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Applause-worthy achievement

American software engineer wins 2022 Cliburn Amateur Piano Competition in Fort Worth

Cliburn Amateur winners
Winner Jon Lee (center), second place Michael Slavin (right), and third place Xavier Aymonod. Photo by Ralph Lauer/The Cliburn

Jon Lee, a 41-year-old software engineer from San Francisco, has won the Eighth Cliburn International Amateur Piano Competition in Fort Worth.

Michael Slavin, 71, a retired New York neuro-ophthalmologist, won second place; and Xavier Aymonod, 46, a public transportation marketing director from France, took home third.

The winners were announced at Bass Hall on Tuesday, October 18, at the conclusion of the seven-day competition that saw pianists compete through three rounds. Six finalists performed a movement of a major piano concerto with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, under former FWSO music director Miguel Harth-Bedoya.

The Cliburn Amateur, launched in 1999, is the world's pre-eminent competition for non-professional pianists age 35 and older. This year's edition — rescheduled from May 2020 — drew 29 pianists from 16 countries across the globe. They ranged from age 38 to 72, with a median age of 51. An additional 14 pianists came to Fort Worth as non-competing festival participants.

The competition was adjudicated by a jury of internationally renowned pianists, piano professors, and Cliburn competition alumni: Pamela Mia Paul, jury chair (United States); Peter Czornyj (United Kingdom); Alessandro Deljavan (Italy); Valery Kuleshov (United States); Carol Leone (United States); Alex McDonald (United States); and Spencer Myer (United States).

The complete list of 2022 winners, including jury award honorees, is:

The Richard Rodzinski First Prize: Jon Lee, Software Engineer, 41, United States
$2,000 cash prize (plus custom Justin boots)

Second Prize: Michael Slavin, Neuro-Ophthalmologist (retired), 71, United States
$1,500 cash prize

Third Prize: Xavier Aymonod, Marketing Director – Public Transportation, 46, France
$1,000 cash prize

Jury Discretionary Award: Deirbhile Brennan, Accountant, 53, Ireland
$500 cash prize

Jury Discretionary Award: Sean Sutherland, Product Manager, 45, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines/Canada
$500 cash prize

Jury Discretionary Award: Noah DeGarmo, Physician, 44, United States
$500 cash prize

Audience Award: Masanori Murakami, Clinical Project Manager, 38, Japan
$500 cash prize (plus a Justin cowboy hat)

Avid Cliburn Amateur fans will recognize several names from past competitions. Slavin and Aymonod repeated their second- and third-place finishes, respectively, from the 2016 Cliburn Amateur. Brennan, Sutherland, and DeGarmo also competed in 2016.

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