The Van Cliburn, the Fort Worth-based organization behind the famed international piano competitions, is making itself right at home in Dallas for the long haul. The group has signed a 20-year partnership with Southern Methodist University and the Dallas Symphony Orchestra that will keep its Cliburn International Competition for Young Pianists in the city for the next five editions. The deal includes masterclasses, an in-residence fellowship for teen pianists, and a final round at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra.
Official partnership and program
According to the Cliburn, the 20-year agreements officially name SMU Meadows School of the Arts and the Dallas Symphony Orchestra as artistic partners for the Young Pianists competition and cover the next five editions. The in-residence fellowship at SMU will feature masterclasses, workshops, artist conversations, and performance opportunities for Piano Fellows. The 2027 competition is scheduled for June 10–19, 2027, in Dallas.
Rounds split between SMU and the Meyerson
CultureMap Fort Worth reports that preliminary and semifinal rounds, along with festival events, will unfold on the SMU campus, while the Final Round will move to the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center. That Meyerson finale will showcase six young pianists, each performing a concerto movement with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. CultureMap notes that Maurice Cohn, a former assistant conductor of the DSO and music director of the West Virginia Symphony, is slated to lead the orchestra for the final round.
Who will judge and teach
The jury will be chaired by Sa Chen, the 2005 Cliburn bronze medalist, and will include jurors Kenny Broberg, Lucille Chung, Alessandro Deljavan, Marie-Josèphe Jude, Alexander Korsantia, Alessandro Mazzamuto, Noriko Ogawa, and Steven Osborne, according to the Cliburn. The organization adds that visiting artists and faculty will anchor the festival schedule with public masterclasses and artist conversations tied directly to the competition.
Applications, eligibility and timeline
Applications opened March 5, 2026, and are due November 17, 2026. From the applicant pool, 38 artists will be invited as Piano Fellows, and 24 of those will advance to compete for prizes, according to CultureMap Fort Worth. CultureMap reports that applicants must be 13 to 17 years old and fall within a specific birth-date window: born on or after June 7, 2010, and before June 19, 2014. Fellows will live on campus during the event, and the Cliburn advises prospective applicants to review the competition rules for repertoire and screening requirements.
Cliburn's regional expansion includes Houston
The organization is not stopping at North Texas. It has announced a new Cliburn International Competition for Conductors, set for Houston in June 2028, as reported by The Dallas Morning News. Jacques Marquis, the Cliburn's president and CEO, told the paper he likes "to expand our projects in different cities, with new artistic partners," and called the Houston competition "a fantastic project." The move is intended to create additional career pathways for young conductors alongside those for pianists.
What this brings to Dallas
The junior competition already has global reach. The most recent edition drew 247 applications from 44 countries, and its live and on-demand webcasts topped two million views, underscoring the event's international profile and the potential boost to Dallas's cultural calendar, according to the World Federation of International Music Competitions. Local presenters say the long-term commitment is expected to help build a steady audience for classical programming and to create ongoing educational opportunities for Dallas-area students.
Next steps and where to follow
Piano Fellows are slated to be announced in February 2027, with the awards ceremony planned for June 19, 2027. Tickets and the full schedule are typically released in January. For rules, repertoire lists, and the application portal, prospective participants are directed to the Cliburn competition page and to announcements from the partner organizations for the latest details.
