtuosity of his performances. He has appeared regularly as soloist with major orchestras, such as the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Cleveland Orchestra and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. His solo recitals everywhere draw enthusiastic crowds of cognoscenti. Critics, too, marvel at his mixture of musical complexity and élan.

Andrew Li credits his time in the Harvard University/New England Conservatory of Music joint program with substantially aiding in his development as a musician and a human being. He is currently finishing a bachelor’s degree in human evolutionary biology and a master’s in piano performance, the latter under the guidance of Wha Kyung Byun, with whom he has studied since the age of 12.

The Cliburn Board of Directors announces that it has elected Michelle Marlow as chairman. Ms. Marlow—a children's author, speech language pathologist, and active community volunteer—began her Cliburn board service as a member of the Trust Committee in 2014, and has served on the Executive Committee as vice chairman since 2022. She was initially introduced to the Cliburn as her placement with the Junior League of Fort Worth in 1995; she went on to volunteer in the gift shop for many competitions.

Tokyo-born Yuki Yoshimi did not decide to pursue music professionally; he first “met the piano” at a friend’s house when he was 5 years old and has “loved the piano since then.” A graduate of the Toho Gakuen School of Music, where he worked with Hisako Ueno and Kei Itoh, his studies eventually brought him to the United States; he has attended the New England Conservatory of Music under Alexander Korsantia since 2020.

In the 15 years since he won Cliburn gold at the age of 19, Haochen Zhang has captivated audiences in the United States, Europe, and Asia with a unique combination of deep musical sensitivity, fearless imagination, and spectacular virtuosity.

Sponsorships

Join us at Steinway Piano Gallery of Fort Worth across the street from Bass Performance Hall and enjoy a free recital from several 2025 Cliburn competitors. Bring your lunch or purchase onsite from Nguyen Lou Banh Mi.