Violins Of Hope Collaborates With The Norwalk Symphony Orchestra For A Unique Performance On Saturday, November 16th At Norwalk City Hall

A collection of string instruments rescued from the Holocaust will be featured in a unique performance by the Norwalk Symphony Orchestra (NSO) on Nov. 16. The one-night-only event serves as the centerpiece of a week-long Fairfield County visit filled with cultural exhibits, performances, and community education with a message of hope, resilience, and unity. The concert is the highlight of the first-ever local visit of Violins of Hope, which will appear at high schools, synagogues and churches throughout Greater Fairfield County.

Violins of Hope is a private collection of violins, violas and cellos painstakingly restored by the late Amnon Weinstein and his son Avshalom, violinmakers based in Tel Aviv and Istanbul. The instruments belonged to Jews before and during the Holocaust, and in some cases were played in concentration camps or desperately thrown from cattle cars in a bid to preserve them from the Nazis.

“With the startling rise of antisemitism and swastikas etched on lockers in our schools, our role in the community is more important than ever,” said Shelley Kreiger, founding director of the Holocaust Resource Center of the Jewish Federation of Greater Fairfield County. “The Nazis used music to humiliate and degrade Jews in ghettos and camps. The NSO concert, and the entire Violins of Hope program, are the ultimate answer to their plan to annihilate a people and instead represent the victory of the human spirit over evil and hatred.”

"Norwalk Symphony Orchestra is truly honored to join with the Jewish Federation of Greater Fairfield County to bring music to life using the Violins of Hope for our community,” said Sandra Miklave, NSO’s executive director. “We know the healing power of music, and this is multiplied as we play these truly historic instruments. It will be a meaningful and uplifting experience for both the audience and the musicians on the stage."

The Norwalk Symphony Orchestra will also partner with the Jewish Federation for a children’s concert and instrument “petting zoo” on Nov. 17 at Sacred Heart University’s Discovery Science Center and Planetarium in Bridgeport, which will also include science demos and musical activities for young families. All proceeds from the two events will support the educational work of the Holocaust Resource Center of Greater Fairfield County.

Violins of Hope has been featured in print, film and television. The instruments have been used in educational programs worldwide, exhibited in museums, and triumphantly played in concert halls around the globe, from Berlin and Tel Aviv to Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.

The entire Violins of Hope visit, coordinated by the Jewish Federation of Greater Fairfield County, is underwritten in part by generous donations from Andy and Carol Boas, Emil and Toby Meshberg, Bob and Barbara Scinto and Congregation Rodeph Sholom.

More Info:

Violins of Hope at Norwalk Symphony Orchestra

Saturday, Nov. 16 at 7pm
To purchase tickets for the concert, click here. https://www.tix.com/ticketsales/norwalksymphony/1368/event/1398974

Musical Experience for Children: Music, Sounds & Stories

Sunday, Nov. 17, 1:30 – 5 pm
Sacred Heart University’s Discovery Science Center and Planetarium

To purchase tickets for the children’s program, click here. https://shalomct.salsalabs.org/PJViolinsofHopeChildrensProgram111724/index.html