Comments (1) Print

First Lady Michelle Obama has introduced a new White House Music Series, which will feature artists of all ages who will perform, educate and interact with young people. The series began on Monday, June 15.

Students participated in classes led by jazz experts including Wynton, Branford and Ellis Marsalis, and then attended a concert featuring jazz greats Paquito D'Rivera and Tony Madruga.

"Today's event exemplifies what I think the White House... should be about," the first lady said as she introduced the series, according to news services covering the inaugural event. "This is a place to honor America's past, celebrate its present and create its future."

Obama said it was fitting to lead off the series with a program called "The Jazz Studio" because, she said, jazz is "America's indigenous art form.

"Globally recognized as America's music, originating in the great city of New Orleans just a century ago through the African American experience, today jazz is performed and listened to by people of all ethnicities, backgrounds, ages and creeds," proclaimed the First Lady. "Indeed, jazz is considered by many to be America's greatest artistic gift to the world."

The new program will shine a national spotlight on music education, highlighting the important role music plays in the creativity and innovation of America's fabric. The Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz has selected more than 30 talented music students who receive free jazz instruction through the Institute's "Jazz in the Classroom" program to participate in the Jazz Studio workshops.

Jazz Studio workshop themes include exploration of the core elements of jazz: American History and Jazz; The Syntax of Jazz; Improvisation; The Blues Experience and Jazz; Duke Ellington and Swing. The audience included 150 instrumental middle school and high school students from collaborating organizations, including the Duke Ellington Jazz Festival, the Duke Ellington School of the Arts, Jazz at Lincoln Center, the Levine School of Music, the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, the Sitar Arts Center, the WPAS Capital Jazz Project, and the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz.

To inaugurate the new music series and workshops, Monk Institute students also attended the Duke Ellington Jazz Festival concert honoring pianist, composer and educator Ellis Marsalis at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

"The powerful force known as jazz is recognized in all corners of our planet as America's indigenous music and the voice of democracy," said Herbie Hancock, Chairman of the Monk Institute. "The very spirit of our young people is uplifted by our music and arts education community, whose tireless support has ensured that the heart and soul of our nation will flourish."

Other musicians and educators leading workshops include Sean Jones, Eli Yamin and others.

To watch a short video of this historic event, please visit the White House website.