National Symphony Orchestra keeps rehearsing in Kennedy Center despite Trump's safety warnings

Left · 2The National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) is still using the Kennedy Center's main concert hall as a regular rehearsal space, according to the New York Times, as relayed by Raw Story and The Independent. 1 2 Left · 1On "most weekday mornings", about 100 musicians arrive to prepare for upcoming performances in the Maryland and Virginia suburbs of works by Prokofiev, Haydn and Stravinsky. 1 Left · 1This sits against President Donald Trump's description of the building as "a great danger to anyone who walks inside" and his claim, reported last month, that a security guard narrowly avoided "certain death" when a storm brought down a five-foot piece of ceiling plaster; no one was injured. 1

Left · 1Government lawyers have also described the institution as in a "state of collapse" and "physical ruin". 2 Left · 2The musicians the Times spoke to reported no imminent risk of collapse. One said she hoped colleagues would "shut up" and focus on music rather than politics, and another said "We're just happy to work". They asked not to be named for fear of retaliation, since the orchestra still has financial ties to the center. 2 1 Left · 2Kennedy Center spokesman P.J. Elliott said the hall is not restricted to essential staff and NSO musicians and that they "can rehearse in it safely during the closure"; Raw Story reports he did not explain why it is safe for them but not for the public, and The Independent quotes a spokesperson saying musicians use routes "assessed as safe by facilities and management". 1 2

Left · 2The center's board voted on Sept. 16 to close the main building for a planned two-year closure. Matt Floca, the Trump-appointed director, decided to close it "temporarily" because of what the Department of Justice called "acute risks to public safety"; officials say they will decide every seven days whether to keep it closed. 1 2 Left · 1Critics of Trump's takeover call the closure an excuse to avoid falling ticket sales and departing artists, according to the Times via Raw Story. 1 Left · 2Lawyers suing over the closure say the rehearsals undercut the administration's case. David Z. Seide, who represents former employees (The Independent says current employees), said they confirm "The building is not a threat to public health and safety", and lawyers for Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-OH) called it "part of a pattern of the government routinely saying one thing and doing another". 1 2

Left · 1In the litigation, a federal judge last month ordered the administration to give at least 30 days' notice before making physical changes to the center, including demolition. The Justice Department told Judge Christopher Cooper on Tuesday that document requests are "unnecessary and massively burdensome", while Beatty's lawyers accuse it of "stonewalling". 2 Left · 1The Independent adds that Trump has said he will not begin a renovation unless courts let him put his name on the building, and that he has not ruled out tearing it down ("I'm not committing to anything", he told TIME). 2