“Fires are blazing through Napa and Sonoma counties, forcing the evacuation of residents, destroying 2,000-plus residential and commercial buildings, and killing at least 15 people (a number that officials expect to rise),” writes Peter Feher in Tuesday’s (10/10) San Francisco Classical Voice. “Among the buildings affected, the Luther Burbank Center for the Arts in Santa Rosa has reported damages. A leading cultural institution in Northern California, the building hosts a Symphony Pops series with the Santa Rosa Symphony, community and educational programs, and a large handful of other events featuring visiting artists, speakers, and organizations…. The Center stated that the main building has sustained ‘minimal damage,’ while several classrooms and the east end of the Center were ‘destroyed’ by the blazes.… Another arts hub in Sonoma County, the Green Music Center, remains untouched by the fires but has closed down, along with the rest of Sonoma State University’s campus, as a precautionary measure; it is unclear whether buildings on campus will reopen tomorrow, and there is a lot of smoke. Events such as the Santa Rosa Symphony’s concert last Monday night (a third performance of music-director-candidate Francesco Lecce-Chong’s program) and performances within the Sonoma State University Department of Music have been cancelled.… The full effect of these fires on performing arts organizations in the area remains to be seen.”
Posted October 11, 2017
In photo: The sign at the Luther Burbank Center for the Arts in Santa Rosa, California, damaged in recent wildfires
