1801

The United States Marine Band performs at the first White House public reception on New Years Day, 1801.

1828

Derived from an old Gaelic air, Hail to the Chief was already very popular when the Marine Band played it from a barge for the opening of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal on July 4 in the presence of President John Quincy Adams.

1844

President John Tyler was accompanied by Hail to the Chief after First Lady Julia Gardiner Tyler instructed the Marine Band to play it whenever the president made an official appearance. The piece evolved into a presidential entrance tribute during James K. Polk’s administration (1845-1849).

1857

The young black concert pianist, Thomas Greene Bethune, called "Blind Tom," is said to have performed in the White House in 1857.

1861-1865

War songs and patriotic music often were performed at the Lincoln White House. President Lincoln was especially fond of the Marine Band performances in the White House and weekly concerts on the grounds.

1878

One of the most outstanding programs of the Hayes period was the performance in the Green Room of the brilliant young African-American coloratura soprano, Marie Selika. who appears to be the earliest black artist to have presented a program at the White House. Selika had toured Europe and had sung for several crowned heads of state. With such fine programs such as this, President and Mrs. Rutherford Hayes inaugurated the musicale tradition that exists in the White House today.

1882

One of the most remarkable vocal programs of the century was held on February 17. The Jubilee Singers from Fisk University filled the White House with the sounds of their singing, including Safe in the Arms of Jesus, that moved President Chester Arthur to tears.

1892

John Philip Sousa completed a distinguished 12-year period as the director of the U.S. Marine Band bringing world fame to "The President's Own." He conducted the band's first sound recordings, initiated its first national concert tour, and started to write the marches that earned him the title "The March King."

1898

The Lent ensemble played for President and Mrs. McKinley and seventy guests after a dinner for the Supreme Court in 1898, setting the stage for the state dinner/musicale as the focal point for modern entertaining at the White House.

1903

The famous “Gold Steinway” was presented to the White House in January on the occasion of Steinway’s 50th anniversary establishing the East Room as a focal point for the performing arts. For the next several decades, Steinway arranged appearances by the great pianists of the day---Busoni, Hofmann, Samaroff, and the legendary Ignacy Jan Paderewski.

1905

Scott Joplin's celebrated 1899 Maple Leaf Rag was first played at the White House in 1905 at a diplomatic reception at the request of Theodore Roosevelt's daughter, Alice, who wanted to hear "that new jazz."

1916

The celebrated Australian pianist and composer Percy Grainger played several of his compositions for Woodrow Wilson and his family on March 28.

1924

President Coolidge invited legendary showman, Al Jolson to a White House pancake breakfast to help him launch an election campaign.

1931

President and Mrs. Hoover were the first to invite an artist to play for a head of state (a tradition that continues today) when on April 29, 1931, harpist Mildred Dilling played for King Phra Pok Klao Prajadhipok of Siam.

1933-1945

In 1938 Steinway & Sons replaced the 1903 concert grand with a new 9’7" instrument, which is used often in the White House today. During the four administrations of Franklin Roosevelt (March 4, 1933 to April 13, 1945), more than 300 concerts in the White House reached out to every corner of America. They included women’s musical organizations, black performers (notably Todd Duncan and Marian Anderson), ballet and modern dance (Martha Graham), and children’s opera (Hansel and Gretel).

1946-1947

Because of extensive White House renovations (1948-1952), the Trumans held only one season of concerts in the mansion. These programs, included prominent artists, such as Lawrence Tibbett, Oscar Levant, Carroll Glenn, Eugene List, and Helen Traubel, the esteemed vocal teacher of Truman’s musical daughter, Margaret.

1957-1958

The Eisenhowers were the first to bring Broadway musical theater to the White House in an after-dinner program for Chief Justice Earl Warren in 1958. President Eisenhower also initiated the current concept of roving musicians, notably the Air Force Strolling Strings, who performed at the state dinner for the king of Saudi Arabia in 1957.

1961-1963

President and Mrs. John F. Kennedy made the White House a true showcase for the performing arts and provided a model for succeeding administrations. America’s finest performing arts organizations were featured: The Metropolitan Opera Studio, Jerome Robbins Ballet, American Ballet Theater, American Shakespeare Festival, New York City Center Light Opera Company and many others.

1968-1973

Music in the White House during the administrations of Presidents Nixon and Ford reflected a wide segment of American culture. The birthday dinner and Medal of Freedom presentation to Duke Ellington turned into a massive jam session with jazz luminaries. President and Mrs. Ford were especially successful in matching the musical programs to the interests of the many heads of state who visited the United States. For the blues loving French president Giscard d'Estang, Earl Hines performed and Van Cliburn interpreted Chopin, Schuman and Debussy during the first White House entertainment for a reigning Japanese emperor.

1976-1980

The most important musical event of the Carter administration was the inauguration of the first PBS series of five hour-long programs broadcast nationally and throughout Europe from the East Room. Initiated by President and Mrs. Carter in 1978, the first series comprised Vladimir Horowitz, Leontyne Price, Mikhail Baryshnikov with Patricia McBride, Mstislav Rostropovich and Andres Segovia.

1988

President and Mrs. Ronald Reagan joined composer Marvin Hamlisch, an alumni cast of A Chorus Line, entertainers Shirley Jones, Stubby Kaye, Lee Roy Reams, and the Marine Band at the taping of "In Performance at the White House," August 10, 1988.

1989-1992

President and Mrs. George Bush recognized music as a supreme American gesture and arranged for a variety of performers to appear in the East Room after state dinners, including singer Maureen McGovern and Harry Connick, Jr., cellist Mstislav Rostropovic, violinists Itzhak Perlman and Isaac Stern, and the Harlem Boys Choir.

1998

President and Mrs. Clinton’s enjoyment of traditional and popular American music was reflected especially in their WETA "In Performance at the White House" series that included a celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Newport Jazz Festival; Aretha Franklin; "Women of Country"; and seventeen dancers illustrating varied styles of dance during the telecast of March 1998.

2001-2002

In June 2001, George W. Bush proclaimed June as Black Music month and honored Lionel Hampton in an East Room celebration that included performances by Regina Belle and Take 6.

2009

During their first year in the White House, President and Mrs. Obama hosted a celebration of the music of Stevie Wonder on February 25, 2009, and welcomed Festiva Latina on October 14, 2009. Both events were part of the PBS series In Performance at the White House, which dates to 1978.

Sources: Elise K. Kirk, Music at the White House: A History of the American Spirit. University of Illinois, 1986 and Musical Highlights from the White House. Florida: Krieger Publishing Company, 1992.