Ben Folds has warned that the United States’ National Symphony Orchestra could cease to exist if urgent action is not taken to address the fallout from the ongoing upheaval at Washington D.C.’s John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
by Paul Cashmere
In an open letter published this week, the former National Symphony Orchestra Artistic Advisor said the orchestra’s future has become increasingly precarious following the political battles surrounding President Donald Trump’s takeover of the Kennedy Center earlier this year.
Folds, who resigned from his advisory role in February 2025 after Trump installed himself as chairman of the Kennedy Center, said the organisation’s problems extend far beyond the headlines generated by legal disputes over the venue itself. While recent court decisions have challenged aspects of the Kennedy Center’s new direction, Folds argued that attention is being diverted from a more immediate concern, the survival of the National Symphony Orchestra.
The musician said the orchestra currently has no announced programming for its upcoming season, an unusual situation in the orchestral world where planning often takes place 18 months or more in advance. According to Folds, uncertainty over the Kennedy Center’s future has left the orchestra without clarity about where it will perform or how it will operate in the coming years.
“Our National Symphony Orchestra is in real trouble, it may not survive,” Folds wrote. “There’s currently no plan or solution in sight to save the organisation.”
The former advisor said the orchestra’s financial position has become entangled with broader legal and economic issues affecting the Kennedy Center. He pointed to complications involving the orchestra’s endowment fund and described the organisation as being “suffocated” by the financial turmoil that has followed the presidential takeover.
Folds also warned against celebrating recent legal victories too early. Referring to court rulings that blocked proposed changes to the Kennedy Center, including efforts linked to Trump’s branding of the venue, he said the process of restoring stability would likely be lengthy and contentious.
“We all probably know there was a recent court ruling to remove the illegal addition of Trump’s name on the building and to restore political independence to the Kennedy Center,” Folds wrote. “This is good but not the time for a victory lap because it’s going to be a long messy process to get this all back to a healthy situation.”
The Kennedy Center controversy has become one of the most high-profile examples of the intersection between politics and the arts in the United States. Since opening in 1971, the venue has served as America’s national cultural centre, hosting major performances across music, theatre, opera and dance. The National Symphony Orchestra has been one of its cornerstone resident organisations for decades.
Folds served as Artistic Advisor to the NSO from 2019 until his resignation earlier this year. In his letter, he explained that remaining in the role became untenable as the Kennedy Center became increasingly politicised.
“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,” he wrote. “I wouldn’t have done that for either party.”
While Folds chose to step away, he noted that orchestra members did not have the same option. Resigning would simply have meant unemployment for the musicians, many of whom have continued performing despite the uncertainty surrounding the institution.
Folds singled out the orchestra’s 96 musicians for praise, describing them as professionals who have remained focused on their work despite dwindling audiences, staffing reductions and ongoing instability. He urged supporters to publicly back the orchestra, encouraged donors to remain engaged and called on journalists to continue covering the NSO’s situation rather than focusing exclusively on broader Kennedy Center disputes.
He also called for legislative safeguards to protect federal arts institutions from future political interference. Specifically, he argued that future Kennedy Center leadership should be required to have arts administration experience.
For Folds, the issue extends beyond one orchestra or one venue. He described symphony orchestras as symbols of civic cooperation and cultural health, warning that their decline can signal broader societal problems.
“As the politicization of the Kennedy Center makes it very difficult to attract audiences and artists, our methods of support are more limited,” he wrote. “But I say, let’s let them know we’re here and ready.”
His final warning was blunt.
“Otherwise, imagine a free western country, with no National Symphony Orchestra. It’s real.”
