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Shields-Collins “Buddy” Bray has been artistic consultant for the Cliburn since 2003. For the last 20 years he has shown his longstanding commitment to new music, hosting concerts spotlighting living American composers such as William Bolcom, John Corigliano, Ricky Ian Gordon, Jennifer Higdon, Jake Heggie, Kevin Puts, Ned Rorem, and Ben Moore. With music educator John Feierabend, Buddy created the Cliburn in the Classroom curriculum for second-, third-, and fourth-graders; now, after almost two decades of serving as writer, narrator, host, and sometimes-pianist at these uniquely interactive programs, he continues to be heavily involved in an advisory role.

Alessandro Deljavan, jury member for the 2027 Cliburn International Competition for Young Pianists

Award-winning pianist Jean-Efflam Bavouzet enjoys a prolific recording and international concert career. He regularly works with orchestras such as The Cleveland, San Francisco Symphony, BBC Symphony, and Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony orchestras, and collaborates with conductors including Vladimir Jurowski, Gianandrea Noseda, François-Xavier Roth, Yan Pascal Tortelier, Vasily Petrenko, Ludovic Morlot, Edward Gardner, and Sir Andrew Davis, among others.

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).

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

On Jonathan Mak’s third birthday, his sister’s piano teacher decided to give him a trial lesson; he has been actively studying both piano and viola ever since. He made his orchestra debut with the Canadian Sinfonietta just one year later, at the age of 4.

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 Salsa Limón.

Over a 63-year history, the Cliburn Competitions have helped to establish a cultural landmark in North Texas.

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.”

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.