For the full KCET essay, please click here.
The recent weeks at The Soraya have been filled with extremes – highs and lows alike.
Last Friday, we announced the cancellation of what would have been the entire 2020-2021 season. It is likely that we will not return to in-person activity until a year from now. While this was necessary and perhaps even inevitable, we are reeling. Artists are always “first in and last out.” There’s deep-held truth in the “show must go on,” but the pandemic has caused the unforeseeable. In this unusual chapter of history, the performing arts’ primary purpose is to contribute to the public good while keeping patrons out of harm’s way. This video shares more about the season cancellation.
Last week, we enjoyed strong press coverage. Here are two links to stories about the Violins of Hope (Los Angeles Times | Spectrum News 1). While the media attention was exciting, the reason brought us some sadness – as part of our cancellations, we are sending back to Israel the entire Holocaust violin collection that had been hidden under our stage during the pandemic. Before sending them to LAX to fly away, we filmed an intimate concert with three violinists, the only time the violins will be heard in Los Angeles. That film will go live next month. Stay tuned.
The past few months have been busy as we plan, un-plan, and re-plan. With newfound clarity about what the next year will hold, we look forward to focusing our efforts on a few exciting things: celebrating our 10th Anniversary in 2021 in whatever form that takes, continuing to innovate in the online space, and planning for a future that is even stronger than the past. We will be announcing upcoming online events and performances at www.thesoraya.org.
