Oxford welcomes Rubato pianists
by Brian Graves
August 13, 2025
The city of Oxford gave its official welcome to the 15 young pianists who will compete in this week’s Rubato International Competition in Classical and Jazz during a reception held Tuesday, August 12, 2025, at The Studio in the Oxford Performing Arts Center.
Rubato founder/director Julio Barreto, who also serves as OPAC’s director of music education, said 82 pianists from 12 countries and 30 states had auditioned to be part of the penultimate set of semifinalists who have come from Texas, California, Alabama and Maryland, as well as from Taiwan, Albania, Vietnam, and China.
“That is amazing with this being only the third competition,” Barreto said adding adjudicators who will be judging the competition are all award-winners themselves and are prominent names in the world of music education. These educators provided masterclasses to the up-and-coming artists during the day prior to the reception.
Barreto also gave credit to OPAC director of development Crystal Hancock, who works to gain the interest of those who might want to become sponsors of this unique event.
“I want to start out by saying not only could we not do this without our sponsors, adjudicators, and competitors, but when we had the idea for this, we went to the mayor,” Hancock said. “We wouldn’t be here without the support of a city that decided we wanted an event like this. We need to thank our mayor, Alton Craft, and the members of the city council.”
Craft said he didn’t know what to expect when the first Rubato competition was held in 2022.
When I first met these young people, I thought it was strange they just played piano all the time,” Craft said. "Then I learned they are the coolest people—one plays soccer, one dances ballet, and another plays football—and they all have this great talent. It’s a pleasure having you here, and I wish you all the best.”
The Rubato semifinals will take place on Thursday and Friday, August 14 and 15, at 7 p.m The finals will be on Saturday, August 16, at 7 p.m Tickets are available at the OPAC box office or online at oxfordpac.org.