Former President George W. Bush and Texas Gov. Rick Perry are scheduled to speak on Sunday at the funeral of renowned pianist Van Cliburn, who died on Wednesday.
Cliburn had been diagnosed with advanced bone cancer and was being cared for at his home in Fort Worth. He was 78.
The funeral service will be held at 3 p.m. Sunday at Broadway Baptist Church in Fort Worth. Others speaking are Pastor Brent Beasley, Russian cellist Olga Rostropovich and Joseph Polisi, president of the Julliard School, according to the
Associated Baptist Press.
Cliburn skyrocketed to fame after winning the first International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow at age 23. He returned to a New York ticker tape parade, a first for a classical musician.
His triumph at the Moscow competition in 1958 helped thaw the Cold War and launched a spectacular international career.
He's performed for every president since Harry Truman, and for years devoted his time to the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition.
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