Kennedy Center Cancels Performance of the Gay Men's Chorus of Washington After Trump's Takeover
After President Donald Trump was elected chair of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, many have speculated about what the embattled commander in chief would do with his new position. This week, one performing group got an answer.
On Wednesday (Feb. 19), the Gay Men's Chorus of Washington announced that the Kennedy Center had canceled its upcoming Pride Month performance of a show titled A Peacock Among Pigeons, based on the LGBTQ+-inclusive children's book of the same name. The concert, which was set to take place with the National Symphony Orchestra in May, was scheduled to kick of Washington, D.C.'s Pride celebrations ahead of the city hosting WorldPride 2025.
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'We are deeply disappointed with the news that our upcoming Pride performance with the National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) has been canceled,' the chorus wrote in a statement posted to its Instagram page. 'We believe in the power of music to educate and uplift, to foster love, understanding, and community, and we regret that this opportunity has been taken away.'
The organization continued, adding that they would still perform their rendition of the piece during the WorldPride festivities. 'While we are saddened by the decision, we are committed to this work and to our mission of raising our voices for equality for all,' the statement read. 'We are grateful to those who have supported us, and we will continue to seek spaces where our voices, our stories, and our music can be heard.'
Billboard has reached out to the Kennedy Center for comment.
The news comes just a few weeks after President Trump staged a dramatic takeover of the cultural institution. The president purged the Kennedy Center's board of 18 Democratic appointees while promising to install himself as chairman, added new members to the board more aligned with his politics, was unanimously named the new chairman and fired the Center's former president, Deborah F. Rutter.
In a statement given to NBC News, the National Symphony Orchestra's executive director Jean Davidson claimed that the decision to cancel A Peacock Among Pigeons was made prior to Trump's reshaping of the Kennedy Center's board. 'Before the leadership transition at the Kennedy Center, we made the decision to postpone [A Peacock Among Pigeons] due to financial and scheduling factors,' she said in a statement. 'We chose to replace it with The Wizard of Oz, another suitable program for World PRIDE participation.'
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