Violins of Hope residency concludes in Milwaukee with farewell event
Violins of Hope residency concludes in Milwaukee with farewell event
The Violins of Hope residency concluded in Milwaukee after months of performances honoring Holocaust survivors and stories of resilience.
MILWAUKEE - On International Holocaust Remembrance Day, the Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra marked the conclusion of its Violins of Hope residency, closing a five-month chapter centered on remembrance, resilience and music.
What we know:
The Violins of Hope are instruments that once belonged to Jewish musicians who lived through — or died during — the Holocaust. Many were played in ghettos, camps, hiding and exile, surviving alongside the people who carried them.
Thayre Faust, project manager for the residency, said the instruments reached more than 31,000 people through performances and educational programs across Wisconsin.
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"The violins we carry through this residency are not artifacts, they are witnesses; they were held in ghettos and camps in hiding and exile, they absorbed fear and loss but also hope," said Thayre Faust, project manager.
Big picture view:
As the instruments prepared to leave Milwaukee for their next destination, Faust encouraged the community to continue carrying their stories forward.
"Do not think of tonight as ending, think of it as a responsibility," Faust said. "You now carry these stories, you are stewards of what these instruments represent."
Tuesday night, the Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra thanked its partners and observed a moment of silence in honor of International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
"It’s a day where we remember the 6 million victims of the Jewish Holocaust and the millions of others that perished under Nazi persecution," said Linda Edelstein, MYSO CEO.
Local perspective:
Among the stories shared was one deeply personal to Milwaukee. Former FOX6er Myra Sanchick donated her father’s violin to the Violins of Hope collection, weaving her family’s history into the project.
"He joined the military, and he fought in World War 2, and little did he know, my mother was not far, also in Germany," she said. "She was trying to escape the Holocaust. She actually did manage by writing letters to people in America."
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The violin, shaped by her family’s wartime history, will now travel on as part of the collection.
"Music, love, hope and community is really a story that everyone can share," Sanchick said.
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The Source: The information in this post was collected and produced by FOX6 News.