Overview
- Ben Folds published an open letter on Tuesday urging urgent public and donor support because the National Symphony Orchestra faces an immediate survival crisis with no announced season and no clear venue for future performances.
- A federal judge recently ordered removal of President Trump’s name from the Kennedy Center and blocked some takeover measures, but that ruling does not yet restore the NSO’s operational stability and is expected to be appealed.
- Folds says the NSO’s funds are entangled with the Kennedy Center’s legal and financial troubles, including an endowment tied to a bank note that limits the orchestra’s access to emergency cash and hampers fundraising.
- Musicians have continued to perform despite declining ticket sales, staff cuts, and some resident companies leaving the building, and Folds warns dispersing the orchestra would leave talented players unemployed and weaken national cultural life.
- Folds called on journalists, donors, fans, and members of Congress to pressure for immediate aid and for rules that require future Kennedy Center leadership to have arts administration experience and legal safeguards to keep politics out of federal arts institutions.