In Performance Many of the world's finest performing artists have shared the White House stage with the Marine Band. Great tenors and divas, maestros and virtuosos, Broadway stars and jazz greats have all become part of the social history of the White House. "Ever since this wonderful house was built, it has been filled with music. Thomas Jefferson played his violin and Harry Truman played his piano in this [East] room.The Marine Band has serenaded countless foreign dignitaries at state dinners and some of the world's most dazzling performers have appeared beneath these chandeliers." Nancy Reagan, In Performance at the White House, August 10, 1988, PBS television program.