According to Consequence, singer-songwriter, composer and former National Symphony Orchestra Artistic Advisor Ben Folds wrote an open letter calling for an “outpouring of public support” for the NSO. Folds stepped down from his role at the NSO last year after President Trump installed himself as the chairman of the Kennedy Center. The president recently failed to add his own name to that of the center’s, looking for it to be renamed “The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.” In his letter, Folds specified that his decision to step down from his advisorial position at the NSO came from the president’s imposition on the environment and the political associations the position held as a result.
“I would have loved to stay on, but any artist such as myself who associated with the newly politicized Kennedy Center risked being used as a political pawn, implicitly siding with the POTUS’s politics by association,” he wrote. “I wouldn’t have done that for either party. And my role was curatorial. How could I ask an artist to come perform there, putting themselves in danger of displeasing the President or a Kennedy Center director and finding themselves under attack from the right wing? Alternatively, how could I ask artists to come play but be careful what you say, finding themselves under attack from the left wing for implicitly siding with a politicized Kennedy Center? It was an impossible situation, and artists and audiences alike learned this the hard way over the past year.”
However, even after stepping down, Folds has remained steadfast in his support of the NSO and mentioned that he has been in contact with others at the orchestra since he left. In his letter, he also expressed deep concern for the well-being and future of the NSO, largely due to financial struggles the orchestra is currently facing.
“Currently, there’s no announcement for programming for the NSO’s upcoming season. All other orchestras have announced theirs by now because planning is always about 18 months ahead of performances. The NSO doesn’t even know if it has a home, given the previously announced two-year closure of the Kennedy Center. This is a very bad sign. Further, the tools for survival are entangled in the Kennedy Center’s legal and financial troubles. Tools such as the NSO’s endowment fund, which is tied to a bank note […] it’s been suffocated by the financial turmoil that resulted from the presidential takeover.”
Folds went on to outline specific action steps for the public to take. He separated his calls to action into sections for those interested in the arts, journalists, donors, and general citizens. From the general public, Folds called for vocal support, listing examples such as posting and commenting on social media, as well as asking individuals to write to the NSO to express their support personally. He also asked people to write to their representatives to demand safeguards protecting federal arts institutions from political takeovers and to require that the director of the Kennedy Center have appropriate experience in arts administration.
Folds went on to speak directly against the current director, calling him an “inept director who doesn’t know this business and spends time attacking people and artists who displease him or the president.” He ended the letter by emphasizing the importance of the NSO and again calling for public support.
“I’ve been saying for years that the symphony orchestra institution was itself a symbol of civilization,” he wrote. “For us to strive to work together for the greater good, we need to see that in action, and symphony orchestras do this every night […] this threat is happening now, and our National Symphony Orchestra needs us.”
Photo Credit: Sharon Alagna
Leave a Comment