Violins of Hope - High-impact layout

Violins of Hope brings Pittsburgh together through music and history

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It was 2019, and while wintering in Arizona, Sandy Rosen, an enthusiastic docent at both the Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh and at Scottsdale’s Museum of the West, first learned of the Violins of Hope exhibit coming to Phoenix. “Naturally,’ she said, “I had to volunteer for this.” The Violins of Hope exhibit featured a collection of instruments that had belonged to victims of the Holocaust, some of which had been played in the concentration camps — symbols of beauty and resilience through the darkest times. As Rosen led different groups through the exhibition, she noticed how people, both young and old, were impacted emotionally by the stories behind these instruments. “Within 10 minutes of leading my first group of visitors, I saw some people in tears,” says Rosen. “I thought, ‘this is powerful.’” Rosen was also moved by the connection she and many museumgoers made between that hate-charged period of history and America today — particularly in her hometown of Pittsburgh. It had been mere months since the deadliest attack on the Jewish people in U.S. history. Squirrel Hill, at the corner of Shady and Wilkins Avenue, was a safe space for three congregations that worshipped there: Tree of Life, New Light, Dor Hadash. Each lost congregants that day, 11 in all: Joyce Fienberg, Richard Gottfried, Rose Mallinger, Jerry Rabinowitz, Cecil and David Rosenthal, Bernice and Sylvan Simon, Daniel Stein, Melvin Wax, and Irving Younger. Rosen resolved to bring Violins of Hope back to the City of Bridges to help heal and educate her community.

Four years later, Rosen’s vision is finally coming to fruition. For two months, from Oct. 7 to Nov. 25, 2023, Violins of Hope Greater Pittsburgh will bring together people from the city’s arts and music scene, religious institutions, community organizations and education system to emphasize our city’s shared values of empathy and understanding. The multi-event programming will reinforce lessons of diversity and belonging, and demonstrate the power of resilience, hope, and unity in even the direst circumstances. Or, to paraphrase the tagline: To Tune Out Prejudice and to Build Bridges That Last. “At the core of what we’re trying to achieve is awareness,” says Pat Siger, co-chair of Violins of Hope Greater Pittsburgh, who also experienced the program in Arizona. “When we understand how hatred happens, we see that it’s usually because people lack the knowledge. Kids today, and even some adults, may not know much about the Holocaust and what caused it. And you can compare that time to what is happening here with gun violence, bullying, drug abuse and suicide. We don’t have to agree with our neighbor, but we have to know and understand and protect them. We need to stand up together as a world and say that we want to live in a kinder place.”

The centerpiece of the programming is the exhibit itself, approximately two dozen of the ninety-six instruments in the collection will be on display for the two months at Posner Center at Carnegie Mellon University. Another two dozen will be travelling so that orchestra musicians and violinists around the city, including some middle and high-school students, will be able to play them. The collection represents the tireless efforts of Amnon and Avshi Weinstein, second- and third-generation Israeli violin makers, respectively, and descendants of a master luthier, Moshe Weinstein who fled Europe in 1938. The Weinsteins have spent 30 years locating, restoring, and tracing the provenance of each instrument. Each of these pieces has its own unique story, but they have all been held by people that experienced the horrors of the Holocaust. “Some of them were even played in the camps by people in the orchestra that played as work details went out early in the morning and came back late in the afternoon,” says Lynn Zelenski, project manager for Violins of Hope Greater Pittsburgh. They were forced to play familiar German marches to expedite movement to and from work and from the train transports moving captives either to work details or directly to the crematoria or gas chambers. Then, sometimes late at night in their barracks, they would play the music they loved very quietly. “The music they played was familiar to the prisoners, music they had lived with before those horrible times. There wasn’t much else that was normal. Families were torn apart, possessions and children were taken away, they witnessed and experienced unbelievable starvation and brutality. The music provided some solace and peace.” Of course, music is a prominent part of Pittsburgh’s programming. There will be concerts by the Edgewood Symphony Orchestra, Wheeling Symphony Orchestra, Carnegie Mellon Philharmonic Orchestra, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, the PSO Youth Symphony and more. There will also be performances on the traveling instruments themselves by the Clarion Quartet, Tuesday Musical Club and others.

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Exhibits, cultural arts programs, speakers, panel discussions, readings, library storytimes, films, community interfaith programs and a World Kindness Day Celebration are just some of what you can find at www.violinsofhopepittsburgh.com. There will also be adult and youth education, as well as visits with the violins to local schools. “The violins are simply the tool to tell the story,” says Siger. “This is different than most programs because it is docent-led and centered around open conversation. We’re offering teacher and classroom curriculum to those schools inviting us to come in and make presentations and/or who bring their students to the exhibit. There are subsidies for bussing so that there are no barriers for any kid in Allegheny County and beyond to have an opportunity to take part.” In many ways, the togetherness and unity that organizers want the event to promote in Pittsburgh is already taking place. Rosen says that when she and her colleagues approached local organizations about becoming involved, they were thrilled by the response. In all, there are more than 50 community partners, including American Jewish Museum, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon University, - The University of Pittsburgh and VisitPittsburgh.

Main Exhibit

Daniel Levin Photography

Resonance of Hope

World Kindness Day

“Our Pittsburgh community has taken our breath away,” says Rosen. “They have embraced this project and been so creative with the programming that they are bringing to this city.” If you want to know how you can get involved, either by donating money or your time as a docent or volunteer, visit www.violinsofhopepittsburgh.com for more information. “From the beginning, our tagline has been ‘Tuning Out Prejudice: Building Bridges That Last,’” says Zelenski. “If we can make the world just a little bit kinder, we’ve done a good job.”