Art Share In the White House!!!!

Hey Jaye Scribers!!!!!!!!!!  It has been a very busy year and we're already in MARCH!!!  Can you believe it?!?!  Well my lovely Scribers, for those of you that know, I often talk about a wonderful Non-Profit that I work with called Art Share Los Angeles.  They are an Arts non-profit that offers free classes in Dance, Theatre, Music, Fine Art & Tutoring.  Just last week it was my pleasure to chaperon 5 Art Share students to Washington, DC for a music initiative to teach America's youth about the importance and history of music.  Presidant & First Lady Obama and The Grammy Museum teamed up to create a program that has been in existance for the last year to bring students all over the U.S. to the White House to experience history in the making.  These students were chosen to not only attend this wonderful trip but to document it and share some of their personal stories and experience in an effort to show what music and opportunities like these do for their lives.  

On February 25th over 40 students from LA, Detroit, Chicago and DC sat in the White House listening to Michelle Obama talk about the importance of music in our schools and most importantly in our lives.  Explaining that her and her husband long to find opporunities to open the White House to the people, she could find no better way to do that than through music.  As we sat in front of a panel that included Berry Gordy (creator of Motown Records), Smokey Robinson (Motown Recording Artist) and John Legend (Recording Artist) students learned about the history of the soulful and social movement of music that was and is Motown Records.  Learning about how legends such as Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye, the Supremes and the Temptations got started and what their music did for America in bridging gaps between races, cultures and countries.  After an insightful Q&A with the panel we enjoyed soul filled performances from John Legend and Nick Jonas of the Jonas Brothers.    

Later that evening the students were invited to the Executive Building in DC to watch a live concert hosted by President and First Lady Obama giving tribute to Motown greats.  Performers included: John Legend, Jamie Foxx, Ledisi, Amber Riley, Sheryl Crow, Natasha Bedingfield, Jordin Sparks and many more. 

While touring the city, visiting the White House and bonding with one another we definitely created a plethora of unforgettable memories that we all will take with us for a very long time.

~Till Next Blog I'm Danyol Jaye with The Jaye Spot~