He performed John Williams ' `` Air and Simple Gifts '' at the inauguration ceremony for Barack Obama on January 20 , 2009 together with the violinist Itzhak Perlman , the pianist Gabriela Montero and the clarinettist Anthony McGill . He performed John Williams ' `` Air and Simple Gifts '' at the inauguration ceremony for Barack Obama on January 20 , 2009 , along with Itzhak Perlman ( violin ) , Gabriela Montero ( piano ) and Anthony McGill ( clarinet ) .