{"id":682231,"date":"2026-06-03T17:25:08","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T17:25:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/682231\/"},"modified":"2026-06-03T17:25:08","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T17:25:08","slug":"ben-folds-warns-that-national-symphony-orchestra-may-not-survive-amid-kennedy-center-chaos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/682231\/","title":{"rendered":"Ben Folds warns that National Symphony Orchestra \u2018may not survive\u2019 amid Kennedy Center chaos"},"content":{"rendered":"

The National Symphony Orchestra \u201cis in real trouble\u201d and \u201cmay not survive\u201d ongoing Kennedy Center chaos, Grammy-nominated alt rock pianist Ben Folds warned on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

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Folds, who resigned last year<\/a> from his role as artistic advisor to the NSO, urged orchestra fans to fight back with their voices.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur National Symphony Orchestra is in real trouble \u2014 it may not survive,\u201d Folds told fans via an open letter posted to social media on Tuesday.<\/a> \u201cThere\u2019s no plan or solution in sight to save the organization.\u201d<\/p>\n

Folds asked fans of orchestral music to express their support for the NSO on public forums and to call members of Congress to \u201cdemand safeguards against this ever happening again to the Kennedy Center or any other federal arts institutions.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cThe public can turn the tide with overwhelming support,\u201d he added. <\/p>\n

The \u201cBrick\u201d<\/a> and \u201cUnderground\u201d <\/a>artist worries that the orchestra is on the verge of homelessness.<\/p>\n

The orchestra has handful of dates set <\/a>for June, but nothing beyond.<\/p>\n

\u201cCurrently there\u2019s no announcement for programming for the NSO\u2019s upcoming season,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll other orchestras have announced theirs by now because planning is always about 18 months ahead of performances. The NSO doesn\u2019t even know if it has a home, given the previously announced two-year close of the Kennedy Center.<\/a>\u201d<\/p>\n

The Kennedy Center has been rocked by ongoing opposition from the arts community over President Donald Trump\u2019s bid to have the famed concert hall named after himself.<\/p>\n

A federal judge last week ordered the administration<\/a> to remove the president\u2019s name from the venue\u2019s title and to halt the planned two-year closure for renovations.<\/p>\n

In Trump\u2019s second administration,<\/a> GOP political operative Richard Grenell and facilities operations veteran Matt Floca have served as Kennedy Center executive directors. <\/p>\n

Folds wrote that \u201cwe need Congress and the Kennedy Center Board to create guidelines requiring any future director of the Kennedy Center to have actual experience in arts administration.\u201d<\/p>\n

Representative for the Kennedy Center and the White House could not be immediately reached for comment on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

Ticket buyers and big name acts <\/a>have been steering clear of the Kennedy Center in Trump\u2019s second term.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can see now what happens when an inept director who doesn\u2019t know this business and spends time attacking people and artists who displease him or the President,\u201d Folds wrote.<\/p>\n

\u201cAudiences go elsewhere. So much for running the Kennedy Center like it was any other commercial venue.\u201d <\/p>\n