Kennedy Center to Begin Every Symphony Performance with National Anthem Ahead of America’s 250th
The Kennedy Center will open every National Symphony Orchestra performance with the Star-Spangled Banner during its 2025–2026 season, a symbolic move timed to honor America’s 250th birthday and a larger cultural shift underway at the Washington, D.C., arts institution under President Donald Trump’s leadership.
Kennedy Center President Ric Grenell confirmed the change to The Daily Wire, stating plainly: “The National Symphony should be playing the National Anthem.”
This new tradition comes amid sweeping reforms at the iconic venue, now chaired by President Trump himself, who has promised to “end wokeness” at the Kennedy Center. Grenell was appointed to lead the turnaround earlier this year, and the patriotic addition to the concert repertoire marks one of several highly visible changes to restore the Center’s connection to American values and tradition.
Founded in 1931, the National Symphony Orchestra performs roughly 150 times a year. The move to open every concert with the National Anthem is expected to begin this fall and continue through the nation’s Semiquincentennial in July 2026.
From Drag Shows to Patriotic Reform
The Trump administration’s oversight of the Kennedy Center began in earnest after revelations about controversial programming, including drag performances aimed at youth. In February, Trump made clear that those days were over.
“At my direction, we are going to make the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., GREAT AGAIN,” he wrote. “Just last year, the Kennedy Center featured Drag Shows specifically targeting our youth — THIS WILL STOP.”
The left reacted with outrage, including bizarre protests performed through interpretive dance. But Trump’s appointees have moved ahead with their plans to shift the cultural direction of the institution.
Financial Cleanup Underway
Beyond cultural changes, serious fiscal reforms are also taking place. The Kennedy Center is currently $40 million in debt, according to Chief Financial Officer Donna Arduin, who exposed major financial misrepresentations by the previous administration.
“The former leadership built a broken budget with an operating deficit of 100 million dollars and a bottom-line deficit of 26 million dollars,” Arduin said. “Board members were led to believe there was a balanced budget when there was $26 million in false funds.”
She confirmed the newly adopted Fiscal Year 2025 budget is now “truly balanced.”
Grenell has also overseen a reduction in executive compensation. He hired new department heads at lower salaries and took a significantly reduced salary himself compared to the former president of the Kennedy Center.
A New Era of Accountability
Arduin says the new team will implement business-minded practices and performance goals, aimed at restoring donor and public trust.
“The Kennedy Center will adopt business practices with performance goals to bring accountability to our patrons and philanthropists,” she stated.
The addition of the National Anthem before every concert is just one sign of the patriotic transformation underway — and part of a larger push by the Trump administration to reclaim national institutions in the lead-up to America’s 250th birthday.