Well, that wasn’t the 2020-21 we had planned!

It’s hard to remember that faraway land called February 2020. We presented what would be our last live show before COVID and announced the upcoming season. It was going to be epic.

Mind-blowing, life-changing, Grammy Award-winning epic.

But then, it wasn’t.

With a pivot ignited by not-yet-fatigued positivity, we hit the ground running. Canvas online programming began within days of national shutdowns. While our ambition of new programs every week would prove unsustainable, I was grateful to know that, while the world was shifting beneath our feet, love of music and learning and laughter was keeping us all together somehow.

And thanks to the internet, we welcomed new Canvas fans across the globe.

In the summer, we took a necessary break to reflect on the murder of George Floyd and give up Canvas’s corner of public attention to provide space for taking action against racial injustice.

Not short on surprises, COVID afforded an entirely new opportunity here at Canvas HQ: remote internships. Six incredible college interns from North and South America worked full time for us for three months. They worked on one of our cornerstone projects - Meeting the Ghosts - bringing the stories of Dutch Jewish musicians suppressed by the Holocaust to new depths. And in the summer of 2021, three illustration interns worked on visual concept designs for Ghosts with our overseas animator, Julia Veldman C.

We went back online with three interview shows featuring Canvas alum Angie Swan (guitar), Dr. Iris Levine (choir conductor), and Jim Grippo (Egyptian music specialist).

Not a day passed that I haven’t thought about the music stories Canvas has yet to present. I have missed being in a room with you all, making music and memories together.

On a related note, one last update:

After ten amazing years in our home and performance space in Marina del Rey, we are moving. Still in Los Angeles - just inland a bit. But this isn’t the end of Canvas! Together with an incredible team of advisors, Canvas is getting a bit of a makeover. Stay tuned.

The last eighteen months, we’ve all had to adjust. Pivot. Move. Shift. See things a new way. We’ve had less control over our environment. We’ve been vulnerable. Disappointed. Angry. Sad. Separated.

But love, music, and curiosity live on. As soon as possible, we will be in the same space again and we can get back to our regularly scheduled programming: great performances, learning, laughter, tears, and the joy of sharing it all…together.

With love and learning,