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Violins of Hope is an artistic and educational project composed of instruments that were owned by Jewish musicians before and during the Holocaust. Violins in the collection were played in the concentration camps and ghettos, providing a source of comfort for some and a means of survival for others. These instruments have been restored by Amnon and Avshalom Weinstein, who bring them to communities around the world to spread a message of hope, tolerance, and remembrance.
Niv is the only musician to have one of the Violin of Hope on long-term loan, and Niv Ashkenazi: Violins of Hope is the first solo album recorded on one of these instruments, available now from Albany Records
This year, as the Artist in Residence for the Younes and Soraya Nazarian Center for the Performing Arts, Niv is visiting up to 40 schools in the San Fernando Valley to do workshops with the Violin of Hope he has on loan.
ABC7 and Spectrum News both reported on the ongoing project.
On April 25th, 2020, Niv will perform the Theme from Schindler’s List with Eckart Preu, conductor and the Long Beach Symphony. This will be the culminating concert for Violins of Hope LA.
From September 2019 to March 2020 Niv will serve as The Soraya’s first Artist in Residence. This residency will include education workshops at 40-50 schools as well as a matinee performance at the Soraya and will reach 10,000 students.
The LA Times announces Violins of Hope LA from March 22nd through April 26th 2020 and the educational workshops led by Niv Ashkenazi through The Soraya leading up to March 2020.
On November 7th, 2018, Niv will perform on one of the Violins of Hope to mark the 80th anniversary of Kristallnacht. This event organized by the Centre for Holocaust Education and Scholarship launches Holocaust Education Month and will be the first time one of the Violins of Hope is played in Canada.