Chapman University evokes Holocaust memories with concert and exhibit
In a fitting tribute to Holocaust-era composers, Chapman University teamed up with members of the Pacific Symphony, vocal soloist Chelsea Chaves, and Cantor Chayim Frenkel of Kehillat Israel Reconstructionist Synagogue of Pacific Palisades to present a concert called “Evening of Holocaust Remembrance” on May 2. The collaborative program of Holocaust-era music featured compositions by Hans Krása, Gideon Klein, Viktor Ullmann, Ilse Weber, and Rosie Wertheim, musicians whose lives were cut short by the Holocaust.
The evening also featured presentations by Daniele Struppa, president of Chapman University, and John Forsyte, president of Pacific Symphony, and an introduction by Marilyn Harran, director of the Rodgers Center for Holocaust Education and Stern Chair in Holocaust Education at Chapman. There were closing reflections from Reverend Nancy Brink, executive director of the Fish Interfaith Center and Rabbi Cassi Kail, director of Jewish Life at the Fish Interfaith Center. Culminating the evening was a candle lighting by local Holocaust survivors. An informal reception in the patio of the Fish Interfaith Center followed the event.
Dr. Harran has dedicated her life to Holocaust education, engaging young minds to understand why it happened and encouraging people to stand up to antisemitism, bigotry, and xenophobia. A primary vehicle for doing so is through the Holocaust Art and Writing Contest, in which students connect to one survivor and tell that survivor’s story through art, film, poetry, or prose.
That artwork is being captured at a major retrospective exhibit at the Hilbert Museum of California Art highlighting 25 years of the Holocaust Art and Writing Contest. Entitled “Messengers of Memory,” the free exhibit includes more than 70 works of art, prose, poetry and film.
This extraordinary exhibit honors Holocaust survivors and celebrates the creativity of students who are their voices to the future – messengers of memory. It runs from April 17 to July 31. The newly reopened Hilbert Museum is located at 167 N. Atchison Street in Orange.