ESO concert features instruments restored from Holocaust

As Elgin Symphony Orchestra Concertmaster Isabella Lippi will tell you, musicians don’t often have the opportunity to play instruments other than their own. That is why she and her fellow strings musicians are particularly looking forward to the ESO’s Violins of Hope concert on May 20. ESO musicians will be performing on 17 violins and one viola previously owned by Jewish musicians before and during the Holocaust. The instruments are part of a 70-piece collection that are featured in displays and in concerts arranged by JCC Chicago across Illinois through the Violins of Hope project occurring now through September.

“I have heard about the Violins of Hope previously and I feel very privileged to have the opportunity to participate in this incredible concert. I am very curious and excited to play these violins as this is such an intimate way to connect with the souls of these brave musicians,” Lippi said. “It's always a treat to play on a different instrument as it doesn't happen often, so I am very much looking forward to this concert!”

Violins of Hope aims to bring awareness and insight by telling the stories of resilience, resistance, and unity through the power of a musical experience. Each instrument in the collection has its own story about a Jewish musician’s life. Some are stories of survival, as playing for the German soldiers saved many Jewish lives. Others are stories of despair, such as the story of the violin that was thrown off a train by a Jewish musician on his way to a concentration camp.

These stories will be shared in a pre-concert chat by musicologist and “Violins of Hope” author James A. Grymes starting at 7 p.m. on Saturday, May 20 at the Hemmens Cultural Center in Elgin, Ill. At 8 p.m., the ESO concert, featuring Mahler’s famous “Adagietto”, John William’s “Theme from Schindler’s List”, and Mendelssohn’s Sinfonia No. 10 in B minor, will begin. The program will be conducted by Elgin Youth Symphony Orchestra Artistic Director Matthew Sheppard.

“I am humbled by this idea (to play instruments from the Holocaust); the experience will be quite another thing,” said Carol Dylan, violinist with the ESO. “It is a great honor to play these instruments, helping them sing again after all these years. In doing so we are giving voice to the victims and their message of hope.”

The ESO concert features the most Violins of Hope instruments in a concert in the Chicagoland area.

Tickets for the ESO’s Violins of Hope concert start at $20 and are available on the ESO’s website, www.ElginSymphony.org, and, from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m., Tuesday through Friday, by calling its box office at 847-888-4000. Student tickets are $10, and youth age 17 and under are free with an accompanying adult, limit one free youth ticket per adult ticket purchase.

The ESO’s Violins of Hope concert is made possible by The Seigle Foundation, the Florence B. and Cornelia A. Palmer Foundation, and JCC Chicago, in partnership with the Gail Borden Public Library, and the City of Elgin Cultural Arts Commission. Other Elgin events include a Violins of Hope exhibition at the Gail Borden Public Library and performance by Chamber Music on the Fox at Congregation Kneseth Israel. For a list of all Violins of Hope events across Illinois, visit www.jccchicago.org/violins-of-hope.