GREEN & GLOVER: The sound of music

The sound of music

Her political party may have taken a beating Tuesday night, but first lady Michelle Obama certainly was not singin’ the blues on Wednesday.

Mrs. Obama, glowing in a silver dress, sparkling brooch and elegant updo, welcomed actresses Kerry Washington and Alfre Woodard and philanthropist Teresa Heinz Kerry, among other distinguished guests, to a White House ceremony where she handed out 2009’s Coming Up Taller Awards to arts education advocacy programs that serve disadvantaged youths. The 15 winners were selected from among 400 nominations.

“Welcome to the White House! I love saying that,” Mrs. O began. Teaching young people to sing, play instruments and recite Shakespeare not only empowers “the imagination” but also teaches “hard work and discipline,” she continued.

“If you ask a kid to dream, they’ll dream,” she said.

The first lady was joined onstage in the State Dining Room by Jim Leach, chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities, and George Stevens Jr., co-chairman of the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities.

Mr. Stevens is best known for his role as the producer of the Kennedy Center Honors, an annual event that pays tribute to artists who have made extraordinary contributions to their fields.

He quipped that he’s going to start calling the Kennedy medals “the Coming Up Taller Awards for seniors,” referring to the award recipients usually being a little long in the tooth.

The first lady warmly embraced the winners as they came onstage but seemed especially buoyed by the Chicago program, the National Museum of Mexican Art, as the recipients are from her hometown.

As soon as the first lady wrapped up the ceremony, she dashed across to the East Room, press pool in tow, to hear musicians, many of them children, play classical compositions as part of the White House Music Series.

Dubbed the “Classical Music Student Workshop,” the concert featured, among other musical prodigies, world-renowned violinist Joshua Bell and 8-year old cellist Sujari Britt, who, Mrs. Obama pointed out, is “the same age as Sasha,” her youngest daughter.

Next top designer

“Fierce!” - the favorite word of Christian Siriano, 23-year-old fashion designer and winner of season four of the hit show “Project Runway” - was heard more than a few times Tuesday night at the Corcoran Gallery of Art, where the pint-size prima donna was present for a discussion of his career and new book, titled, you guessed it, “Fierce Style: How to Be Your Most Fabulous Self.”

The expressions “genius” and “fabulous” also peppered the conversation of the Annapolis native, who gabbed about everything from D.C. style (improving) and pop sensation Lady Gaga (he’s known her for years and styled her outfit for an appearance on the “Today” show) to his Halloween getup: Ariel from the 1989 Disney animated film “The Little Mermaid.”

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