The Van Cliburn Foundation will host its sixth International Piano Competition for Outstanding Amateurs™ May 23–29, 2011 in Fort Worth, TX. Our definition of an "amateur" is one who says he or she is an amateur. All competitors will be considered amateurs in the best sense of the word--not as those who "dabble," but as those who play the piano as a serious pastime rather than as a profession--sometimes having had to make the difficult choice between their profession and their potential career as a concert artist. Many past Amateur Competition participants have, at one time in their lives, received advanced piano degrees; others have never studied the piano professionally. Amateur Competition prizes have been awarded both to those with extensive public performing experience as well as to those who have spent many hours playing mostly for their own enjoyment or for the pleasure of friends, family, and their local community. All, however, are united by their love of classical music-making and sharing this passion with others of like mind.
All performances will take place at Ed Landreth Auditorium on the campus of Texas Christian University and will be open to the public. Competitors will be responsible for their own travel and housing arrangements. Practice facilities and instruments will be available for all competitors during the week of the competition. Several social events, as well as opportunities to perform chamber music and participate in symposia and master classes, will be organized during the course of the competition to allow for participants to meet and play for one another on an informal basis.
FORT WORTH, TEXAS, December 9, 2009 — ChooHooi Khoo, also known as Janice, has won the Cliburn’s second YouTube Contest for Amateur Pianists by popular vote. Voting concluded on November 24, assuring Ms. Khoo a berth in the sixth International Piano Competition for Outstanding Amateurs, to be held in May 2011 in Fort Worth. Watch her performance of Schubert Impromptu, Op. 90, No. 4.
