Deborah Rutter.
In Saturday’s (3/21) National Public Radio, Scott Simon interviews Deborah Rutter, former president of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Rutter departed the Kennedy Center last year and is now vice provost for the arts at Duke University. She previously held leadership positions at several American orchestras. Scott Simon: “We’re standing just outside of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., renamed the Trump Kennedy Center by President Trump, who says the center will close after July 4 this summer for two years of reconstruction…. Rutter: What I have been thinking about and saying is that for artists to do their work, they must feel complete freedom, safety and support. When an artist walks on a stage, they have to rip open their hearts, be as vulnerable as possible. And in order to do that, they have to feel safe. They have to be supported. And to the audience members, I say, follow the artist. You are the individual who has that personal taste, who has that interest, who is moved by that particular art form. Always follow the artist…. I think that [the Kennedy Center will have] a grand reopening…. This place is too important in this country.” Rutter will give the keynote address at the opening session of the League of American Orchestras’ 2026 National Conference. Learn more and register at https://leagueconference.org/.
