The Long Beach Symphony is less than two weeks away from debuting one of its most highly anticipated performances in years: Violins of Hope, a concert that commemorates and features restored instruments played by Jewish musicians during the Holocaust, many of whom were in concentration camps during World War II.
“I look forward to joining the wonderful musicians of the Long Beach Symphony to share this remarkable collection of Holocaust surviving instruments,” Long Beach Symphony Director Eckart Preu said in a release. “Each serves as a testament to the perseverance and resilience of the human spirit, and the soul of each instrument has been shaped by its individual journey. I think anyone who attends these performances will be deeply touched and awed by the power of this collection.”
The concert was originally postponed back in April 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and is now slated to premiere on Jan. 8, 2022 at the Terrace Theater. Despite omicron’s rise in California, the symphony said it is still moving forward with the show. The symphony requires its patrons to be vaccinated in order to attend.
The concert’s repertoire is designed to celebrate the power and resilience of hope amid calamitous circumstances and will include John Williams’ “Hatikvah,” Israel’s national anthem; Williams’ “Theme from Schindler’s List” and Ben-Haim’s Symphony No. 1, 2nd Movement, “Psalm.” The final will be Verdi’s “Requiem,” which was performed in 1944 by the Jewish orchestra and chorus to protest the Nazi’s SS visit at the Terezin camp.
Soloists Niv Ashkenazi, playing violin, and Cécilia Tsan, on the cello, will lead the show alongside Teresa Buchholz (mezzo), Liv Redpath (soprano), Jason Francisco (tenor) and Mark Walters (baritone). The Long Beach Camerata Singers will provide choral accompaniment.
The following day, on Jan. 9, will feature a second, although modified performance titled Songs and Stories of Hope in the more intimate Beverly O’Neill Theater. That concert will be a mixed-media performance featuring music by Jewish composers who survived and some who died during the Holocaust as well as stories of the histories of the instruments by author James A. Grymes, author of the book “Violins of Hope.”
The stringed instruments featured in the concerts were restored by Tel Aviv luthier Amnon Weinstein and his son Avshalom who have spent the last 20 years locating and restoring the instruments. Through their efforts, they created Violins of Hope, a traveling project dedicated to sharing their collection of over 60 violins, violas and cellos through public exhibitions, educational outreach and concert performances.
Violins of Hope will spend a week before the concerts doing educational outreach across the city, according to the symphony.
“Aside from two unforgettable performances, their most important engagement will be in classrooms across the city where they’ll deliver the messages of hope, tolerance, inclusion, and the need to commemorate and remember our past,” Symphony President Kelly Lucera said in a release.
Tickets for the Violins of Hope show on Jan. 8 start at $40. Tickets for the Songs and Stories of Hope on Jan. 9 show start at $50. Tickets can be purchased online, click here, or by calling 562-436-3203. To learn more about the restored violins, click here.