Virtuoso violinist Niv Ashkenazi is to perform Sept. 18 using one of a collection of instruments that survived the Holocaust and then were restored by a father-son pair in a Tel-Aviv workshop.
The concert is part of the Alabama Holocaust Education Center’s annual fundraising event L’Chaim, being held at Red Mountain Theatre.
Avshalom “Avshi” and Amnon Weinstein, the founders of the Violins of Hope project to restore the violins, are two of the honorees at this year’s event, as are Sallie Downs, Dr. Henry Panion III and Kay Donnellan. Event chairmen are Daniel Odrezin and Stephen Royal.
Jeffrey and Gail Bayer, and Dr. Selwyn Vickers are honorary event co-chairs, and Medical Properties Trust is this year’s presenting sponsor.
“The Holocaust took place because individuals, groups and nations made decisions to act or not to act. It was not inevitable,’” Daniel Odrezin, chair of L’Chaim 2022, said in a press release. “Focusing on those decisions leads to insights into history and human nature that are critical to ensuring a peaceful and just world for everyone. That is what L’Chaim and the Alabama Holocaust Education Center are all about.”
Violinist Ashkenazi, who is a former student of Itzhak Perlman, has made several Carnegie Hall and Kennedy Center appearances and performed in Europe, the Middle East and across North America. The event begins at 3 p.m. For tickets and more information, visit aheclchaim.swell.gives.