Cliburn announces competitors for 2016 amateur competition

Seventy-two nonprofessional pianists representing 21 countries will compete in the Seventh Cliburn International Amateur Piano Competition in June in Fort Worth, the foundation said today.

The competitors were selected from 159 pianists who submitted online applications and video auditions. They will vie for cash prizes June 19-25 in Van Cliburn Recital Hall and Bass Hall. Concert pianist Olga Kern, winner of the 2001 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, will serve as chairwoman of the jury.

The competitors, who range in age from 35 to 68, hail from as far away as Japan, South Korea, Turkey, Hungary and Russia. Many represent more than one country. Marisa Naomi Haines, 59, an emerging technology strategist who lives in Murphy, is also representing Brazil.

Other Texas candidates include Dr. Noah C. DeGarmo, 38, of Dallas and Wei Ling Wang, 52, a computer network technologist from Plano.

Clark Vann Griffith, 52, a retired database programmer, is the sole competitor from Fort Worth. Griffith won second place in the 2011 Cliburn amateur competition and took third prize in 2007. Twenty other pianists are returning from previous Cliburn amateur competitions.

Unlike in the quadrennial Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, the competitors are amateur pianists with other professions. In the 2016 event, doctors, attorneys and engineers will take the stage, as well as stay-at-home mothers, a prechool music teacher, a sommelier and a voice actor.

The competition will have four rounds. Six finalists will perform one movement of a concerto with the Fort Worth Symphony Orhestra on June 25 in Bass Hall. The Cliburn will webcast the entire competition live.

Recital Hall subscriptions are $140; individual round tickets, $10-$60. For information and tickets, call 817-738-6536 or visit www.Cliburn.org.

The competitors (as provided by The Cliburn)

UNITED STATES

Alabama

Kevin Grigsby, 41, marketing executive (Trussville)

California

Victor Alexeeff, 58, TV/film composer (Winnetka) (2004 finalist)

Gorden Cheng, 35, systems engineer (Rancho Santa Fe)

Brianna Donaldson, 35, nonprofit program director (Santa Cruz)

John Gutheil M.D., 59, CEO/medical oncologist (La Jolla)

Tessa Knipe, 53, attorney (San Diego); also representing South Africa

David Lee, 37, software engineer (San Francisco); also representing Taiwan

Yvonne Liu, 45, preschool music teacher (Foster City); also representing China (2011 competitor)

Joann Oh, 41, office manager (Irvine)

Janet Sommerfeld, 53, freelance writer/producer (Palos Verdes Estates)

Summer Stone, 39, client relations (Woodland Hills)

Colorado

Robert Biber, M.D., 63, retired physician (Evergreen)

District of Columbia

Simon Finlow, 60, retired IT project manager/database engineer; also representing United Kingdom

Georgia

Utako Tanigawa, 61, computer science and information systems advisor (Dawsonville) (2011 competitor)

Hawaii

Mari Yoshihara, 48, professor of American studies (Honolulu); also representing Japan (2011 competitor)

Indiana

Brad Dunn, 43, general manager/sommelier (Bloomington)

Iowa

Kuan-Chuen Wu, 42, mechanical engineering Ph.D student (Ames); also representing Taiwan

Maryland

Kuei-Ling “Christine” Hsu, 39, pediatric dentist/assistant professor (Columbia); also representing Taiwan

Michigan

Debby Pearlberg, 68, math tutor (Southfield) (2007 competitor)

Minnesota

Adrienne Johnson, 62, elementary school music teacher/playwright (Minneapolis)

Joseph Mercuri, M.D., 56, hospitalist physician (St. Joseph) (2011 semifinalist)

Stephen Stouder, 59, healthcare executive (Apple Valley) (2011 competitor)

New Jersey

James Carter Cathcart, 62, scriptwriter/voice actor (Fort Lee)

Alfredo Garcia Jr., 62, financial adviser (Ho-Ho-Kus); also representing Cuba

New York

Andrea Davide Bonotto, 49, senior user-interface engineer (New York City) (2007 competitor)

Steven Boyce, 64, risk manager (New York City)

Lana C. Marina, 47, stay-at-home mother (New York City)

Andrew Pak, 36, fixed-income sales director (Piermont)

Bruce Pfeffer, 65, cell biologist (Amherst)

Michael Slavin, M.D., 65, ophthalmologist (Manhasset)

Max Sung, M.D., 63, physician (New York City); also representing Hong Kong

Rebecca Kao Wang, 47, actuary (lives in Tokyo)

North Carolina

Gregory Knight, 53, software engineer (Morganton)

Oklahoma

J. Spencer Thompson, M.D., 55, physician/radiation oncologist (Oklahoma City) (2011 competitor)

Pennsylvania

Robert Seppy, 58, healthcare executive (Philadelphia)

David Swenson, M.D., 64, physician (Butler)

Tennessee

J. Todd Spangler, 54, administrative law judge (Knoxville) (2002, 2004, 2011 competitor; 2007 semifinalist)

Texas

Noah C. DeGarmo, M.D., 38, physician (Dallas)

Marisa Naomi Haines, 59, emerging technology strategist (Murphy); also representing Brazil (2004, 2007 competitor)

Clark Vann Griffith, 52, retired database programmer (Fort Worth) (2011, second prize; 2007, third prize)

Wei Ling Wang, 52, computer network technologist (Plano)

Utah

Jane Gibson King, 60, stay-at-home mother (Provo) (2011 finalist/press jury award winner)

Madalyn Taylor, 66, retail store owner (Ogden) (2011 semifinalist)

Virginia

Jeanne Backofen Craig, 46, homemaker/part-time minister of music and liturgy (Forest)

David Caldine, 61, software engineer (Fairfax) (2004 competitor)

Washington

Colleen Adent, 54, homemaker (Vancouver)

Sandra Baumgarten, 37, stay-at-home mother (Brush Prairie)

Lawrence Hsu, 58, real estate agent (Seattle)

INTERNATIONAL

Brazil

Alexandre Leite, 54, banking executive (Sao Paulo); also representing United States. (2011 competitor)

Canada

Thomas Maurice, 56, senior program manager (lives in Baltimore) (2004, 2007, 2011 competitor)

Sean Sutherland, 39, entrepreneur/lecturer (Montreal); also representing Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Thomas Yu, M.D., 38, periodontist (Calgary)

France

Xavier Aymonod, 40, strategy consultant (Paris)

Germany

Matthias Fischer, M.D., 42, physician (Würzburg)

Hungary

Daniel Bodonyi, 35, management consultant (Budapest)

Indonesia

Jasmin Tiodang, 44, stay-at-home mother (lives in Carolina Municipio, Puerto Rico)

Ireland

Deirbhile Brennan, 46, accountant (Dublin)

Italy

Serena Costa, 36, homemaker (Milan)

Marco Di Marzio, 43, clinical pharmacist (lives in Dublin)

Japan

Ken Iisaka, 47, software engineer (lives in Foster City, Calif.); also representing Canada. (2007, 2011 finalist)

Shinji Wada, 39, human resources (lives in Foster City, Calif.)

Mihono Kawamata, 47, web designer (Yokohama)

Keiko Kircher, 35, college physics instructor (lives in Champaign, Ill.)

Hajime Kobayashi, 50, management consultant (Niiza, Saitama) (2011 competitor)

Yasuo Kurimoto, M.D., 55, ophthalmologist (Kobe)

Kazuyuki Ohmura, 49, software engineering manager (Tokyo) (2011 competitor)

Julie Saito, 57, international civil servant (lives in Bagneux, France)

Mexico

Jorge Zamora, 43, sales director (Lomas de la Herradura, Huixquilucan) (2011 competitor)

Russia

Serguey Veretennikov, 40, IT consultant (Redkino, Tver Oblast)

South Korea

Yumi Ahn, 35, attorney (lives in Singapore)

Turkey

Saffet Bayka, 57, electrical engineering manager (Ankara)

Ipek Bozkurt, 36, professor of engineering management (lives in Seabrook, Texas)

This story was originally published March 31, 2016 at 7:01 PM with the headline "Cliburn announces competitors for 2016 amateur competition."