Fires in Southern California put damper on holiday events

Many Californians have more than they bargained for this Christmas. With Santa Ana winds whipping up frenzied wildfires in various areas of SoCal, Angelenos everywhere are on alert, with thousands evacuated from Ventura to San Diego, and far too many have already lost their homes and more. As a result, opera and concert presenters have been taking a good look at the logistics and safety around their event venues, and some events may be moved, postponed or canceled altogether — this is a good time to make sure you check websites before you walk out the door. As for vocal events, we’ve received a couple of notices in recent days:

While UCLA has resumed classes for Friday, the National Children’s Chorus has postponed their planned concert at UCLA’s Royce Hall, due to the Skirball Fire affecting the Bel Air neighborhood, just north of the main campus. The concert has been rescheduled to January 13 — for information, see the ensemble’s website.

Not everyone is canceling, however:

The Soraya (aka the Valley Performing Arts Center or VPAC) has sent out an email blast acknowledging that the CSUN campus is currently closed due to the Creek Fire, and air quality may indeed be an issue for several days at least. But their weekend performances will take place as planned. Click here to view the email announcement