Violins of Hope: Strings of the Holocaust

Description

Violin music holds an important role in Jewish culture. During the Holocaust, violins offered temporary solace and a glimmer of humanity. Violin players in the camps were treated better and their lives were spared. Narrated by Adrien Brody, this film follows the journey of Israeli violinmaker Amnon Weinstein and his efforts to restore violins recovered from the Holocaust. He captures the lessons and music these instruments now bring to others. Some violins were played by Jewish prisoners in concentration camps and others belonged to the Klezmer musical culture, which was all but destroyed by the Nazis. Amnon’s goal is to have the violins play again in concerts throughout the world. Best Documentary Vienna Independent Film Festival.

Special Performance by Gareth Johnson

Gareth travels the world as a soloist, master teacher and educator. He has performed and held residencies with numerous orchestras in the United States including Hartford, Seattle, Pittsburgh, Rochester, Atlanta, St. Louis, Cincinnati, Boston, Baltimore, Annapolis, Detroit and Memphis. He has had several performances in Carnegie Hall and in the past 5 years, Gareth has taught and performed in Johannesburg, Durban, England and the Netherlands. In addition, he has performed with Joshua Bell, Itzhak Perlman, Pinchas Zukerman and several other world renowned string players.