Military band of U.S. Marines cancels performance with students of color following Trump's takeover of Kennedy Center
In a surprising turn of events, the planned concert scheduled for May 2025 featuring the United States Marine Band and a select group of young musicians of color was cancelled. The official announcement cited "excessive heat" as the cause for the cancellation of the concert at the U.S. Capitol.
However, separate social media posts hinted at a different reason for the cancellation. The posts mentioned the cancellation of a concert with young musicians of color, but did not provide an official government reason tying it to a policy banning diversity programs.
According to an email obtained by Stanford Thompson, the executive director of Equity Arc, the concert could not be rescheduled as long as an Executive Order titled 'Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing' was in place.
Equity Arc, an organisation dedicated to connecting musicians of color with opportunities, had been instrumental in arranging the concert. They had flown the students to Washington, booked a concert hall, and reached out to Marine Band retirees to volunteer for the concert. The cancelled concert was to feature the composition Shostakovich's Gallop and Nobles of the Mystic Shrine by John Philip Sousa.
One of the young musicians due to perform was 18-year-old Rishab Jain, of Indian descent and accepted into Harvard University. Jain emphasised the importance of art and music in fostering understanding and inclusion, stating, "If we are a society that's oppressing art, we are a society that is afraid of what it might reveal about itself." He expressed his dismay about the cancellation, stating, "We are a land that prides itself on being the land of the free, the home of the brave... but we need different perspectives, we need to hear how others think."
John Abbracciamento, a retired Marine Band trumpeter, answered the call-out to join the young musicians in Washington to perform Shostakovich's Gallop. He challenged anyone to say that having the concert would damage the United States, stating, "It doesn't: it brings out the best of us."
Julie Angelis Boehler, who retired after 23 years as the timpanist of the U.S. Army Band, supported the effort to hold the cancelled concert, stating, "We need diversity, equity, and inclusion."
While there is no verified information directly connecting President Trump’s alleged decision to ban diversity programs in the federal government and military with the concert cancellation, the cancellation was communicated via an email from the Marine Band's commanding officer.
In the midst of the cancellation, the spirit of unity and inclusivity remains strong. The young musicians, retirees, and supporters continue to advocate for the importance of diversity in art and music, believing that it brings out the best in all of us.
- The cancellation of the concert featuring diverse musicians, originally scheduled for May 2025, appears to be linked to policy and legislation, as an Executive Order titled 'Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing' was cited as the reason for the concert's unreschedulability by Equity Arc, an organization dedicated to education-and-self-development of musicians of color.
- The entertainment industry, including music, has become intertwined with politics, as the cancellation of the United States Marine Band concert, intended to feature Shostakovich's Gallop and Nobles of the Mystic Shrine by John Philip Sousa, was hinted to be due to factors beyond excessive heat, possibly relating to policy-and-legislation banning diversity programs.
- General-news outlets and social media platforms have drawn attention to crime-and-justice implications of the concert cancellation, as some argue that the cancellation of performances like the one planned in Washington may restrict freedom-of-expression, thus hindering the growth and enrichment of the society through diversity-oriented effort, entertainment, and education-and-self-development.
