Ninth Annual Holocaust Remembrance Concert: 'A Time to Remember…'

Eastman School of Music faculty members and students will join the worldwide observance of Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day) by presenting a concert titled “A Time to Remember…” at 7:30 p.m. in Kilbourn Hall. The concert features music written by those who perished or survived the World War II concentration and work camps, as well as music written in tribute to those who died, curated by Wegman Family Professor of Violin Renée Jolles.

“We gather to remember the voices silenced by the horrors of the Holocaust, and to celebrate the creativity and resilience of the human spirit,” shares Jolles. She launched this series of annual concerts in 2014 as a tribute to her father, Jerome Jolles, who buried bodies as part of a work detail in Romania during the Nazi occupation. He survived and came to the United States, where he finished his studies at Juilliard in music performance and composition. A virtuoso accordion player, piano teacher, and composer, Mr. Jolles died in January 2014.

“My father was the kind of Holocaust survivor who rarely spoke about his wartime experiences.  Rather, he encouraged us to look toward a bright future filled with love, humor and hope,” Jolles continues. “However, with anti-Semitism, bigotry and hatred on the rise, it is more important than ever to learn from lessons of the past.”

This year’s concert program consists of:

- Hot-Sonate for alto saxophone and piano by Erwin Schulhoff: Chien-Kwan Lin, alto saxophone and Tony Caramia, piano

- Piano Sonata No. 1, Mvt. 3 by Marcel Tyborg: Alison d’Amato, piano

- Selections from Heine Liederzyklus by Marcel Tyborg: Alison d’Amato, piano and Ashley Schlusselberg, soprano

- Suite for cello and piano in C Major by Otto Manasse: Steven Doane, cello and Irina Lupines, piano

- Trio for flute, clarinet, and bassoon by Rosy Wertheim: Bonita Boyd, flute; Michael Wayne, clarinet; and George Sakakeeny, bassoon

- Sonata No. 3 for violin and piano, Op. 37 by Mieczyslaw Weinberg: Renée Jolles, violin and Alexander Kobrin, piano

“A Time to Remember…” is free and open to the public. To learn more about this concert, and other events taking place at Eastman, visit our Concerts and Events Calendar.