The Charlotte
JEWISH
Vol. 34, No. 4
Nisan-lyar 5772
April 2012
An Affiliate of the Jewish Federation of Greater Charlotte
Violins of Hope and Related Events
Complete Schedule for April
Violins of Hope is a multi
faceted project that has at its cen
ter the premiere of 18 violins
recovered from the Holocaust and
restored by Israeli violinmaker
Amnon Weinstein.
Never before exhibited or
played together in North or South
America, the violins arrive in
Charlotte in early April. The exhi
bition at the new UNC Charlotte
Center City Gallery opens to
group tours on April 9 and to the
general public on April 16. A
series of five concerts begins April
12.
A related program at Levine
Museum of the New South with
the accompanying exhibitions
Down Home: Jewish Life in
North Carolina and All That
Remains, an exhibit about local
Holocaust survivors, is Courage
and Compassion. This program
documents the efforts of the
Bielski brothers, Jewish resistance
fighters who saved more than
1,200 Jews in the forests of
Byelorussia. Their story has a par
ticular connection to the Violins of
Hope because Assaela Weinstein,
the wife of violinmaker Amnon
Weinstein, is the daughter of parti
san Assael Bielski. Ms. Weinstein
and her cousin Ruth, daughter of
Tuvia Bielski, will lead a panel
discussion about their family’s
extraordinary history at Levine
Museum of the New South on
April 18.
The Violins of Hope is present
ed in partnership with nearly 20
cultural and academic partners
and with the financial support of
Wells Fargo Private Bank (exclu
sive corporate sponsor), the
Sandra and Leon Levine
Foundation, the John S. and James
L. Knight Foundation, the
Blumenthal Foundation, the Arts
& Science Council, Foundation
for the Carolinas, The Jewish
Federation of Greater Charlotte,
U.S. Air, and Lufthansa, as well as
individual and community sup
port. WFAE 90.7 FM is the project
media sponsor. For a full list of
partners, visit http://www.violin-
sofhopecharlotte. com/partners .ht
ml.
Other related programs around
the area in April and beyond
include:
Down Home: Jewish Life in
North Carolina, through
September 9 at the Levine
Museum of the New South
A special exhibit sponsored by
the Jewish Heritage Foundation of
North Carolina and exhibited by
Levine Museum of the New
South, Down Home explores the
ways in which the Jewish commu
nity has shaped the culture and
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history of North Carolina for the
past 400 years, and how North
Carolina, in turn, has affected
Jewish lives.
All That Remains through
September 9 at the Levine
Museum of the New South
This new panel exhibit was
inspired by an article that original
ly appeared in Charlotte maga
zine. Writer Ken Garfield inter
viewed ten people living in the
Charlotte area who survived the
Holocaust and understood the
importance of telling their stories
before it’s too late. Photographer
Chris Edwards took beautiful, stir
ring portraits of each. Together,
these stories are a voice from the
past, a gift from ten Charlotteans
determined to have the last word.
Julianna Toth, one of the survivors
profiled in All That Remains, believes
her nightmares stem from her experi
ence in the Holocaust.
BESA: A Code of Honor
through May 16 at the Levine-
Sklut Judaic Library and
Resource Center
This photographic exhibition of
Muslim Albanians who rescued
Jews during the Holocaust pres
ents a beautiful, interfaith mes
sage regarding the power of
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humanity in the face of oppres
sion.
Spots of Light: To Be a Woman
in the Holocaust through April
26 at Storrs Gallery, UNC
Charlotte; Free
The first international exhibi
tion to focus exclusively on
women in the Holocaust, Spots of
Light is a video-art installation
that tells the stories of 45 women
through the thematic lenses of
Love, Motherhood, Caring for
Others, Womanhood, Partisans
and Underground, Everyday Life,
Friendship, Faith, Food, and the
Arts.
Not So Still Life, With Music:
The Milken Archive of Jewish
Music Presents Paintings by
Ralph Gilbert, April 9-April 24
at UNC Charlotte Center City
Building Lobby
This collection of 20 paintings
representing Jewish music is on
display in tandem with the Violins
of Hope at the UNC Charlotte
Center City Building.
Hope in Resistance: Music and
Stories inspired by the
Resistance Movement, April 12
at 8 PM at Myers Park Baptist
Church; $20 or free for students
The Violins of Hope concert
series opens with a musical per
formance honoring the people
who led and supported the resist
ance movements of World War II.
Featuring the extraordinary sopra
no Christina Pier and violinists
David Russell and Julia Hwang,
the concert begins with the screen
ing of “Weapons of the Spirit,” an
award-winning documentary
about the brave residents of Le
Chambon-sur-Lignon, France,
who saved an estimated 5,000
Jews from deportation and death
during the war.
Restoring Hope: Amnon
Weinstein and the Violins of
Hope, April 15 at 7:30 PM at
Knight Theater. Levine Center
for the Arts; $35-$45
Violinmaker Amnon Weinstein
introduces his remarkable Violins
of Hope to Charlotte in this con
cert featuring violinists Shlomo
Mintz, Chad Hoopes, and Steven
Greenman. Chamber music, tradi
tional klezmer music, and
Vivaldi’s Concerto for Four
Violins, with Charlotte Symphony
Associate Conductor Jacomo
Bairos directing, underscore the
message of hope for the future.
Hope in Dark Places: Music and
Poetry from the Theresienstadt
Ghetto, April 17 at 8 PM at
Dana Auditorium, Queens
University of Charlotte; $20 or
free for students
This performance in the Violins
of Hope concert series pays tribute
to the musicians held at the
Theresienstadt ghetto and the
music they created there.
Featuring chamber music com
posed at Theresienstadt, as well as
the Brahms Piano Quintet, the
concert will also present poetry
and drawings by children who
were prisoners in the camp.
Project Hope By Joe Salvatore,
April 18-21 and 23-24 at 8 PM
and April 22 at 2 PM at Black
Box Theater, Robinson Hall
The Department of Theatre at
UNC Charlotte premieres an orig
inal play by New York playwright
Joe Salvatore that explores stories
of hope, resilience, and memory,
based on interviews with citizens
from our own community.
Yom HaShoah Memorial
Concert, April 19 at 7 PM at
Temple Israel, Shalom Park,
Free
Yom HaShoah is a day dedicat
ed to the memory of the
Holocaust. This event will com
memorate those lost and celebrate
those who survived through read
ings, testimony, and musical per
formances by the world-class
Violins of Hope musicians.
Triumph of Hope: Violins of
Hope with the Charlotte
Symphony, Christopher Warren-
Green, conducting; Shlomo
Mintz, special guest violinist,
April 21 at 8 PM at Belk
Theater, Blumenthal Performing
Arts Center; $32-$100
The Violins of Hope concert
series culminates in a thrilling
performance by the Charlotte
Symphony, conducted by
Christopher Warren-Green and
featuring master violinists Shlomo
Mintz, Cihat Askin, and David
Russell. The program includes the
Beethoven Violin Concerto and
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