by Frank James
The congressional committee handling the arrangements for President-elect Barack Obama's inauguration has released the program for the event which will include famous entertainers like Aretha Franklin, Yo-Yo Ma and Itzhak Perlman and a couple of well-known preachers, Rick Warren of Saddleback Church and Joseph Lowery, former head of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.
There'll be two childrens' choruses from San Francisco (Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, a former mayor of that city, chairs the committee) the U.S. Marine Band and the U.S. Navy Band Sea Chanters. It looks like musical groups from the other services didn't make the cut.
The poet will be Elizabeth Alexander, a finalist for the 2005 Pulitzer Prize.
Lowery may prompt a bad flashback for President Bush. It was the now 86-year old preacher who castigated Bush's policies at Coretta Scott King's funeral two years ago as Bush sat only a few feet away.
Here's the committee's press release:
For Immediate Release
Dec. 17, 2008
JCCIC ANNOUNCES INAUGURAL PROGRAM
Line-up Includes Musical Greats Aretha Franklin, Yo-Yo Ma and Itzhak Perlman
WASHINGTON, DC - Senator Dianne Feinstein, Chairman of the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, today announced the program for the 56th Presidential Inauguration, which will take place on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol on January 20, 2009.
"I am delighted to announce this superb line-up of participants in the 2009 inaugural ceremonies," said Senator Feinstein. "The inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama will be an event of historic proportion. It is appropriate that the program will include some of the world's most gifted artists from a wide range of backgrounds and genres."
The program participants were invited by the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies and chosen by the Chairman, the Presidential-elect and the Vice President-elect. In addition to Senator Feinstein, the members of the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies include: Senator Bob Bennett, Ranking Member of the Senate Rules Committee; Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid; Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi; House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer; and House Republican Leader John Boehner.
The order of the program will be as follows:
Musical Selections
The United States Marine Band
Musical Selections
The San Francisco Boys Chorus and the San Francisco Girls Chorus
Call to Order and Welcoming Remarks
The Honorable Dianne Feinstein
Invocation
Dr. Rick Warren, Saddleback Church, Lake Forest, CA
Musical Selection
Aretha Franklin
Oath of Office Administered to Vice President-elect Joseph R. Biden, Jr.
By Associate Justice of the Supreme Court
The Honorable John Paul Stevens
Musical Selection, John Williams, composer/arranger
Itzhak Perlman, Violin
Yo-Yo Ma, Cello
Gabriela Montero, Piano
Anthony McGill, Clarinet
Oath of Office Administered to President-elect Barack H. Obama
By the Chief Justice of the United States
The Honorable John G. Roberts, Jr.
Inaugural Address
The President of the United States, The Honorable Barack H. Obama
Poem
Elizabeth Alexander
Benediction
The Reverend Dr. Joseph E. Lowery
The National Anthem
The United States Navy Band "Sea Chanters"
Biographies
Elizabeth Alexander is a poet, essayist, playwright, and teacher. She is the author of four books and was a finalist for the 2005 Pulitzer Prize. She has received many grants and honors, most recently the Alphonse Fletcher, Sr. Fellowship for work that "contributes to improving race relations in American society and furthers the broad social goals of the U.S. Supreme Court's Brown v. Board of Education decision of 1954," and the 2007 Jackson Prize for Poetry. She is a professor at Yale University and was a fellow at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University this year.
Aretha Franklin is often described as "The Queen of Soul." In a career spanning more than 50 years, she has earned a reputation as one of the greatest singers of our time, with a repertoire that includes soul, jazz, rock, blues, pop, and gospel. Franklin has won 21 Grammy Awards, including the Living Legend Grammy and the Lifetime Achievement Grammy. In 1987 she became the first woman to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Other awards include the National Medal of Arts, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and the Kennedy Center Honors.
The Reverend Dr. Joseph E. Lowery, considered the dean of the civil rights movement, co-founded along with Martin Luther King, Jr., the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and served as president and chief executive officer from 1977 to January 15, 1998. He served as pastor of Atlanta's oldest predominantly Black United Methodist congregation, Central Methodist Gardens for 18 years, and as pastor of Cascade United Methodist Church from 1986 to 1992.
Anthony McGill is the principal clarinetist of the New York Metropolitan Orchestra, a member of the Peabody Conservatory faculty in clarinet, and a much sought after soloist and chamber musician. A graduate of the Curtis Institute, he is a recipient of the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant, a program designed to provide support for up-and-coming instrumentalists. He has performed at many music festivals, and appeared as a soloist with the symphony orchestras of Baltimore, New Jersey, and Hilton Head, and performed at Lincoln Center as a member of Chamber Music Society Two. McGill has also toured Europe and Japan with a chamber ensemble including Mitsuko Uchida and members of the Brentano String Quartet.
Yo-Yo Ma is a world renowned cellist, educator, and ambassador for the arts. His recordings are among the most successful recordings in the classical field, and reflect his wide-ranging interest in many musical genres and traditions. He began studying the cello at age four. He studied at the Juilliard School, and is a graduate of Harvard University. His awards include the Avery Fisher Prize, the Glenn Gould Prize, and the National Medal of the Arts. Appointed a CultureConnect Ambassador by the United States Department of State in 2002, Yo-Yo Ma has met with, trained, and mentored thousands of students worldwide. In 2006, Secretary General Kofi Annan named him a U.N. Messenger of Peace, and in 2007 Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon extended his appointment.
Gabriela Montero is a pianist known both for her impeccable classical playing and her improvisational gift. Montero gave her first public performance at the age of five. At age eight she made her concert debut with the Venezuelan Youth Orchestra, and was granted a scholarship to study in the United States. At twelve she won the Baldwin National Competition and AMSA Young Artist International Piano Competition. She won the Bronze Medal at the 13th International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw in 1995, and since then has played at recital halls and festivals around the world. Her recordings include both performances of well known classical compositions, as well as improvisations on themes by Bach and other classical composers.
Itzhak Perlman is one of the greatest violinists of our time. Following his training at the Academy of Music in Tel Aviv and the Julliard School, Perlman won the prestigious Leventritt Competition in 1964. Since then, Perlman has performed with every major orchestra throughout the world. He has also conducted orchestras including the Berlin Philharmonic, the London Philharmonic, the Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Israel Philharmonic, the Chicago Symphony, and the New York Philharmonic. He has won 15 Grammy Awards, four Emmy Awards, and numerous other awards including the Kennedy Center Honors, the National Medal of Arts, and the Medal of Liberty, presented by President Reagan in 1986 to honor the nation's most distinguished naturalized citizens during the centennial celebration of the Statue of Liberty. Perlman is also an educator, teaching at the Perlman Music Program and the Juilliard School, where he holds the Dorothy Richard Starling Foundation Chair.
Dr. Rick Warren founded Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California, in 1980 with one family. Today, it is an evangelical congregation averaging 22,000 weekly attendees, a 120-acre campus, and has more than 300 community ministries to groups such as prisoners, CEOs, addicts, single parents, and those with HIV/AIDS. He also leads the Purpose Driven Network of churches, a global coalition of congregations in 162 countries. TIME magazine named him one of "15 World Leaders Who Mattered Most in 2004," and in 2005 one of the "100 Most Influential People in the World."
The San Francisco Boys Chorus (SFBC) was founded in 1948 and has become an internationally acclaimed Grammy-award winning organization. The chorus has over 240 singers from 50 Bay Area cities and more than 120 schools at three Bay Area campuses. SFBC has toured in four continents where they performed for dignitaries such as: Pope John Paul II, HRH Queen Elizabeth II of England, King Carl XVI Gustav of Sweden, HM Prince of Wales, the President of the former Soviet Union, and U.S presidents. SFBC celebrated their 60 year anniversary this year.
The San Francisco Girls Chorus (SFGC) is comprised of more than 300 singers, ages 7-18, from 160 schools in 44 Bay Area cities. SFGC was founded in 1978 and has become a regional center for choral music education and performance. The Chorus can also be heard on several San Francisco Symphony recordings, including three Grammy Award-winners. In 2001, SFGC became the first youth chorus to win the prestigious Margaret Hillis Award given annually by Chorus America to a chorus that demonstrates artistic excellence, a strong organizational structure, and a commitment to education.
The United States Marine Band, founded in 1798 by an Act of Congress, is America's oldest professional musical organization. Also called "The President's Own," the Marine Band is celebrated for its role at the White House and its dynamic public performances. The Marine Band performs a varied repertoire including new works for wind ensemble, traditional concert band literature, challenging orchestral transcriptions, and the patriotic marches that made it famous. The band frequently features its members in solo performances that highlight their virtuosity and artistry.
The United States Navy Band "Sea Chanters" is the official chorus of the United States Navy. In 1956, Lt. Harold Fultz, then the Band's assistant leader, organized an all male group of singers from the Navy School of Music in Anacostia for the State of the Nation dinner. The group was an instant success, so Admiral Arleigh Burke, Chief of Naval Operations, transferred them to the Navy Band, named them the "Sea Chanters," and gave them the mission of carrying on the songs of the sea. Women joined the "Sea Chanters" in 1980. The chorus appears throughout the United States and has also sung with the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra, the Baltimore Symphony, and the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra.
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Comments
Yo Yo and Itzhak rock! I don't notice any jazz in the program, tho. A shame.
Posted by: MJ | December 17, 2008 3:07 PM
It is worth noting here that famed folksinger and storyteller Odetta was supposed to be part of Obama's inaugural program, but she passed away in New York less than one month ago. Odetta had taken part in John F. Kennedy's inaugural in 1961, and had sung on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial as part of the March on Washington in 1963 that included Martin Luther King's "I Have A Dream" speech. Odetta influenced countless young musicians of the 1960s, include Joan Baez and Bob Dylan. Dylan is noted for having said that Odetta was his first folk music influence, even before he discovered the recordings of Woody Guthrie. A great woman was Odetta. Ironic that she would pass away just a few weeks shy of being able to take part in this historic event.
Posted by: cdub | December 17, 2008 4:20 PM
Rick Warren? If I were any of those other people I would refuse to perform on the same stage.
Posted by: Cheryl | December 17, 2008 4:22 PM
CHERYL: You are too polite, but I agree wholeheartedly with your sentiments.
Posted by: barkleyg | December 17, 2008 4:49 PM
I agree...Rick Warren??? I would imagine it would be more prolific if you had Rick Warren and Bishop Gene Robinson doing the invocation together. THAT would be a much better picture....
Posted by: Sarah | December 17, 2008 5:37 PM
At first hearing that ole Rick Warren was to be included ruffled my feathers a bit too, but the beauty in this is that ole Pastor Rick gets to see that our God is truly in control and able.
I was put off a Rick Warren pastor's and church lay workers discussion site because I did not think like they and questioned them on what Jesus really said. Those were some of the most hateful and ignorant folks, but see WE are not like them; are we?
Let ole Rick pray that God's will be done as President-Elect Obama, who has more of Jesus' love in him than many who pound on their Bibles, is sworn in as our next President.
After that Saddleback forum and then all the following interviews Rick did, esp. on Fox News, where showed Obama no Christian love and displayed his intolerance I knew what was up with him.
He goes to Africa and ministers to all the HIV babies, yet how many LA area HIV babies are welcomed into his church? How many American black folk are members of his church? I attend a mega in the Chicago area and I question them too on their contradictions.
Posted by: Pat W | December 17, 2008 8:53 PM
We are all born without some choices; for instance, skin color, and sexual orientation. I did not need to be told by some someone talking to God for me what path I should take. Not only is this true for me but I know from first hand experience as being a teacher for forty years. People are what they are no matter how much they try to prove God wrong. I do not belong to any "organized" religion.But if I did, it would be something like Universal Unitarian. However, guess what, I talk to God most days, without the help of these so called "holy" people?
I think we should all tear off the bumper stickers and etc. and send them back to Obama with a picture of a shoe.
Posted by: artsmart | December 17, 2008 10:00 PM
Yes Cdub, I agree that Odetta is a big loss to everyone. MJ & Jazz?!?!? I would've figured christian rock ;~P Joking aside, folk rocks my world and I get my fix at www.folkalley.com
Posted by: Xcellentform | December 17, 2008 10:20 PM
Why am I getting an uneasy feeling in the bottom of my gut, about "business as usual" and "not change"????
Posted by: Tom Moore | December 17, 2008 10:55 PM
Again Obama is showing his true colors and snubbing the LGBT community by including Rick Warren, a central figure in the Prop 8 movement in California. Perhaps Obama is really a Republican in sheeps clothing? He has a lot of making up to the LGBT community already.
Posted by: Jeff | December 17, 2008 11:55 PM
Wilco and Neil Young. And Death Cab.
Posted by: Bubba | December 18, 2008 12:25 AM
Who cares where Aretha Franklin sings? More people are interested in hearing whether Blago will sing.
Posted by: Dr. Botkin | December 18, 2008 12:55 AM
Rick Warren is a saddening choice. I hope some of the performers do as Cheryl suggests and protest this hatemonger's participation in the inauguration. I'm becoming more disillusioned with Obama by the day.
Posted by: Jess | December 18, 2008 7:24 AM
Posted by: cdub | December 17, 2008 4:20 PM
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I love Odetta and miss her. May she rest in peace.
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Posted by: Xcellentform | December 17, 2008 10:20 PM
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Very droll, sir. Yes, Jazz. And it belongs in the Innaugural not just cuz I love it (reason enough) but because it stands alone among music as authentically, originally American.
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Posted by: Bubba | December 18, 2008 12:25 AM
.
Neil Young -- definitely. Wilco -- ehhh...
.
But what about the daddy of them all -- Bob Dylan?
Posted by: MJ | December 18, 2008 9:07 AM
While I disagree with Rick Warren on the Social issues in question I object to the comment that Rick Warren is a hate-monger. Reverend Warren has worked with many groups and persons he disagrees with on Social issues regarding important matters including AIDS, world health, and world poverty. His writings have been a source of comfort with many who disagree with him. He has dialogued with and spoke to groups who disagree with him. Differences on Social issues do not make one a hate monger,
Posted by: Jonathan Golden | December 18, 2008 9:32 AM
The old Shakesperian title, "Much Ado About Nothing" would seem to apply as would Lincoln's famous line about not being able to please all of the people all of the time. Yet I must admit I have an opinion, though not for any particular entertainer or type of music.
PLEASE, do not, by any stretch of the term "music, " include rap/hip-hop--the thug image it represents in the obnoxious noise it produces, the profane lyrics it's primarily oted for, and the rap sheets of so many of the rappers who spew it would serve only to denegrate the dignity that the occasion and the President represent.
Posted by: Richard Palzer | December 18, 2008 6:45 PM
Calling Rick Warren a hate monger are we? Because you disagree with him? He is entitled to his opinions like we all are. He has helped more people than you'll ever know, that is a safe bet. What have you done besides hate differences. Hippo-crits! Shame! Shame! Shame.
Maybe Rick and Rupal can pray together, would that make you feel better?
Posted by: Big Pancho | December 18, 2008 7:43 PM
BRAVO! Glad someone is truly tolerant and willing to put an honestly diverse Innaguration together. Those who preach tolerance should include everyone - even us persecuted Christians!
Posted by: Arlene MTGC | December 18, 2008 10:12 PM
MJ,
Give Wilco a chance. Check out their live Chicago disk, Kicking Television. Or just see them live, way better than studio stuff.
Dylan for sure though.
Posted by: Bubba | December 18, 2008 11:21 PM
With the Rick Warren inclusion I'm losing the feeling that I had of Obama as someone who is setting a good example for kids and the rest of us.
Posted by: 60yearold | December 19, 2008 1:38 AM
I have been to Saddleback and I know all are welcome regardless of Color, Political preference, or sexual preference, the Church is a good Church with open arms to all, and the people that volunteer there have a good heart. I met Rick on the Patio and he was sincere and gracious. Relax everyone and enjoy the moment and have a Merry Christmas.
Posted by: Kevin B | December 19, 2008 4:11 AM
Bubba,
.
I'll admit that I never got past my very first impression of Wilco -- which was, not bad but I'm not sure what the excitement's about. More than one person has told me to listen more. My bad.
Posted by: MJ | December 19, 2008 7:40 AM
Dear Left,
We are in the driver’s seat right now. We have the power to invite the bigots to the table. That’s what Obama is about. This is what Martin Luther King did. You can’t wish the bigots away and you can’t really blow them up either. You start a movement where you win people over.
The Revolution Will be Televangelized!
-SheDonkey
Posted by: SheDonkey | December 19, 2008 8:05 PM
I think the stage is full of great people- Rick Warren included. Look what he has done for those afflicted with AIDS, (70% of all AIDS' victims in the US are gays). Rick Warren is doing his job as a pastor. I wonder if Jesus would be allowed to take the stage? Jesus said some very hard things, including all sex outside of a heterosexual marriage is out of God's will and sinful. Rick Warren is doing more for the gay community than most of his critics.
Posted by: Matthew | December 20, 2008 5:47 PM
I was always an Aretha fan, but I would prefer to remember her during her best years. Not such a great choice IMO.
I am not a fan of Rick Warren although much like Bush they both contributed greatly to fighting aids. However Warren's recent words about gays is very disturbing and thus would have been eliminated as a pastor if I was doing the choosing.
The two choirs from San Francisco shows pathetic bias. One choir not two from the same city.
Posted by: Susan | December 21, 2008 9:15 AM
Where is Mavis Staples? She's from Chicago, the campaign used her song & recording as a major theme, plus even the GOP has invited her to their inaugurations over the decades as a civil rights figure, but NOT Obama - go figure. I'm starting to lose faith in this guy bit by bit, but he remembers people like Rick Warren.
Posted by: Seadog | December 22, 2008 1:54 AM
aretha, you are my girl! anything you touch seems to soars and touch hearts. i love you! continue to do your deed for it is indeed a mighty one....soar on....i hope to one day have the honor of being in your presence.....god bless you
Posted by: larry e | January 20, 2009 12:18 PM
aretha, you are my girl! anything you touch seems to soars and touch hearts. i love you! continue to do your deed for it is indeed a mighty one....soar on....i hope to one day have the honor of being in your presence.....god bless you
Posted by: larry e | January 20, 2009 12:19 PM