Overview
- Béla Fleck withdrew from three February National Symphony Orchestra dates, saying performing at the venue has become “charged and political.”
- The Kennedy Center updated its program, noting Fleck’s withdrawal and listing NSO principal clarinet Lin Ma to perform Aaron Copland’s Clarinet Concerto in his place.
- Kennedy Center president Richard Grenell publicly rebuked Fleck on X, accusing him of yielding to a “woke mob” and insisting the institution welcomes all audiences.
- Fleck joins a growing list of cancellations that includes Stephen Schwartz, the Cookers, Doug Varone and Dancers, Chuck Redd and others following the December name change.
- The renaming—announced by the White House after the board vote and reflected on building signage—is facing a court challenge, as legal observers and Kennedy family members say only Congress can change the memorial’s name.