Respected singer and musician Michael Feinstein has responded to the Kennedy Center in DC pulling its Pride program. This includes events at which he was due to appear.
Feinstein, 68, is gay and a five-time Grammy-nominated recording artist. He has released 39 studio albums during his lengthy career.
On Wednesday, he posted his thoughts to Instagram. He made it clear that art is one way of bringing people together and unifying them. Censoring art does the opposite.
“The genesis of art is essential to our need to enlighten, entertain, educate and help each of us, as human beings, connect to one another,” he wrote in a caption. “Art, especially during the 20th century in America, offered every soul an opportunity to express or experience the diversity of culture.”
“Recently, I was invited to conduct the National Symphony Orchestra, perform and speak at a program entitled ‘A Peacock Among Pigeons: Celebrating 50 Years of Pride’ at The Kennedy Center, which celebrated the rainbow of influences upon art, music and our entire culture. This program was abruptly and unceremoniously canceled.”
“These recent Kennedy Center losses may well be defined in the years ahead, as the 21st century government-sanctioned censorship and silencing of creativity, regardless of value, based strictly on sexual orientation. Art, in its purest form, is where we suspend our differences to illuminate elements of the human condition.”
In an accompanying series of slides, Feinstein also denounced attempts to strip funding from PBS and NPR. He went on to suggest the next logical step is to ban all works written by queer people. He provided a lengthy list of some of his favorites, “so as to save the DC bureaucrats some time!”
It included songs by Freddie Mercury, Lionel Bart, Billy Preston, Donny Hathaway, Leonard Bernstein, Noel Coward, Cole Porter, Stephen Sondheim, and many others.
“Where will this end? Where will this music and these artists be seen and heard in the future?” he continued. “We must rally against the forces that conspire to deny, erase and eradicate our culture.”
Feinstein urged people to write or call lawmakers.
“Passivity is not progress. Artists and art need our support now more than any other moment in our lifetimes.”