Featuring: Virtuoso Violinist Niv Ashkenazi, Los Angeles, CA in conversation with Shy Ashkenazi, Sr. Community Shaliach at the Pozez JCC of Northern Virginia

This program is in partnership with JCRC of Greater Washington, 3GDG, Congregation Olam Tikvah, Congregation Adat Reyim, and Gesher Jewish Day School

Niv will take us on an incredible journey telling the stories behind the violins, their historical background and about the Violins of Hope program. Musical pieces played on one of the violins, which Niv received on loan from the owners will be woven throughout the presentation. Niv is the only musician who holds one of the violins on permanent loan.

Fee: $10
Click here to register: https://thej.force.com/s/registration?searchkeyword=violins+of+hope

Musician’s Bio:

Virtuoso violinist Niv Ashkenazi has captivated audiences with his heartfelt musicianship and emotional performances. Praised for his “extremely colourful interpretations, characterized by maturity and authority” (Pizzicato Magazine), he has made several Carnegie Hall and Kennedy Center appearances, and has performed in Europe, the Middle East, and across North America. His conviction that the impact of music serves people beyond the concert stage motivates him to collaborate on projects that create a strong emotional bond with his audience. His debut album, Niv Ashkenazi: Violins of Hope, the first solo album recorded on one of the Violins of Hope, released in March 2020 on Albany Records. It has received international critical acclaim and was named one of the 10 best classical recordings of 2020 by the Chicago Tribune.

Niv holds both a B.M. and M.M. from The Juilliard School, where his teachers included Itzhak Perlman and Glenn Dicterow. He serves on the professional advisory board of Inclusion Matters by Shane’s Inspiration, a global nonprofit organization dedicated to building inclusive playgrounds, and formerly served on the board of the Los Angeles Youth Orchestra.

Violins of Hope is an artistic and educational project composed of instruments that were owned by Jewish musicians before and during the Holocaust. Violins in the collection were played in the concentration camps and ghettos, providing a source of comfort for some, and a means of survival for others. Above all, the instruments represented strength and optimism for the future during mankind’s darkest hour. Wherever there was music, there was hope.

The project was founded by Amnon Weinstein and his son Avshalom Weinstein, Israeli luthiers who collect the instruments, refurbish them to concert quality, and bring them to communities all over the world. The Violins of Hope have traveled to Jerusalem, Sion, 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, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.