The Virginia Holocaust Museum, the Carole and Marcus Weinstein JCC and the Richmond Symphony will present “Voices of Survival” on Tuesday, January 27, 2015 at 7:00 p.m. at the Carpenter Theatre at Richmond CenterStage.
This unique performance commemorates the triumph of Jewish survival in the camps that have become a synonym for the Holocaust, while celebrating the enduring power of artistic creativity that charges the human spirit. The program will reflect humanity’s triumph over the atrocities of the Holocaust by featuring works by composers who suffered at the hands of the SS as inmates in the ghettos and concentration camps of the Nazi empire. The creativity of the victims also includes words, video and music, performed to remember all those who perished while honoring the courage and tenacity of all those victims of the Nazis who survived, thereby serving to uplift us all in the act of commemorating one of human history’s greatest crimes.
Video interviews featuring Richmond’s Holocaust Survivors will be presented throughout the concert as living documentation and witness in the form of first-hand accounts of the Survivors’ experiences and lives before and after their freedom was regained. Renowned author and VCU alumnus James A. Grymes will also participate in the performance and related events. His book, Violins of Hope recounts the violin’s role in Jewish culture and one man’s 20-year journey to restore the violins of the Holocaust as a tribute to those who were lost.
To create an event that has a Commonwealth-wide impact, university choruses from throughout Virginia have been invited to provide singers to join the Richmond Symphony and Richmond Symphony Chorus for the performance and commemorate the occasion. The concert will be recorded by WCVE TV for subsequent state-wide broadcast. January 27 is especially important as it is both International Holocaust Remembrance Day and the 70th Anniversary of the Liberation of Auschwitz. Music Director Steven Smith will conduct this concert which is sponsored by Dominion and Weinstein Properties. The media sponsor is NBC12.
Adult tickets start at $20. Discounted student and group rates are available. Tickets can be purchased online at www.richmondsymphony.com or 1.800.514 ETIX.
Mr. Grymes will be participating in a complementary event on Monday, January 26 at 1:00 p.m. at the Weinstein JCC to discuss his book and the January 27 concert.
The Virginia Holocaust Museum will host a public forum on the history of the Auschwitz extermination camp on Sunday, January 25 from 2:00 – 4:00pm. Executive Director Dr. Charles Sydnor will illustrate the history of Auschwitz: why Auschwitz was originally created in the spring of 1940; how the vision for the camp evolved to a gigantic complex of three camps; and the continuing lessons and legacies of Auschwitz 70 years after liberation.
About the Virginia Holocaust Museum
Founded to educate the community about the tragedies of the Holocaust, the Virginia Holocaust Museum stands to memorialize and document the atrocities of the Shoah, the Nazi extermination of the European Jews. Through exhibits, programming, and outreach, the Museum uses the history of the Holocaust and the tragedies of the recurring genocides since the Shoah to teach the dangers of prejudice and indifference. Each year over 35,000 visitors tour the Museum, including students from over 100 different Virginia schools.
http://www.va-holocaust.com/
About the Weinstein JCC
Serving the Richmond community for over 60 years, the Carole and Marcus Weinstein Jewish Community Center exists to strengthen Jewish identity and continuity by enriching personal, cultural, social and physical development, by fostering leadership and by promoting the welfare of the Jewish community, and the community as a whole. The Weinstein JCC offers a broad array of services for all ages and faiths, including after-school care, fitness, aquatics and athletic facilities, cultural arts, activities for seniors and one of Richmond’s most respected preschools. For additional information, visit www.weinsteinjcc.org.
About the Richmond Symphony
Founded in 1957, the Richmond Symphony is the largest performing arts organization in Central Virginia. The organization includes an orchestra of more than 70 professional musicians, the 170-voice Richmond Symphony Chorus and more than 200 students in the Richmond Symphony Youth Orchestra programs. Each season, more than 250,000 members of the community enjoy concerts, radio broadcasts, and educational outreach programs. The Richmond Symphony is partially funded by the Virginia Commission for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts. www.richmondsymphony.com
