There will be a week of notable activities during the month of April in Sioux City, when the Violins of Hope instruments will remind people of some lightness during the dark days of the Holocaust.
Sioux City Symphony Director Ryan Haskins on Friday set the scene for that international cultural initiative, which features a collection of violins owned and played by Jewish musicians before and during the Holocaust.
Haskins said many of the roughly 70 instruments survived ghettos, camps, and hiding, and now serve as living witnesses to history.
Master violin makers Amnon and Avshalom Weinstein have painstakingly restored these violins, returning them to concert stages and educational settings so their stories can continue to be told.
Haskins praised the fact that the violins will not just be displayed, but played, which he said will be a moving experience for attendees.
The violins have been catalogued from when they were made, who owned them, and where they were played during World War II. At times that was by people in labor camps, both for themselves, or at the behest of Nazi Germany occupiers, as a means to pacify those being held.Lou Ann Lindblade, director of the Tolerance Alliance, is a great opportunity for Sipouxlanders: “This residency is about remembrance, education, and hope.”
Said Haskins, “They embody real history, real lives, and real voices, reminding us of what was lost and what has endured.Hearing them played live creates a powerful experience that is hard to describe. It fosters a deep sense of connection, not only to the past but also to one another. In a time when division and misunderstanding seem increasingly prevalent, this kind of shared experience is exactly what we need.”
This initiative has been made possible through a partnership with the Jewish Federation of the Quad Cities, the Jewish Federation of Des Moines, and the Sioux City Symphony Orchestra.
