Owing to the recent surge of the COVID-19 pandemic, in California as well as the South and West, and with no clear or straight path to containment, Camerata Pacifica is canceling all live performances scheduled through May 2021.

As a spokesperson for the Camerata put it: “With California recording its highest rates of infection, reversing reopening plans and epidemiologists predicting additional waves of infection for fall and winter, the planning necessary to create the architecture to support a concert season is simply impossible.”

Artistic director Adrian Spence adds, “We are sad to make the difficult decision to step out of the planned 20/21 season, but providing it helps keeps our community safe, it’s a small price to pay. Our focus now turns to planning for a return to performances in the fall of 2021, and we’re very excited about how that will be.

“The post-COVID-19 concert environment will not be the same as before and therein lies a host of creative opportunities which we plan to fully explore.

“Chamber music is more nimble than its symphonic or operatic cousins, and our musicians are incredibly creative,” Spence continues. “Together we’ll push through this challenge and find moments to hear the music and musicians we love. With small, careful, steps we’ll bring back our music, all the while looking forward to the return to a full season of concerts.”

In the mean time, the group continues the online Sunday streaming of the Concerts at Home performance series on YouTube and Facebook, which have been viewed more than 35,000 times since the first stay-at-home order. After each streamed concert, the program will take its place in the Camerata Pacifica archive at www.youtube.com/cameratapacifica.

Moreover, when infection rates decline enough to make it safe to do so, Camerata’s musicians will present, small, socially-distanced pop-up performances outside, as often as conditions allow.

For more information, call 805-884-8410 or visit www.cameratapacifica.org.

— Gerald Carpenter covers the arts as a Noozhawk contributing writer. He can be reached at [email protected]. The opinions expressed are his own.

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