Bill Clinton

“ Classical music is a celebration of artistic excellence. Great art endures through the ages, and in the United States we have embraced that great music and incorporated it into the American experience. Our best art reflects our Nation's spirit-that mixture of discipline and improvisation, the combination of strong individual voices working together at the same time, the bravado, the inventiveness, the dynamism of the American character. ”

“ Whether in new American works or in the masterpieces of the great composers of old, music is a unifying force in our world, bringing people together across vast cultural and geographical divisions. Classical music speaks both to the mind and to the heart, giving us something to think about as well as to experience. ”

“ A Proclamation In the symphony halls of our great cities across America, in the community centers of our small towns, on radio and in recordings, a note is played that began centuries ago and resounds to this day. At the heart of classical music is continuity and tradition. ”