Ben FoldsWarns That the National Symphony Orchestra Faces Existential Threat Amid Kennedy Center Turmoil

Ben Folds highlighted the urgent challenges confronting the National Symphony Orchestra following Donald Trump’s restructuring of the Kennedy Center, as expressed in an open letter posted on Instagram.

“​The National Symphony Orchestra is in genuine peril — its very survival is uncertain, and no concrete plan exists to rescue it,” Folds wrote. Nevertheless, he added, “Public backing can reverse this trend.”

For Folds, the difficulties are deeply personal. In 2017 he was appointed the orchestra’s inaugural artistic adviser and later led the “Declassified” series, which reimagined classical and contemporary works with diverse collaborators. He stepped down in early 2025 after Trump assumed control of the Kennedy Center.

As Folds noted, the NSO presently has no programming slated for its upcoming season, owing to uncertainty about its venue after Trump announced plans to close the Kennedy Center for renovations. Although a recent court decision halted those plans and ordered Trump to remove his name from the building, Folds cautioned that “it is not a time for triumph” but rather a lengthy, complex effort to restore the organization’s stability. The Kennedy Center is expected to appeal the ruling.

Moreover, Folds observed that the NSO’s “tools for survival are entangled with the Kennedy Center’s legal and financial woes, including its endowment fund linked to a bank note.” He added that the orchestra has been “suffocated by the financial turmoil stemming from the presidential takeover.” (Fundraising and ticket sales have both plummeted since Trump assumed leadership last year.)

To strengthen the NSO, Folds advocated for increased media coverage of its plight and for more prominent Kennedy Center stories — such as the name‑change controversy — to be highlighted. He also urged donors to recognize that the orchestra “will require substantial support to regain its footing.”

He further called on the public to express support for the NSO, either through public comments or private correspondence, and stressed the need to contact congressional representatives to demand safeguards protecting the Kennedy Center and other federal arts institutions.

“​We require enforced independence for the arts from politics so that trust can be restored — trust that artists and audiences of all backgrounds can exchange ideas and works in an apolitical setting,” Folds wrote. “​Moreover, Congress and the Kennedy Center Board should establish guidelines mandating that future directors possess genuine arts‑administrative experience. We are witnessing the consequences when an incompetent director, ignorant of this field, uses his position to attack those who dissent from the President’s agenda. Audiences and artists consequently seek alternatives. This is hardly the way to run the Kennedy Center as a commercial venue.”