You Might Also Like
-
Article
The United States Marine Band: Musical Airs
"The White House has been a showcase for the performing arts and has vividly mirrored American life from its earliest days." Dr. Elise K. Kirk, author, Musical Highlights from the White House.The Marine Band has been a premier performer on the White House stage, introducing America to Italian opera and the works of Wagner and Brahms as well as
-
Article
The United States Marine Band: Music as Diplomacy
Music has been an essential part of life in the White House from the earliest days of our nation, not only as a "companion" to divert, delight, and "sweeten many hours," as Thomas Jefferson professed, but also as an element of the pageantry accompanying international diplomacy. Through the years the United States Marine Band has musically represented the nation before
-
Article
The United States Marine Band: Musical Airs
"The White House has been a showcase for the performing arts and has vividly mirrored American life from its earliest days." Dr. Elise K. Kirk, author, Musical Highlights from the White House.The Marine Band has been a premier performer on the White House stage, introducing America to Italian opera and the works of Wagner and Brahms as well as
-
Article
The United States Marine Band: Origins & Traditions
The Marine Band, the first musical ensemble to perform at the White House, has provided a continual opportunity for presidents to enjoy music. President Thomas Jefferson, an avid violinist, called music his "favorite passion." President James Madison invited the band to perform at the first inaugural ball. President Abraham Lincoln found the band's concerts a lift from the gloom of
-
Article
The United States Marine Band: Musicians
Since 1798, the Marine Band's primary mission has been to provide music for the President of the United States. Whether performing for South Lawn arrival ceremonies, state dinners, receptions, or accompanying famous entertainers, the musicians appear at the White House nearly 200 times annually. These performances range from a solo pianist or harpist to the full concert band. The band can form
-
Article
The United States Marine Band: The President's Own
A long and distinguished association with the presidency has honored the Marine Band. There is a sense of family among band members toward the presidents and their families, and the feeling is mutual. On one occasion during the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln appeared outside during a Marine Band concert and the audience clapped and clamored for a speech. The
-
Article
The United States Marine Band: The Directors
During its first two centuries, the Marine Band has had more than two dozen directors. Each leader has contributed to the recognition and appreciation of "The President's Own" through their original band compositions, orchestral transcriptions, and programming. Directors serve as music advisor to the White House and traditionally are selected from within the band's membership. As the Sousa baton is
-
Article
The Working White House: First Family
In the day-to-day life of the White House, interactions between the first family and the residence staff have varied widely. Theodore Roosevelt’s children counted on valet James Amos to umpire their baseball games. Lynda and Luci Johnson baked cookies in the White House kitchen. Mamie Eisenhower invited workers and their children to the Eisenhower farm in Pennsylvania; and many pr
-
Article
The American Presidents and Shakespeare
On April 23, 1932, Shakespeare-lovers from around the country flocked to Washington, D.C., to attend the dedication of the handsome new Folger Shakespeare Library, with President Herbert Hoover and First Lady Lou Henry Hoover sitting on a platform to watch the ceremony. The main speaker was Joseph Quincy Adams Jr., a descendant of Presidents John and John Quincy Adams who taught
-
Article
The Press at the White House: 1963-1980
Lyndon B. Johnson changed the nature of press conferences by including impromptu sessions where reporters might ask a few questions rather than the formal forums held in the Indian Treaty Room or State Department (Eisenhower EOB) auditorium. In 1969, a new Press Briefing Room was created in the west terrace by covering over a swimming pool installed for President Franklin Roosevelt.
-
Article
The Willard Hotel
During the Civil War, the fighting at times came so close to the capital that the Lincolns could hear the sounds of battle from their country retreat at the Soldiers’ Home, 3 miles north of the White House.1 One of the officers in the Union Army charged with defending the capital noted in his tiny leather-bound diary: "July 17, 1862: This night I sl
-
Scholarship
America Under Fire: Aftermath
Timeline of Events:August 29, 1814: Faced with a British demand to surrender 21 merchant ships, naval and ordinance stores and cotton, flour, tobacco and wines from the city warehouses or face attack from a squadron of seven ships, Alexandria's mayor and council bowed to the inevitable and agreed to the British demand—for they had no reliable defenses or defenders.August 30, 1814: A wa