Little Big Shots

7 ways to see the best teen pianists on the planet play in Dallas

Dallas, meet the Cliburn. The crown jewel of Fort Worth’s arts scene — named for famous late pianist Van Cliburn, who called Fort Worth home — has packed its pianos and moved east for its next big event, the Cliburn International Junior Piano Competition and Festival.

From May 31-June 8, Dallas becomes the center of the piano universe, as 23 of the most talented teenage pianists from 11 countries compete for cash, scholarships, and major international bragging rights. They're the ones who made the cut, after 230 hopefuls from 32 countries auditioned.

Former first lady Laura Bush serves as honorary chair of the competition. The most in-demand concert pianists in the world are judges. Press from France, Italy, Japan, Canada, and the UK will cover it. And, unlike Cowboys games or the last Ariana Grande concert at the AAC, the entire thing will be live-streamed, free and legally, via a Cliburn-produced webcast.

Lucky for Dallas culture vultures and keyboard geeks, the competition hosts are making it easy to attend performances in person, catch a live simulcast on a giant outdoor screen in Dallas' favorite park, or even take part in some of the events alongside the musicians. And a lot of them are free.

Whether you’ve always been curious about this Fort Worth event, have a budding musician in your household who needs inspiration to sit down and practice, or just want to hear a killer Chopin etude during dinnertime, here are some ways to get in on the competition action in Dallas — no talent required.

1. Sit in the audience. The contest takes place in four rounds. The first three are at SMU's Caruth Auditorium, and the preliminary round (May 31-June 1) is ticketed but free to attend. (Check the website or call 214-849-4376 for availability, though, as some concerts are sold out.) Quarterfinal tickets (June 2-3) are $10, and semifinal tickets (June 5-6) are $20. The final round is the biggie, and it takes place all in one day, June 8, at the Meyerson Symphony Center (prices range from $19-$99). The Dallas Symphony Orchestra will accompany three finalists on a complete concerto, with the awards ceremony to take place immediately after.

2. Enjoy it in the park. The biggest Cliburn watch-party ever assembled will be at Klyde Warren Park on June 8. From 2:30-7 pm, the finals will be broadcast live on a giant LED screen. After the competition, there'll be expert commentary and recap, and then the naming of the winners. The watch party is free to attend. (One will take place simultaneously at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, too.)

3. Show up for a pop-up concert. Throughout the competition — and even before it begins — the virtuosic teens will give recitals in locations around Dallas, and all are free to attend. Catch them:

Noon to 1 pm on May 30 at Main Street Garden Park downtown
11:30 am to 12:30 pm on June 1 at Dallas Museum of Art and NorthPark Center
Noon to 1 pm on June 5 at Klyde Warren Park
4-5 pm on June 6 at Dallas Museum of Art and NorthPark Center

4. Learn from the masters. For a next-level music education experience, join the 23 competitors and 14 other invited festival participants in master classes, seminars, and symposia. Check the website for list of master classes taught by some of the world's best pianists. Two symposia of note are Repertoire Planning, 10 am on June 4 (How to put a complete program together for a recital and more); and the Jury Symposium, 11 am on June 8 (Members of the Cliburn competition jury will discuss changes in piano training, technique, practicing, and more.) All events are at O'Donnell Recital Hall at SMU.

5. Get on the party bus. For those who live closer to the west side of the Metroplex and want to attend the final round without a drive to Dallas and parking hassles, the Cliburn is offering a ticket package that bundles a ticket to the concert and a round-trip ride on a party bus to the the Meyerson from downtown Fort Worth. It boards at 1 pm on June 8 and departs Dallas at 7 pm.

6. Tune in. Local radio station WRR 101.1 will broadcast many of the competition events, including the final round, with commentary from their on-air talent. They'll also air interviews with jurors, competitors, and more Cliburn folks throughout the competition. (Pro tip: Say, "Alexa, stream WRR," and she beams it right in.) So if you can't show up to watch the action, you can at least listen and visualize being there. Also, NPR's famous program From the Top will cover the competition in person for an hour-long documentary set to air in October on 220 stations around the United States.

7. Watch it on demand. In addition to the live webcast, the Cliburn will make performances available on demand for later viewing on their website, Vimeo, YouTube, and Facebook. The entire webcast will be a "show" hosted by the Cliburn's artistic expert Buddy Bray, joined by past Cliburn laureate Sean Chen for commentary and interviews with competition insiders. It'll also go backstage for an up-close look at the inner workings of the competition.

For more information, visit the Cliburn's website.

Competitor Ishan Loomba, 17, of the United States tries out a piano in Caruth Auditorium.

Ishan Loomba, Cliburn junior competition

Photo by Ralph Lauer

Competitor Ishan Loomba, 17, of the United States tries out a piano in Caruth Auditorium.

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Dallas' Crow Museum of Asian Art names new curator ahead of second outpost opening

Crow Museum curator Natalia Di Pietrantonio

Photo by Natali Wiseman

Newly announced curator Natalia Di Pietrantonio.

The Crow Museum of Asian Art of The University of Texas at Dallas has found its new curator. Natalia Di Pietrantonio, Ph.D., hails from the Seattle Art Museum and was selected after a nationwide search.

There, she served as inaugural curator of South Asian art, caring for the museum's South Asian, Southeast Asian, and Islamic art collections while also serving as an affiliate art history faculty member at the University of Washington.

Di Pietrantonio arrives just as the Crow Museum is preparing to debut a second museum next fall.

Designed by global architecture firm Morphosis, the Edith and Peter O’Donnell Athenaeum is being constructed as part of a 12-acre cultural district on the UT Dallas campus.

Over the next year, the 38-year-old curator will work closely with architects, interior designers, academic faculty, and museum staff to select the artworks that will be on view when the new museum opens its doors. She will also guide the 10,000 square feet of gallery space at the original Crow Museum, which was founded in 1998 and is in the downtown Dallas Arts District.

In addition, Di Pietrantonio will serve as a faculty member in the arts department at UT Dallas.

“Natalia brings a wonderful vision, a fresh and energetic perspective, and a proven track record in elevating Asian American art and culture in compelling ways,” says Amy Lewis Hofland, senior director of the Crow Museum of Asian Art of The University of Texas at Dallas. “With her background in South Asian and Islamic art, she also will help build the Crow Museum of Asian Art collection, strengthening it to better reflect the growing diversity of our region.”

A first-generation Mexican American whose first language was Spanish, a release says that "Di Pietrantonio brings over 10 years of professional and academic experience, ranging from highly lauded museum exhibitions and university cultural events to innovative collaborations and unique community outreach experiences."

From 2014-15, she served as a Jane and Morgan Whitney Fellow for the Islamic department at the Metropolitan Museum in New York. She is multilingual and speaks Spanish, Persian, Urdu and English.

At the Seattle Art Museum, she harnessed her expertise of modern and contemporary art to curate two diverse exhibitions: "Embodied Change: South Asian Art Across Time" (January 2022), which focused on the body and female representations in South Asia; and "Our Blue Planet: Global Visions of Water" (March 2022), which addressed climate change and water access.

During her tenure at the Seattle Art Museum, she grew their South Asian collection by 25 percent. She also was the lead curator on the mid-career retrospective of the performance artist Anida Y. Ali that debuts in January 2024.

Recognizing that North Texas has one of the fastest-growing Asian American populations in Texas, Di Pietrantonio is excited to pursue exhibitions and programs that are topical both locally and globally to audiences of all ages and backgrounds. She also intends to bring performance art into the cultural mix at the Crow Museum.

"As the Crow Museum embarks on a new era with a second museum on the horizon, I am honored to be part of its storied history known for dynamic and innovative exhibitions and programs,” says Di Pietrantonio. “My first major goal is to learn more about the North Texas region — from UT Dallas students and museum supporters to neighborhood organizations and our increasingly diverse populations — so I can help align and tailor the museum programs for its communities.”

In 2018, Di Pietrantonio completed her Ph.D. in the history of art at Cornell University, studying under the contemporary artist Iftikhar Dadi with a focus on calligraphy and book arts. Prior to that time, she received a master’s degree in South Asian studies from Columbia University and a bachelor’s degree in art history from the University of California, Davis. It was during her years at UC Davis that a dynamic professor introduced her to Islamic art and ignited her interest.

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