The East Room of the White House was turned into a chamber ringing with classical music from celebrities such as violinist Joshua Bell on Wednesday as part of the fourth installment in First Lady Michelle Obama’s ongoing performance series.

President Barack Obama welcomed the hushed crowd, which included a handful of high school musicians and members of Congress, by telling those unsure of when to applaud during classical performances they were not alone.

Former President John F. Kennedy had the same problem, he said, until he enlisted his social secretary to discreetly signal him to clap.

“Fortunately, I have Michelle to tell me when to applaud,” he kidded. “The rest of you are on your own.”

The performance, which also featured Sharon Isbin teasing the themes of “Asturias” by Isaac Albeniz from her classical guitar and pianist Awadagin Pratt sneaking the melody of Hail to the Chief at the end of a piece, capped a day of master classes and workshops hosted by the First Lady for more than 100 student musicians at the White House.

During the evening performance 8-year-old Sujari Britt, from New York, played alongside renowned cellist Alisa Weilerstein, eliciting cheers from the audience and a standing ovation from Obama.

The concert airs on SIRIUS XM Radio’s Symphony Hall Channel over the weekend. The White House concert series kicked off in June focusing on Jazz.  Other concerts featured country and Latin music.

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Photo credit: REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst (The Obamas at White House classical music concert)

When President Barack Obama was running for president, he was heavily criticized by his rivals — including his current secretary of state, Hillary Clinton — for saying he would be willing to sit down with the leaders of countries like Iran.

Well, today is the day the United States takes part for the first time as a “full participant” in talks between Iran and six world powers to discuss Tehran’s nuclear program.

Obama is not participating but he will likely be closely following results of the one-day talks in Geneva. U.S. officials have said Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs William Burns — the head of the American delegation — would not actively seek a one-on-one meeting with Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator but would not reject one if the opportunity arose.

Though he’s not going to Geneva, Obama will jet over to Europe this evening for a brief, cameo appearance in Copenhagen, where he hopes his star power and charisma can help woo International Olympic Committee members and convince them to choose Chicago as the venue for the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Possibly as part of an effort to avoid criticism that he is skipping work to lobby for the Olympics, Obama will put in a full day at the White House — including Oval Office meetings with Clinton and Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner as well as a fundraising speech for the Democratic Governors Association — before setting off for Denmark, where he will be on the ground for just about 4 hours.

No incumbent U.S. President has ever addressed an IOC session before. A star-studded advance team including First Lady Michelle Obama, television star Oprah Winfrey and American Olympians have spent the last couple of days trying to win over votes in the hard-fought battle for the 2016 Games.

So what will Obama’s pitch be? Is there some surprise sports-related event that he’ll take part in to convince the IOC to pick Chicago instead of the other three finalists: Madrid, Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo?

Or will he spend his four hours in hyper campaign mode, speaking to as many people as possible and delivering emotional speeches on behalf of his home town?

By about 12:30 pm tomorrow (1630 GMT) we should know if his gamble paid off or if he might have just given his opponents some more fodder for criticism.

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Photo credits: Reuters/Dominic Favre/pool (Iran’s chief negotiator Saeed Jalili (2L) and delegation attend talks in Geneva); Reuters/Larry Downing (Obama uses a light saber to practice his fencing stance at a White House event)

Read the Web much and you might think first lady Michelle Obama’s vegetable garden has turned into a lead-laden nightmare that threatens to poison the first family and any stray child gardener who happens onto the White House grounds.
 
Not so says the first lady’s office.
 
The White House had the soil tested for safety purposes, and the results showed lead at 93 parts per million — higher than typical background levels in urban areas, but low enough not to be considered a health risk.
 
Penn State’s College of Agriculture Sciences, for example, says anything under 150 parts per million is either not contaminated or has very low lead contamination. It does not recommend any action for gardening in soils with those lead levels.
 
“The garden recently underwent extensive soil testing that proved it is completely safe,” said Katie McCormick Lelyveld, the first lady’s press secretary.
 
“A lead level of 93 parts per million is significantly better than the government standard for a garden like this. The White House Kitchen Garden Team is committed to producing fresh, safe and healthy food as a learning opportunity about healthy eating, and they’ll continue to do so.”
 
While the garden is often referred to as being organic, the White House says it his never made that claim. It takes three years to certify an organic garden, with different standards applying.
 
Children from Bancroft Elementary School helped Michelle Obama break ground on the garden back in March and returned in April to plant seedlings.
 
They were back again in mid-June for harvesting. The garden produced lettuce, snap peas, beans, kale, collards and chard, White House associate chef Sam Kass said at the time. It also has produced broccoli, green beans, an eggplant, a cucumber and herbs.
 
No chemicals, fertilizer or herbicides were used on the garden, though lime, greens and compost and crab shell meal were added to the earth.
 
Most food crops do well in slightly acidic soil. Adding lime reduces the soil’s acidity and also lowers the impact of lead. Greensand adds iron and potassium and other elements. Crab meal is rich in calcium, nitrogen and potassium, making it a good organic fertilizer.
 
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Photo credit: Reuters/Jonathan Ernst (Top: Obama harvesting garden with school kids in mid-June; Bottom: Obama planting herbs in early April)