‘Violins of Hope,’ performance returns to the Soraya after two-year delay

After a two-year delay due to the pandemic, “Violins of Hope,” a collection of rescued and restored musical instruments from the Holocaust, will make its way to Younes and Soraya Nazarian Center for the Performing Arts at California State University on Dec. 12, where Noreen Green will conduct the Los Angeles Jewish Symphony (LAJS). 

The program will feature violinist Lindsay Deutsch and cellist Barry Gold performing John Williams; Schindler’s List Suite; Max Bruch: Kol Nidre; Ernest Bloch: Baal Shem: Three Pictures of Chassidic Life; and Sid Robinovitch: Suite for Klezmer Band and Orchestra. 

“Violins of Hope” was founded by Amnon Weinstein and his son Avshalom, Israeli luthiers who collected the instruments, refurbished them in their Jerusalem shop to concert quality, and brought them to communities all over the world. The violins in the collection were played in the concentration camps and ghettos. The instruments represented strength and optimism and provided hope during the Holocaust.

“Violins of Hope” has traveled to Madrid, Maastricht, Monaco, Rome, Berlin, London, Bucharest, Dachau, Dresden, and Auschwitz. In the United States, the project has been presented in Charlotte, Cleveland, Houston, Jacksonville, Sarasota, Washington, D.C., Cincinnati, Nashville, Birmingham, Knoxville, Phoenix, Louisville, Fort Wayne, and San Francisco.

Thor Steingraber, executive and artistic director of The Soraya, said suspending “Violins of Hope” activities in 2020 was heartbreaking for all the artists involved. “My heart is filled with joy as we finally welcome Dr. Green and the LAJS to perform their initial program, marking this as a celebration of perseverance and of music’s power to transcend.” 

Tickets for LA Jewish Symphony: Violins of Hope on Sunday, December 12 at 7:00 pm start at $41 and are available here.