Aretha Franklin, Yo-Yo Ma to perform at presidential inauguration
Last Updated: Wednesday, December 17, 2008 | 5:35 PM ET
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Aretha Franklin, shown singing at New York's annual Christmas tree lighting on Dec. 4, will be a featured performer at Barack Obama's inauguration. (Mary Altaffer/Associated Press)Aretha Franklin will sing, Yo-Yo Ma and Itzhak Perlman will play and two San Francisco children's choirs will perform as part of the 56th presidential inauguration on Jan. 20.
President-elect Barack Obama's inauguration ceremony also includes performances by two military bands and prayers and invocations from two prominent preachers.
Two youth journalists will cover the whole event for the underage set as Nickelodeon TV sends its cameras to a presidential inauguration for the first time.
The organizers of the Washington, D.C., inauguration released a full program on Wednesday.
The oath of office will be administered to vice president-elect Joseph Biden by associate justice of the Supreme Court John Paul Stevens.
Obama's oath of office will be administered by Chief Justice John G. Roberts, just before Obama gives his inaugural address.
Musical selections will be performed by:
- Aretha Franklin.
- John Williams, composer/arranger.
- Itzhak Perlman on violin.
- Yo-Yo Ma on cello.
- Gabriela Montero on piano.
- Anthony McGill on clarinet.
Poet Elizabeth Alexander, a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, will also read a work for the occasion.
The United States Marine Band, called "The President's Own," will perform as will the U.S. Navy Band Sea Chanters chorus.
The choice of Rev. Joseph Lowery, co-founder of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, to give the benediction may be controversial — he castigated President George W. Bush publicly at Coretta Scott King's funeral just two years ago.
The other prominent preacher to speak is Rick Warren of Saddleback Church in California, who is also leader of the Purpose Driven Network of churches.
Phil Collins's daughter, Lily, will host segments on the presidential inauguration for children's network Nickelodeon. (Associated Press)Children's network Nickelodeon TV is covering the inauguration for the first time, in part because of the success of its online election for kids.
More than 2.2 million children voted on a Nickelodeon website for their preference for president ahead of the real poll.
J.J., a young TV host and comedian, and Lily Collins, the 19-year-old daughter of singer Phil Collins, will cover the inauguration for Nickelodeon. They also covered the leadership campaigns and election.
Nickelodeon won't cover the event live, but excerpts of the speech will be packaged in short segments for the children's network.
There will also be a little history slipped in with a retrospective of past presidents taking the oath of office.
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