Mr. and Mrs. A. Malachi Mixon, III have made a major gift to the Cleveland International Piano Competition. Mr. Mixon is the Chairman and CEO of Invacare Corporation, based in Elyria, Ohio. The gift has two components. The first is to underwrite a first prize of $50,000 for the next five competitions - in 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, and 2013, for a total of $250,000. This large prize will place Cleveland in the forefront of piano competitions worldwide. According to Gustav Alink of the Netherlands, world-wide expert on international piano competitions, and author of the book Competitions Worldwide, “This is the largest cash prize being offered by any international piano competition in the world at this time.”

The other component is a pledge of $100,000 to be used for marketing purposes immediately. The first project in the marketing campaign will be a 13-week radio series of one-hour programs of prize-winning performances from the 2003 Competition to be broadcast nationwide this winter. The series will be produced and syndicated by WCLV/Seaway Productions and broadcast through its satellite affiliates. The series will also contain interviews with the contestants and will be written and narrated by Mark Satola of WCLV. The marketing campaign will also include a new web site, print advertising, and other projects.

Mr. Mixon stated that he is “pleased to help make it possible for the Cleveland International Competition to become the No. 1 Competition in the world.” Mr. Mixon is active in many philanthropic activities, including serving as Chairman of the Board of The Cleveland Clinic Foundation and The Cleveland Institute of Music. Mr. Mixon studied piano for many years and has always admired great pianists.

The biennial Cleveland International Piano Competition attracts more than 200 applicants from around the world. From these applicants, a select number of exceptional pianists are selected to compete in Cleveland over a period of two weeks for cash awards, worldwide concert engagements, and an internationally-marketed compact disc recording on the Naxos label. Beginning in 2003, the Competition’s four finalists performed their concerto rounds with The Cleveland Orchestra at Severance Hall. This year, the Competiton was awarded five stars – the highest number possible - in Gustav Alink’s “Piano Competitions Worldwide.” Of 420 competitions reviewed, only 31 received the prestigious five-star rating.