Musician Béla Fleck Cancels Kennedy Center Appearance

Béla Fleck has canceled his upcoming appearance at Kennedy Center after a recent board vote resulted in former President Donald Trump’s name being attached to the institution.

In a statement shared on social media, Fleck explained his decision to withdraw from a scheduled performance with the National Symphony Orchestra.

“I have withdrawn from my upcoming performance with the NSO at The Kennedy Center. Performing there has become charged and political, at an institution where the focus should be on the music,” Fleck said. He added, “I look forward to playing with the NSO another time in the future when we can together share and celebrate art.”

As BroadwayWorld previously reported, the board overseeing Washington’s John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts voted on December 18 to rename the venue the Trump-Kennedy Center.

Several performance cancellations have occurred following the renaming decision, including those from dance company Doug Varone and Dancers and the Kennedy Center’s annual Christmas Eve jazz concert. The American College Theatre Festival has also suspended its affiliation with the Kennedy Center after nearly six decades of partnership.

Fleck is among several artists who have opted out of performing at the venue following the change. Wicked composer Stephen Schwartz recently told Deadline that he would not participate in a planned event later this year.

“I was part of the original event that opened the Kennedy Center, the Bernstein Mass,” Schwartz said in a statement. “The Kennedy Center was founded to be an apolitical home for artists of all nationalities and all ideologies. It is no longer apolitical, and appearing there has become an ideological statement. As long as that remains the case, I will not appear there.”

Jazz ensemble The Cookers also canceled a scheduled New Year’s Eve appearance. Other artists reported to have canceled appearances include Billy Hart, Chuck Redd, and Kristy Lee, among others.

The Kennedy Center has not issued a public response addressing the cancellations.