As some institutions and individuals have headed for the exit door at the beleaguered Kennedy Center, the National Symphony Orchestra has thus far stayed put, after a 55-year association. But the NSO’s director, Jean Davidson, is moving on, having resigned to get some distance from the toxic situation in D.C. and take a new job at the Wallis in Beverly Hills.
Davidson has been named executive director and chief executive of the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, effective May 4, the performing arts center announced Friday.
In interviews with newspapers on both coasts, Davidson made it clear that leaving her role with the NSO was partly due to the excitement of a new opportunity in Los Angeles but also partly from weariness over the politicization of what is now being referred to by loyalists to the president as “the Trump Kennedy Center.”
“It’s no secret that this has been a really hard year,” Davidson told the New York Times “So I started looking for a new opportunity several months ago… I had hoped to stay through the 100th anniversary of the N.S.O. in 2031.” She had been appointed executive director of the orchestra just three years ago.
Davidson told the L.A. Times that she “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 that are just so far beyond my control.”
Among the thing she was unhappy with, she told the New York Times, was the lack of information flowing from the new board of the Kennedy Center, installed by the Donald Trump administration. “There’s been a lot of change going on, and there’s not a lot of communication, We are finding out things through the press — at the same time as everyone else. Like the center closing on July 4. … I didn’t see how I could be effective as a leader in the current climate.”
The president recently announced that the Kennedy Center, which he described as dilapidated, would be shutting down for two years for a thorough $200 million renovation (while promising that the exterior of the building would remain intact). The move followed constant news reports of artist cancellations at the center — along with the January announcement of the exit of decades-long partner the Washington National Opera — and weakened ticket sales when the venue is not dark altogether, at least partly due to boycotts by former patrons objecting to the Trump takeover.
The NSO is reported to be looking for new venues to host its schedule, which is typically set years in advance and includes about 180 performances a year. “Usually orchestras will plan for being out of their hall years in advance, and we only have months to do that, so it is causing a bit of strain,” she told the L.A> Times. “I think the most important thing is that our audiences and donors continue to support the NSO during this transition period.”
Davidson told the New York Times that she expects the NSO to outlast the current turmoil: “The orchestra has never sounded as great as it sounds now,. Gianandrea (Noseda, the music director) is very committed. Musicians still want to play with us. It’s a great orchestra. But we need Washington — donors, audiences — to support the orchestra for it to survive.”
Davidson is returning to the Los Angeles area after previously serving at the Music Center as president-CEO of the Los Angeles Master Chorale from 2015-2023, just prior to taking her role at the Kennedy Center.
The Wallis’ announcement about the new appointment credited Davidson with having “introduced an international touring model, produced major recordings, and guided the Chorale through the pandemic, securing over $2 million in federal and local support.” Additionally, the Wallis noted, “during her tenure there, she increased contributed revenue by 48% in four years, led a successful strategic planning process, negotiated key labor agreements and advanced a comprehensive rebranding that repositioned the organization.”
Davidson also served as associate consultant for the DeVos institute of Arts Management from 2015-2018; was the founding CEO of New York Live Arts from 2011 to 2015; and was the founding managing director of the Silk Road Project from 2001-2005, among other roles.
The Wallis opened in 2013 in a 70,000-square-foot facility that was built in and around a historically landmarked building, the former 1934 Beverly Hills Post Office. It includes 500-seat and 15o-seat theaters and has hosted nearly 500 performances in the realm of theater, dance, music and other arts since its opening.
“I think anytime you’re starting a new role, there’s a lot of learning that needs to occur,” Davidson said to the L.A. Times. “And I’m not somebody that is prone to walking in with a big vision that’s going to suddenly change course. I think they’ve been doing a lot of great work and so I’m looking forward to collaborating with the team that’s there — to learn and to create a shared vision for the future.”
The current Kennedy Center leadership appears to have no regrets about the public backlash to the “Trump Kennedy Center” rebranding (which is being challenged legally, since authorities claim it would take an act of Congress to rename a national monument to a deceased president). Just over a week ago, the center’s president, Richard Grenell, revealed that the annual “Kennedy Center Honors” awards program would be getting its own new name, “The Trump Kennedy Center Honors.” He added that the show would be looking for a different and probably smaller venue while the host building is being reconstructed over the next two years.
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