When the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. closed its doors on Sept. 15, it left an important American orchestra all but homeless.
The closure followed months of sinking ticket sales, boycotts and a legal battle in federal court over the addition of President Trump's name to the Kennedy Center's façade. Trump took control of the center in early 2025, after firing members of the organization's board of trustees and Kennedy Center president Deborah Rutter.
The 95-year-old National Symphony Orchestra has been performing in the Kennedy Center since it opened in 1971. Now, the musicians and their charismatic music director Gianandrea Noseda are musical nomads while the future of the arts complex, with its proposed renovations, remains uncertain. The new reality came as a shock to Noseda, the Italian conductor who has led the NSO for nine years.
"It was absolutely unexpected," Noseda admits. "The news of the closing of the Kennedy Center came like a cold shower. And my first reaction was, 'What will we do now if we don't have our home?'"
The NSO scrambled to find six alternative concert venues around the greater Washington, D.C. region, all the while hoping that at least part of its budget would remain intact while the string of Kennedy Center controversies continues to play out. It's a recipe ripe for disaster.
"The Kennedy Center is such a mess," says Anne Midgette, former classical music critic for The Washington Post. "I was very concerned that there might not be an NSO season. I was concerned there might not be an NSO — because the NSO is so bound up with the Kennedy Center."
Most symphony orchestras announce their upcoming seasons in early spring. But because the NSO had to wait for budget approval from the Kennedy Center Board of Trustees, the new season was revealed in mid-August. That was a short six weeks before the NSO's opening concert, which took place only 11 days after the Kennedy Center locked its doors.
On Sept. 26, Noseda and the musicians traveled to the Music Center at Strathmore, a hall in Bethesda, Md., north of Washington, where they opened their season with a mix of new music by Carlos Simon, surrounded with classics by Tchaikovsky and Respighi.
"Opening night was this wonderful but very bittersweet evening, where it was so great to see them together, but so amazing that this major orchestra in a major city has to be performing [outside] of its hall," Midgette says.
It's a significant blow to the finances and the morale of the orchestra that critics are saying has never sounded better.
"It's a huge setback in economic terms," Midgette says. "It's a much reduced season. On the other hand, it's a triumph that they were able to pull off a season at all under these circumstances. I think it will be really interesting in terms of their identity. Everybody has to question: 'What does this mean to us? How much do we want it?'"
A shock for the musicians and a test for audiences
It means a great deal to Rick Barber, the associate principal double bassist, who joined the NSO in 1995. Like Noseda, he didn't see the Kennedy Center closure coming.
"We were stunned at first, honestly," Barber says. "And the months after that, there was definitely a lot of uncertainty — I would say, anxiety." He doesn't believe the orchestra will fold. If anything, Barber is even more focused on the music.
"I'm like any other normal person when I'm going about my non-musical life — anxiety happens," he confesses. "I see the political divisions in our nation. But when I'm playing music, I don't think about those at all."
Perhaps the one person who gives Barber the most hope is Noseda — always the optimist. "The idea [is] to see the glass half full and not half empty. Let's try to reach out to new audiences in different places. So that was my way to approach the situation."
Noseda's most important approach to the situation was not to leave it. After Rutter was fired, Noseda might have looked for an exit. Instead, he extended his contract with the orchestra until 2031. "I thought that would have been a little bit too easy," Noseda says. "And may I use the word 'coward' — to leave that situation. When you are a music director, you are a leader, of course. But you have to serve the orchestra, the music and the community."
As rollicking music by Respighi capped off the opening night concert, a packed house in Bethesda roared with approval for Noseda and the NSO. You'd be tempted to think everything's going to be just fine. But is it?
"This is the $64,000 question," Midgette replies. "How many people really do care? How many people are vitally interested and invested in the orchestra? And I will say that this season, in all these different halls, is going to be a real acid test."
But the NSO is just one high-profile example of an even larger story. How much do Americans – right now – care about symphony orchestras? All around the country, symphonies are struggling financially and some, most recently the Phoenix Symphony, are shutting down. Part of the problem comes down to basic affordability.
"The simple realities of buying a ticket and getting yourself to hear something, if you don't have the gas and the groceries are expensive, is more challenging," Midgette notes. "We live in a really challenging time for the arts right now."
The NSO is, arguably, fighting for its life. This season it will play about half as many concerts as usual. Will audiences show up? And can the orchestra woo back the donors it lost? In August, The Washington Post reported that ticket revenue is expected to be down by about half and donations down by a quarter, in part due to massive cuts in the Kennedy Center's development department. Add to that the orchestra is without most of its former staff, including former executive director Jean Davidson, who left her position in March, citing the turmoil at the Kennedy Center as the prime reason for her departure.
"I think it's so hard to predict how it's all going to play out," Midgette says. "If the orchestra sticks together, yes, it will be one for the history books."
The upbeat Noseda finds strength in the power of what the orchestra produces. "I suspected that we had to go through challenging times, but I strongly believe in the value of the art, and the music can really still bring people together."
It's unclear how long Noseda and his NSO players will be out of the Kennedy Center and on the road. It could be a long journey, but one that may make them stronger.
Copyright 2026 NPR
