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2025 Cliburn Competitor Yanjun Chen

Born in Fort Worth, Texas, Sara Doan began studying piano at the age of 3 with Donna Edwards. Under her tutelage, Ms. Doan won top prizes in several state and regional competitions. She earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree in piano performance at the University of North Texas, and is currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts at TCU.

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Lilya Zilberstein got her first taste of international success in 1987 when she won the Busoni Competition in Bolzano. By 1988, the Moscow-born pianist was able to perform big tours abroad in the West. Traveling for her concerts took her to almost all of Europe, Mexico, Japan, Korea, Canada, and Brazil.

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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.

When she was 6, Elizaveta Kliuchereva—who was born in Moscow into a family of visual artists—was walking in the corridors of her art school and found a very old piano standing in the corner. She says: “From the moment I saw the piano and opened the keyboard, I realized that it is going to be my life, and I would not be able to live without music.”

2022 Competition Jury

2026 Cliburn Gala Payment Form

The Awards Ceremony for the 2025 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, featuring the announcement of the newest Cliburn medalists, held in Bass Performance Hall.