For the first time, the Van Cliburn Foundation will hold one of its competitions in Dallas.

The first three rounds of the 2019 Cliburn International Junior Piano Competition and Festival, for pianists ages 13 to 17, will take place at Southern Methodist University, where competitors will stay in dorms. The final round will be held at the Meyerson Symphony Center, where three finalists will perform concertos with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, with a conductor to be named.

The four rounds of the competition will be held between May 31 and June 8, 2019, the foundation announced Wednesday. The first prize will be $15,000, second prize $10,000 and third prize $5,000. All prizes will also include scholarships and community residencies mentorships with the Cliburn. All performances will be webcast live at cliburn.org.

Alessio Bax, winner of the Leeds and Hamamatsu piano competitions, and an SMU artist-in-residence, will chair the jury.

The foundation announced the news Wednesday. Application materials will be available beginning March 1 at cliburn.org; applications will be due Jan. 1, 2019. The 24 pianists selected by a screening jury will be announced March 13. Fourteen additional pianists will be accepted as non-competing festival participants, taking part in master classes, private lessons and workshops.

This will be the second time for the Junior Competition, which in 2015 drew 160 applicants from 26 countries. The Cliburn also holds a competition for amateur pianists, in addition to the high-profile Van Cliburn International Piano Competition for budding professional pianists 18 to 30. The latter competition will be held again in 2021 at Bass Performance Hall in Fort Worth.

"Fort Worth was Van Cliburn's home and is the Cliburn's permanent home," Jacques Marquis, Cliburn Foundation president and CEO, said in a release. "We have no intention of lessening our presence in Fort Worth."

But, he said, holding the 2019 Junior Competition in Dallas "will expose the Cliburn to a greater audience base in the region, as well as bring fantastic new partnerships with SMU, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, and more to come."

Formerly classical music critic of The Dallas Morning News, Scott Cantrell continues covering the beat as a freelance writer.