The Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington (GMCW) will perform at WE ARE ONE: THE OBAMA INAUGURAL CELEBRATION AT THE LINCOLN MEMORIAL, the Opening Celebration for the 56th Presidential Inaugural, on Sunday, January 18, 2009. The event will take place from 2:00-4:00 pm with an exclusive broadcast on HBO the same day (7:00-9:00 pm ET/PT). The event is free and open to the public, kicking off the most open and accessible Inauguration in history. This is the first time in American history that the GLTB Choral Movement will be represented at an inaugural ceremony. 100 GMCW members from the larger chorus of more than 225 singing members will perform. Both President-elect Barack Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden will be in attendance. An audience of 800,000 is expected at the Lincoln Memorial.
Musical performers scheduled for the event include Beyonce, Mary J. Blige, Bono, Garth Brooks, Sheryl Crow, Renee Fleming, Josh Groban, Herbie Hancock, Heather Headley, John Legend, Jennifer Nettles, John Mellencamp, Usher Raymond IV, Shakira, Bruce Springsteen, James Taylor, will.i.am, and Stevie Wonder. Among those reading historical passages will be Jamie Foxx, Martin Luther King III, Queen Latifah and Denzel Washington. The Rt. Reverend V. Gene Robinson will give the invocation. Rob Mathes will be the music director and arranger for the backing band, which will support all of the artists.
Oh, the calls and letters HBO will receive...I can hear the sound of wingnut heads exploding already.
And so it goes.
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In addition, an invitation-only, select group from the national Lesbian and Gay Band Association will march and play in the Inaugural Parade on Tuesday. That’s a first—and before a worldwide TV audience.
ReplyDeleteDo you know if HBO will open this broadcast to non-subscribers or if it will be broadcast on any other channels? We have satellite and we do not get HBO. I would love to DVR this.
ReplyDeleteLemuel, just look at http://www.hbo.com/events/weareone/ and you'll have your answer.
ReplyDeleteYou're not going to witness the festivities in person? Bummer.
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