Featured The Life and Presidency of Herbert Hoover
The 2016 White House Christmas ornament honors the administration of the thirty-first president of the United States Herbert Hoover, who served...
John Quincy Adams and Music
How Long? 1 minute
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 [see more below]. 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.
Landmark Era Performance - 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.
Sheet music from The Lady of the Lake, c. 1812.
You Might Also Like
-
-
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...
-
White House Music During the 1990s
President and Mrs. George Bush recognized music as a supreme American gesture, a vital symbol of American life as it...
-
Music and Musical Performances in the White House Timeline
1790sBefore the White House was completed in 1800, President George Washington and his wife Martha lived first in New York City,...
-
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...
-
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...
-
Importance of Music to President George Washington
Before the White House was completed in 1800, President George Washington and his wife Martha lived first in New York City,...
-
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...
-
Musical Heritage at the White House
In June 2001, President Bush proclaimed the month of June, “Black Music Month,” encouraging “all Americans to learn more about the contri...
-
The Eisenhowers' Musical White House
While neither President nor Mrs. Eisenhower was especially knowledgeable in European classical music, they recognized the value of the music...
-
Dolley Madison Purchases a Music Collection
Dolley Madison, wife of James Madison, was one of early America’s most gracious hostesses. Through Benjamin Latrobe, she purchased a...
-
Military Influence on White House Musical Performances
As the war in Europe cast its shadow over the capital’s social life, White House entertaining diminished. But one ev...