The Forum with Avshalom Weinstein and Jake Heggie

February 16, 2020

9:30 am

The co-founder of Violins of Hope and the composer of a major new chamber work honoring them on the project.

About the conversation

The Violins of Hope are a collection of more than 50 string instruments once played by Jews in concentration camps during the Holocaust. Lovingly restored by Israeli violin-makers Amnon and Avshalom Weinstein, the Violins are now touring worldwide. To commemorate the 75th Anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, Music at Kohl Mansion commissioned internationally-renowned American composer Jake Heggie and his frequent collaborator, celebrated librettist Gene Scheer, to write a major new chamber work for the Violins of Hope.

This Forum is part of Violins of Hope—San Francisco Bay Area, an immersive eight-week celebration of the remarkable resilience of the human spirit. Through a series of concerts, exhibitions, films, lectures, community conversations and educational programs collaboratively presented by more than forty diverse Bay Area organizations in eight counties, Violins of Hope SFBA showcases this first West Coast appearance of the Violins of Hope.