By Carl Zebrowski
Editor

A Shabbat evening at Congregation Brith Sholom commemorating the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II will feature two violins with profound histories, each of which survived one of the war’s defining tragedies: the Holocaust and the atomic bombings of Japan. 

This evening gathering on September 13 will include Havdalah, a dessert reception, and Orthodox and egalitarian selichot services.

The commemorative Strings of Hope program brings together live music, spoken word, and film to present the powerful symbol of the two violins, representing both tragedy and hope, to an audience that is living through its own divided, conflict-ridden period in world history. 

“My hope is for the audience to absorb the human side of historical events that inflicted horrors on citizens from different sides of the conflict, reminding all of us of our shared responsibility to build bridges to ensure that future generations never witness the tragedies of war,” said Bar-David, the Philadelphia Orchestra cellist and native of Israel who created and will lead the program.

Strings of Hope shares the stories of the violins and the courageous and resilient musicians who performed on them in their native Europe and in Asia. “These prominent musicians introduced European traditions to cities such as Hiroshima and Shanghai,” said Bar-David, who also is founder and artistic director of Intercultural Journeys and ARTolerance, promoting cross-cultural understanding, dialog, and peace. “Their instruments now carry their legacy forward.”

Bar-David will perform live on cello along with Kosaburo Kineya on shamisen and Joe Small on taiko drum. Their repertoire will highlight traditional Japanese and Jewish musics in a unique interaction between the cello and the two Japanese instruments. The trio will also improvise as inspired by the film. 

This Strings of Hope evening is made possible through the support of the Judith and Stanley Walker Family Foundation in partnership with the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley, the Lehigh Valley Jewish Clergy Group, Udi Bar-David, and Miko Green, representative of the Japan Society of New York.

The program will begin at 8:15 p.m. and end around 10. Registration is required at jewishlehighvalley.regfox.com/strings-of-hope.