THE WHITE HOUSE TO WELCOME 130 STUDENTS FOR LATIN MUSIC HISTORY EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM

WASHINGTON, D.C. — One hundred thirty middle and high school students from schools in the Washington, D.C., area will participate in a Latin music educational program at the White House on Monday, September 16. In conjunction with a PBS music special Música Latina: In Performance at the White House, First Lady Michelle Obama will host “Celebrando el Ritmo Latino: The History of Latin Music,” a student workshop that will take place in the State Dining Room.

The event will be produced by The GRAMMY Museum and led by Robert Santelli, the museum’s executive director. A leading musicologist and music educator, Santelli will give the participating students an overview of the origins of Latin music, inform them about the elements of the genre, discuss how Latin music has been popularized in other parts of the world and examine the many subgenres that encompass the larger Latin genre. He will be joined by special music guests, including Lila Downs, Gloria Estefan, Emilio Estefan, Romeo Santos, and Marco Antonio Solís, who will share their experiences, answer student questions, and perform acoustic songs. The White House “Celebrando el Ritmo Latino: The History of Latin Music” workshop will be streamed live on www.whitehouse.gov/live.

Participating students are from Columbia Heights Educational Campus and Woodrow Wilson High School in Washington, D.C.; Sherwood High School in Sandy Spring, MD; and Washington-Lee High School in Arlington, VA.

This is the sixth educational workshop at the White House that The GRAMMY Museum has organized in cooperation with the In Performance at the White House concert series. Previous workshops have included “The Sound of Young America: The History of Motown” and “Soulsville, USA: The History of Memphis Soul.” The Latin music workshop will be supplemented with curriculum and additional educational materials from The GRAMMY Museum’s education department, and the White House’s live stream will be available for students from around the country to watch in their classrooms. A downloadable curriculum and educational materials for middle and high school teachers will be available at www.grammymuseum.org.

Música Latina: In Performance at the White House, the PBS music special in the East Room of the White House, will be taped the same day the workshop takes place. The program will showcase Latin musical heritage, reflecting the influence of successive waves of immigration from all over the Americas and celebrating the beauty and diversity of Latin music. From the lively rhythms of Central America and the Caribbean to the haunting sounds of South America, Latin music is known for blending a wide variety of styles.

President and Mrs. Obama will host the concert in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month. The evening will include performances by Natalie Cole, Lila Downs, Gloria Estefan, Raul Malo, Prince Royce, Arturo Sandoval, Romeo Santos, Alejandro Sanz and Marco Antonio Solís. (Program subject to change.) The one-hour television special is part of the long-running PBS In Performance at the White House series, now in its 36th year. The program will premiere Tuesday, October 8 at 8 p.m. ET on PBS stations nationwide (check local listings). It will also be broadcast Sunday, October 13 via the American Forces Network to American service men and women and civilians at U.S. Department of Defense locations around the world.

Música Latina: In Performance at the White House is a production of WETA Washington, D.C., and Bounce, a division of AEG, in association with Latino Public Broadcasting. The executive producers are Dalton Delan and David S. Thompson of WETA, and the producers are Tim Swift and Kristi Foley of Bounce. The program director is Marty Pasetta Jr., and the music directors are Arturo Sandoval and Gregg Field. The series producer is Jackson Frost. Corporate funding is provided by The Lincoln Motor Company. Foundation support is provided by Anne Ray Charitable Trust and The Annenberg Foundation. Major funding is also provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, PBS and public television viewers.

For more information about Música Latina: In Performance at the White House, visit www.pbs.org/whitehouse. An electronic press kit, including downloadable talent photos for promotional use, is available at pressroom.pbs.org. To follow In Performance at the White House on Twitter, use hashtag #PBSipwh.

The GRAMMY Museum, paying tribute to music’s rich cultural history, is a one-of-a-kind, 21st-century Museum that explores and celebrates the enduring legacies of all forms of music, the creative process, the art and technology of the recording process, and the history of the premier recognition of excellence in recorded music — the GRAMMY Award. The GRAMMY Museum features 30,000 square feet of interactive and multimedia exhibits located within L.A. LIVE, the downtown Los Angeles sports, entertainment and residential district. Through thought-provoking and dynamic public and educational programs and exhibits, guests will experience music from a never-before-seen insider perspective that only The GRAMMY Museum can deliver.

WETA Washington, D.C., is the third-largest producing station for public television. Other WETA productions and co-productions include PBS NewsHour, Washington Week with Gwen Ifill, The Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize and documentaries by filmmaker Ken Burns, as well as historical specials such as the six-part Latino Americans, premiering September 17 on PBS stations nationwide. More information on WETA and its programs and services is available at www.weta.org.

PBS, with its over 350 member stations, offers all Americans the opportunity to explore new ideas and new worlds through innovative content. Each month, PBS reaches nearly 120 million people through television and almost 29 million people on digital platforms, inviting them to experience science, history, nature, and public affairs; to hear diverse viewpoints; and to take front row seats to world-class drama and performances. PBS has been consistently honored with the industry’s most coveted awards. Pre-K through 12th grade teachers turn to PBS for digital content and instructional tools that help bring classroom lessons to life. PBS’ children’s programming and its website, pbskids.org, are parents’ and educators’ most trusted partners in nurturing curiosity and the love of learning in children. More information is available at www.pbs.org, one of the leading dot-org sites on the Internet, or by following PBS on Twitter, Facebook or through apps for mobile devices.

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), a private, nonprofit corporation created by Congress in 1967, is the steward of the federal government’s investment in public broadcasting. It helps support the operations of more than 1,400 locally owned and operated public television and radio stations nationwide and is the largest single source of funding for research, technology, and program development for public radio, television and related online services. More information about CPB is available at www.cpb.org.

Latino Public Broadcasting (LPB) is a non-profit organization funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. LPB’s mission is to support the development, production, post-production, acquisition and distribution of non-commercial educational and cultural television that is representative of Latino people, or addresses issues of particular interest to Latino Americans. These programs are produced for dissemination to public broadcasting stations and other public telecommunication entities. LPB provides a voice to the diverse Latino community throughout the United States. More information on LPB and its programs and services is available at www.lpbp.org.

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