First Lady Michelle Obama Hosts Connick Jr. Talk with Music Students, 2/21

First Lady Michelle Obama will host Broadway star Harry Connick Jr. in a discussion with local music students at the White House on Sunday, February 21st. The event will serve as a preview to the talent that will be featured at the upcoming Governor's Ball.

The 3:00 PM event will feature Mrs. Obama giving welcoming remarks and turning the program over to Grammy Award Winning artist, Harry Connick Jr., who will discuss with students his visit to the White House and his career advice for them. Harry Connick Jr. and a few residents from the New Orleans Musicians' Village will close out the event by performing a song.

The Musician's Village was conceived by New Orleans native Harry Connick, Jr. in the wake of Hurricane Katrina to rebuild homes for many of New Orleans cherished but displaced artists, those who have defined the city's culture and created the sounds that have shaped the musical vernacular of the world.

A true American icon, there are few artists of Harry Connick, Jr.'s stature, and fewer still with such a comprehensive span of the entire realm of entertainment. His career has been studded with awards and recognition, including several multi-platinum and gold albums, Grammy and Emmy awards, a starring role in a Tony-winning Broadway musical and much more. Whether performing the American Songbook or in the jazz, blues or funk idiom, the process has yielded consistent success. For Your Songs, his newest collection on Columbia Records, Connick expands his vision to encompass 14 classic popular songs; his instrumental pallet through a striking integration of a string orchestra and his swinging Big Band.Musicians' Village, a cornerstone of the New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity (NOAHH) post-Katrina rebuilding effort, is designed to both construct a community and preserve a culture. Conceived by New Orleans natives Harry Connick, Jr. and Branford Marsalis, Musicians' Village will provide a home for both the artists who have defined the city's culture and the sounds that have shaped the musical vernacular of the world.

The core idea behind Musicians' Village is the establishment of a community for the city's several generations of musicians and other families, many of whom had lived in inadequate housing prior to the catastrophe and remain displaced in its aftermath. A central part of this vision is the establishment of a focal point for teaching, sharing and preserving the rich musical tradition of a city that has been done so much to shape the art of the past century. The concept was quickly embraced by NOAHH, the organization that has developed a model for building single-family homes that low-income families may purchase with zero-interest financing. In keeping with its commitment to build not just homes but communities, NOAHH has given its support to an effort that redefines neighborhood revitalization.

Musicians' Village is being constructed in the Upper Ninth Ward, where an eight-acre parcel of land was initially selected for the construction of 72 single-family homes built by volunteers, donors, sponsors and low-income families. As of September 2007, all 72 homes have either been completed or are under construction. In one of the project's innovative features, Musicians' Village will also provide elder-friendly duplexes for the senior members of the community, and, as of September 2007, drummer Bob French and guitarist Little Freddie King, have moved into their apartments.

Also part of the Musicians' Village effort is the inclusion of the Ellis Marsalis Center for Music, named in honor of the New Orleans native and legendary jazz pianist, educator and patriarch of the Marsalis clan. Focusing on the ethnically and culturally diverse musical heritage of the city, the Center will include a 150-seat performance space with state-of-the-art lighting and sound. The Center will also support the growth of emerging New Orleans talent and music by providing classrooms, technical and administrative support, and producing the accomplishments of its students. These facilities will be available for residents of Musicians' Village as well as artists and students citywide. Because of the Center's unique physical setting within the Musicians' Village, it will attract an exceptional group of students and teachers devoted to revitalizing the vibrant music scene in the Crescent City . The Center, an adjacent toddler park and the elder housing units will be administered by the newly created New Orleans Habitat Musicians' Village, Inc. On September 13, 2007, the ground breaking ceremony for the Center was marked by a musical celebration featuring Ellis, Harry, and Branford in performance with several musician residents of the Village.

For more information on the Musician's Village, visit www.nolamusiciansvillage.org.

 

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