March and chorus from the Lady of the Lake, ca. 1812. Library of Congress Both John Quincy Adams and his wife, Louisa Catherine, were great devotees of music, and often sang ballads and arias together, while Louisa played the White House American-made Babcock piano, now housed in the Smithsonian Institution. At one of the decade’s most important historic events-- the ground-breaking ceremony for the excavation of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal in 1828-- the Marine Band played, among other selections, the lilting boat song, "Hail to the Chief," from the popular musical play, The Lady of the Lake after Sir Walter Scott. Because John Quincy Adams was present at the ceremony, the occasion marked the first time "Hail to the Chief" was played for a president. The tune has become an important American ceremonial tradition and regularly heralds the appearance of the president at formal events of state today. Elise Kirk, Musical Highlights from the White House, 21.