Vance Booed at the Kennedy Center Concert

Vice President JD Vance faced a chorus of boos during a concert at the Kennedy Center on Thursday.

The children of renowned composer Leonard Bernstein—Nina Bernstein Simmons, Alexander Bernstein, and Jamie Bernstein—stated that their father’s music would still be featured at the Kennedy Center, despite the backdrop of controversy surrounding President Trump’s influence on music and arts venues.

In guest essays for the New York Times, Bernstein’s children remarked, “As President Trump took control of the Center and restructured its board, many artists protested by distancing themselves from the venue.” They shared that various friends and peers encouraged them to withdraw their father’s music from the gala program planned for Saturday.

Earlier this year, Trump dismissed the theater’s board and appointed new members aligned with his vision. In the fallout, several groups opposing the Trump administration chose to cancel their performances at the Center.

In a response to the ongoing debates, Bernstein’s children emphasized that their father would want his music to resonate at the Kennedy Center. “We pondered: What would our father do?” they reflected. “We believe he would want the music to be heard. Yet, as we see the ongoing attacks on civil rights and the Constitution, we feel it’s essential to express our values through his work.”

They added, “In these challenging times, many find solace in our father’s music, which embodies the spirit of freedom and aspiration.”

One of their main arguments for continuing to feature Bernstein’s music at the Center was to make a statement against Trump’s policies, reinforcing that music can serve as both comfort and a form of protest.