Sean Chen, 24 years old, (USA), Fei Fei Dong, 22, from China, Vadym Kholodenko, 26, and Nikita Mndoyants, 24, both of Russia, Beatrice Rana, 22, from Italy and the young Japanese Tomoki Sakata, 19, are the finalists of this year's Van Cliburn Competition in Fort Worth. The happy finalists will receivea three years of support by the Cliburn Foundation, as well as concert tours in the first three seasons after the 2013 competition. The winner will receive an additional opportunity for international concerts, as well as $ 50,000 in cash, which is the highest prize money in the history of the Van Cliburn competition.
The final round of the Competition begins on Thursday evening 6th June at Bass Hall, Fort Worth, Texas. Each of the six finalists will perform an abbreviated Beethoven or Mozart concerto from a given list, and a "big" concert of their choice with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra. American Maestro Leonard Slatkin will conduct.
