The adventure begins

I'm excited.  Tomorrow I fly to Fort Worth, Texas, to attend the Preliminary Round of the quadrennial Van Cliburn International Piano Competition.  This is the early part of the competition, where all 30 hopefuls play a one hour recital.  After the judges winnow the 30 contestants down to 12 semifinalists, they will play two other recitals (which will include a piece by a living composer and a chamber music piece) before the judges further winnow them down to just 3.  I'll arrive in time to settle in to hotel, get acclimated, and hopefully, get a great night's sleep.  I checked weather in Fort Worth, and it's pretty similar to DC--afternoon temps in the low 80s; nighttime and morning temps in the cooler 60s.  Last time I attended the semifinals weekend, which I recall as somewhat sparsely attended--lots of empty seats.  Perhaps the Hall was half full.  I'm expecting fewer in the audience for the preliminaries, and more casual dress.