Around the Music Festival

The Van Cliburn Competition in the United States, which has launched many pianists onto the world stage, announced it will establish a new conducting competition.

The inaugural event will be held in Houston in June 2028, open to participants aged 21 to 35. Aiming to become North America’s largest international conducting competition, it will be chaired by Marin Alsop.

Applications for the competition will open in October 2026. Live auditions will be held at Shepherd School of Music in winter 2028, with 12 finalists selected. Results will be announced in April 2028. The 12 finalists will conduct the Houston Symphony Orchestra. The winner will receive a $50,000 Grand Prize award and a concert engagement opportunity.

In addition to Allsop, the selection committee includes conductors such as Kent Nagano, Juraj Valcuha, Robert Spano, and Xian Zhang.

The piano competition was founded in 1962 by Van Cliburn (1934–2013), winner of the first Tchaikovsky International Competition held in the former Soviet Union in 1958. Held every four years in Fort Worth, Texas, it has launched the careers of numerous pianists, including Radu Lupu, Alexei Sultanov, and Nobuyuki Tsujii.

PHOTO：London Philharmonic Orchestra