FORT WORTH -
More than 1,400 people paid their respects to
internationally celebrated pianist Van Cliburn on Sunday.
The funeral was held at Broadway Baptist Church and attended
by dignitaries such as Texas Governor Rick Perry and former President, George
W. Bush.
Others in attendance showed up hours before the service was
supposed to start and lined up outside of the church under very tight security.
Cliburn is best known for winning the first International
Tchaikovsky Competition in 1958 at the height of the Cold War.
Cliburn played at major sporting events, for royalty and
even Presidents.
He is said to have told close friends over the years "If
Holy Scripture is the Word of God, then music must be the Breathe of God."
