Several violins owned and played by Jewish musicians before and during the Holocaust will be played by musicians from the Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra as the IPO wraps up its 45th season on Saturday, May 13. The concert will include the premiere of “Nifrach,” a work by IPO composer – resident Jonathan Cziner; Dvorak’s “Symphony No. 8”; and Amy Beach’s “Symphony in E Minor, Op. 32.”
The concert will take place at 7:30 p.m. in the Ozinga Chapel at Trinity Christian College, 6601 W. College Drive in Palos Heights. Concertgoers are invited to a 6:30pm pre-concert talk “Amy Beach and the Gaelic Symphony” hosted by IPO Board Member Dr. Charles Amenta will be moderated.
“Musical instruments are a vessel for music, but tonight our orchestra will be the vessel for these magnificent instruments,” said Christina Salerno, executive director of the Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra. “To know that the very instruments that existed and are part of such a long history will make music again is nothing short of extraordinary. This night becomes history and hope comes alive, and we are incredibly honored to carry the violins’ message into our concert hall.”
Violins of Hope is a collection of 70 stringed instruments played by Jewish musicians before and during the Holocaust, donated or purchased by survivors. The instruments have been carefully restored and are part of a traveling exhibit in the Chicago area. They were exhibited at Prairie State College in April.
The Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra is a three-time winner of the Illinois Council of Orchestras’ Professional Orchestra of the Year award. Tickets for the May 13 performance are available at IPOmusic.org or by calling 708-481-7774.
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