Nowruz: Light Always Prevails

For the past 15 years, the Farhang Foundation has hosted a Nowruz festival—marking Iranian New Year and the arrival of spring—in UCLA’s Dickson Court. Given the current state of affairs, that celebration has understandably been canceled, but in its place is this indoor concert at Royce Hall on International Women’s Day featuring two female singers—classical legend Maestra Parissa and rising soprano star Golda Zahra (especially significant because women have been forbidden from singing publicly in Iran since 1979). They’ll be accompanied by Iranshahr Orchestra, the first Iranian orchestra established outside of Iran, and will be performing works composed exclusively by Iranian composers.