KOREATOWN, Calif. – It’s an hour before show time and Ben Simons and his team are scrambling to light 650 candles, each one strategically placed for maximum effect.

“In all of our shows we use flameless candles because obviously we don’t want to burn down the house but in order to give it the most flare, we do this,” Simons said as he hit a tiny remote control. The candles around him instantly flickered in unison.

Simons is a project manager for Fever, the company behind “Candlelight,” a new classical music concert series held at some of Los Angeles’ most beautiful churches. It’s one of the remaining public events still thriving, according to its organizers, despite fears over the new Coronavirus.

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Candlelight concerts were a hit in European capitals before making their way stateside. Their aim is to introduce new audiences to some of music’s oldest and most iconic masterpieces. One this particular night, the event featured Vivaldi’s Four Seasons at the Immanuel Presbyterian Church in Koreatown.

“This is the first stepping stone for a lot of people to get into classical music. For a lot of people, a lot of times you’re like I know that piece from this movie but you don’t know who it is,” Simons said.

But it’s not just for neophytes. Maureen Henderson’s, a retired music teacher from Whittier bought a ticket for no other reason than her love for Vivaldi.

“Sometimes it’s really nice to just forget about everything that’s going on in the world,” she said.

At T-minus zero, Simons gives the stage one last check, turning off the lights to show a stage bathed in a flickering orange hue.

“You know you’re doing a good job when immediately someone stops dead in their tracks and they pull out their phones to take picture,” he said smiling.

Organizers said sanitizers are available for guests and staff at multiple touch posts thought the venues. They say they disinfect pews before, during, and after each show. They are also keeping an eye on all official communications from local, state and federal government.

 

 

 

Governor Gavin Newsom announced that mass gatherings of 250-plus people are being banned in the state through March. The “Candlelight” events are limited to 200 people per show.

“It’s a place to really break away for an hour, disconnect from your phone, disconnect from the whole world out there and listen to some music that was created hundreds of years ago,” Simons said.

For the latest updates go to: coronavirus.gov