Credit...Eric Lee for The New York Times
Kennedy Center’s Christmas Eve Jazz Show Canceled After Trump Name Added to Building
Chuck Redd, a jazz musician, said he canceled his annual concert after President Trump’s name was affixed to the Washington building’s facade.
by https://www.nytimes.com/by/francesca-regalado · NY TimesAn annual Christmas Eve jazz concert scheduled for Wednesday at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts was canceled by its host after a board appointed by President Trump added his name to the building.
Chuck Redd, a musician who has hosted the show for nearly a decade, said that he decided last Friday to call off the performance after learning that the name was being changed on the building in Washington.
Last week, the center’s board, chaired by Mr. Trump, announced that the Kennedy Center would be renamed the Trump Kennedy Center. Early this year, the Trump administration removed board members appointed by President Joseph R. Biden Jr., including its chairman David M. Rubenstein, and replaced them with people handpicked by Mr. Trump.
Mr. Trump’s name was added to the building’s facade on Friday, and the center’s website has been updated to reflect the new name. Representative Joyce Beatty, Democrat of Ohio, sued Mr. Trump on Monday, claiming that an act of Congress is required to rename the building.
Congress designated the center as a “living memorial” to President John F. Kennedy in 1964. Relatives of the slain 35th president opposed the change in posts on social media.
Mr. Redd said seven musicians were scheduled to perform on Wednesday. The concert had been held at the Kennedy Center for 20 years and was previously hosted by the jazz bassist Keter Betts, who died in 2005. Mr. Redd took over in 2006.
The Kennedy Center did not immediately respond to a request for comment after business hours. It was unclear whether ticket holders for the jazz concert would receive refunds.