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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.”

Benjamin Loeb is an accomplished conductor, pianist, arranger, educator, arts administrator, and entrepreneur. As a conductor, Mr. Loeb has led orchestras across the United States and around the world. His varied projects range across all genres, from concerts of Beethoven symphonies and recordings with Yo-Yo Ma, tours with popular rock musicians, and world premieres of the most cutting-edge contemporary music. At the invitation of the U.S. Department of State, Mr. Loeb toured Argentina and Uruguay as an Artistic Ambassador, performing recitals of the music of American composer Scott Joplin and giving masterclasses and workshops with youth orchestras and young musicians. A graduate of Harvard, Juilliard, Curtis, and Peabody, Mr. Loeb brings his passion for high-level performance into the education sphere through leadership and direction of several youth orchestras and international conducting workshops.

Pianist Dzmitry Ulasiuk was raised in an environment of classical music in Minsk, Belarus. He started professional piano studies at age 16 and performed a solo recital of all Chopin music one year later. While working on his doctorate in Belarus, he was recruited to study at TCU. He then continued his studies at SMU, and finally completed his doctorate degree in piano performance at the University of North Texas. A laureate of 17 international piano competitions, Dr. Ulasiuk has performed worldwide, in both solo recitals and with orchestras. In addition to concertizing, he loves to teach and has a thriving piano studio in Plano.

Albert Cano Smit has “established himself as an artist to watch” (Montreal Gazette), having won first prizes at the 2019 Young Concert Artists International Auditions and the 2017 Walter W. Naumburg Piano Competition, the latter of which earned him a Carnegie Hall debut at Weill Recital Hall. He was also awarded the prestigious Arthur Rubinstein Piano Prize from The Juilliard School in 2020, and had strong finishes in the 2017 Montreal and 2016 Hilton Head competitions.

2026 Cliburn Gala Payment Form

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.

Contact The Cliburn for general inquiries and access the staff directory.