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When he was a child, Ziyu Liu’s parents discovered that he could memorize melodies of songs and play them, without any instruction, on their electric keyboard. They bought him a piano, and he started learning on his own. At the age of 11, he decided that he wanted to become a professional pianist because of the joy he got from communicating with others through music.

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.”

2026 Cliburn Gala Payment Form

2026 Cliburn Gala Underwriters Form

The Cliburn Agency is a full-service boutique firm that offers comprehensive general management, concert booking, project management, and publicity and branding services to a select group of rising and established instrumentalists—piano and beyond—whose high artistic caliber is matched by a vision for moving the field of classical music forward.

2025 Cliburn Competitor Jiarui Cheng

Nicholas Mcgegan, Conductor

Till Fellner’s international career began in 1993 with the first prize at the renowned Concours Clara Haskil in Vevey, Switzerland. Since then, he has been a sought-after guest at the major orchestras and the music centers of Europe, the United States, and Japan, as well as at numerous festivals. He currently teaches in Zurich and Graz.

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.

Pianist Nathan Ryland, a native of Richardson, Texas, has been a winner in competitions across the United States, from the Los Angeles International Liszt Competition to the Brevard Music Center Piano Competition in North Carolina. Most recently, he was selected as the winner of the Texas State International Piano Competition and will be performing with the Central Texas Philharmonic later this season. He has performed with the Mid-Texas Symphony and UNT Symphony Orchestra. He was also chosen as a winner of the Jan and Beattie Wood Concerto Competition, playing with the Brevard Music Center Orchestra in 2014.