6 minute read
LIFE
Soaring Strings
Niv Ashkenazi Brings History to Life on a Violin of Hope
L’CHAIM 2022
By Anne Ruisi
The theme from “Schindler’s List” resonated from the violin played by virtuoso Niv Ashkenazi on the stage at Birmingham’s Red Mountain Theater, producing the heartrending music that won composer John Williams an Oscar.
Ashkenazi’s performance was not only a highlight of L’Chaim, the Sept. 18 program from the Alabama Holocaust Education Center. It was an opportunity to hear an incredibly gifted musician perform on a violin once played by a Jewish survivor of the Holocaust.
“The best they can figure out is it was owned by a survivor who made it to the U.S. It was probably made in Yugoslavia around the turn of the 20th century. It was one of the first restored,” said Ashkenazi, referring to the collection of instruments known as Violins of Hope.
That restoration was done by Avnon and Avshalom Weinstein, a father- and-son team who work in Tel Aviv and Istanbul. These special violins were owned by Jews before and during World War II, according to the Weinsteins’ website, violins-of-hope. com. Many were donated by or bought from survivors or through family members.
A Violins of Hope documentary screened during the L’Chaim program introduced the standing-room-only audience to the Weinsteins and their efforts to preserve the precious instruments. One of the violins in the collection was buried by two sisters in The Netherlands during the war and dug up after it ended.
“Some played to survive the war, some were forced to play in the camps even as their family members and others walked to their deaths,” Avshalom Weinstein says in the documentary.
The violins are symbols of hope and a way to remember those who perished and to honor those who survived. The Weinsteins’ website notes the violins “present the victory of the human spirit over evil and hatred.”
Journal photo by Anne Ruisi
Virtuoso Niv Ashkenazi performed on a violin once played by a Jewish survivor of the Holocaust at L’Chaim, the Sept. 18 program from the Alabama Holocaust Education Center. L’Chaim honorary co-chairs Gail and Jeffrey Bayer, far right, with family members Annie, Scott, Emory, Pierce and Madison Goldberg.
Cathy Friedman, Henry Panion, Chris Nanni and Fran Godchaux
Significant Marks
Ashkenazi’s violin is embellished on the reverse with a Star of David in mother of pearl, indicating it’s a klezmer violin. Klezmer refers to a style of Jewish folk music from Central and Eastern Europe, but it also refers to the decoration on the instruments. Ashkenazi noted Stars of David were just one type of embellishments that might be found.
“It’s always very special playing this violin, or any in the collection,” said Ashkenazi, who studied with Itzhak Perlman. “It lets the silenced voice be heard again, as well as the (original) owner of the instrument.”
Gail and Jeffrey Bayer, L’Chaim honorary co-chairs, went to Tel Aviv in May and met the Weinsteins, and spoke of their experience.
“It’s a history that must be remembered,” Gail Bayer said.
Dina Diamond, Danny Cohn and Brenda Friedman Helene Elkus, Lynn Raviv and Mary Rooney
An Enchanted Story
By Anne Ruisi
What began in 1947 as a Junior League volunteer project to bring a theater experience to Birmingham children is today a professional theater company that has entertained generations of school-age children.
Birmingham Children’s Theatre is celebrating its 75th anniversary with a 1920s-themed gala benefit, An Enchanted Evening, on Oct 13 at The Fennec.
“It was very much a grassroots effort,” Carolyn Featheringill said of the organization’s early days. Her mother-in-law, Nita Featheringill, was one of the founders.
It was just a few years after the end of World War II when Junior League members decided on a project that would concentrate on children and introducing them to live theater, Featheringill said.
“Family lore says they made the costumes and traveled around (the Birmingham area) to bring theater to them,” Featheringill, a member of the organization’s board of directors, said.
BCT
From page 16
At times, family members even pitched in to help when needed. In the early 1970s, Featheringill’s husband, who was 6 feet, 6 inches tall, was recruited by his mother to play the giant in a production of “The Brave Little Tailor.”
The first performance was at Philips High School, said Ashley Woods, Birmingham Children’s Theatre executive director. In the first 20 years, the group performed at the Alabama Theatre and Clark Memorial Theatre and was based at the Highland Park Recreation Center for a while.
In 1972, during the theater company’s 25th anniversary season, a fire at the Highland Park Recreation Center destroyed everything, with two shows left to finish the season, Woods said. By then, there were paid staff and paid actors, and the troupe was scaling up to larger productions.
Today, Birmingham Children’s Theatre is a fully professional theater company for young audiences, Woods said.
As in its early days, performances are given around Birmingham and have expanded throughout the state, but the theater company is based at the Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center.
There are eight staged productions a year, with shows directed at children from the toddler years to middle school. “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star,” which ended its run in late September, for example, is geared to toddlers and is an interactive production incorporating movement, play and discovery, Woods said.
While toddlers might seem too young to enjoy theater, they really aren’t, she said.
“It’s a great gateway to get kids involved” in theater, she said. “It’s a new experience.”
The organization’s nine full-time staff members include the theater group’s Education Department, which conducts after-school classes and summer camps, among other responsibilities. They also offer professional development to educators, Woods said.
One new production that will be performed in March next year is “Miss Fancy: Elephant Queen of the Zoo,” a play based on the elephant who charmed and delighted Birmingham children in the early part of the 20th century.
The play was commissioned in 2019 but its production was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Woods said.
“We’re excited to be part of it,” she said.
An Enchanted Evening will include dinner, jazz and performances. For more information or to buy tickets, go to bct123.org/enchanted-evening.
“The Emperor’s New Clothes” from 1993. Today There are eight staged productions a year, with shows directed at children from the toddler years to middle school.
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