Kennedy Center Loses Head of National Symphony Orchestra

The National Symphony Orchestra's top executive is moving on, adding to the upheaval at the Kennedy Center. Jean Davidson, who has headed the NSO since 2023, said she will leave Washington at the end of March to become executive director and CEO of the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Los Angeles. "It has been a great honor serving the NSO," she said in an email to the Washington Post, adding, "It is no secret that it has been a hard year, though."

Among the disruptions was President Trump's announcement that he plans to close down the Kennedy Center for two years for remodeling, a decision that blindsided the orchestra's management and musicians. Also, a number of artists and productions have withdrawn from scheduled performances since Trump took over the venue. In January, the Washington National Opera announced it would cut ties with the center. Davidson said her new job will return her to her husband, their home in Los Angeles, and a familiar arts community. "I had intended to stay through the [orchestra's] 100th anniversary in 2031," she told the Los Angeles Times, "but found it more and more difficult to achieve the goals that we had set out to achieve given the external forces that are at work."