Eastman School of Music faculty members, students, and alumni will join the worldwide observance of Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day) by presenting a concert titled “A Time to Remember…” on Sunday, April 27, 2025, at 7:30 p.m. in Kilbourn Hall. The program features music written by composers who perished or survived the World War II concentration and work camps, as well as music written in tribute to those who died. This repertoire has been curated by Wegman Family Professor of Violin Renée Jolles.
The 10th Anniversary program includes the world premiere performance of Claire Polin’s “Salaspils” for piano trio and voice, inspired by a 1981 visit to Salaspils—the largest civilian concentration camp in the Baltic states during World War II. Polin was so moved by what she saw there that she went home and wrote this piece. Though it was never published or played, Polin’s son, violinist Gabriel Schaff, suggested to Jolles that it be included in this special concert. The rest of the program features works by Henriëtte Hilda Bosmans, Erwin Schulhoff, Leo Smit, and Mieczysław Weinberg.
“We gather to remember the voices silenced by the horrors of the Holocaust, and to celebrate the creativity, and resilience of the human spirit,” shares Jolles. She launched this annual concert series in 2014 as a tribute to her father, Jerome Jolles, who was forced to bury bodies as part of a work detail in Romania during the Nazi occupation. He survived and came to the United States, where he finished his studies in music performance and composition at The Juilliard School. A virtuoso accordion player, piano teacher, and composer, Mr. Jolles died in January 2014.
“My father was the kind of Holocaust survivor who rarely spoke about his wartime experiences. Rather, he encouraged us to look toward a bright future filled with love, humor, and hope,” Jolles continues. “However, with anti-Semitism, bigotry, and hatred on the rise, it is more important than ever to learn from lessons of the past.”
“A Time to Remember…” is free and open to the public. To learn more about this concert, and other events taking place at Eastman, visit our Concerts and Events Calendar.
Media Only: Lauren Sageer, Assistant Director of Public Relations and Digital Content,
(585) 451-8492, lsageer@esm.rochester.edu
###
About Eastman School of Music:
The Eastman School of Music was founded in 1921 by industrialist and philanthropist George Eastman (1854-1932), founder of Eastman Kodak Company. It was the first professional school of the University of Rochester. Mr. Eastman’s dream was that his school would provide a broad education in the liberal arts as well as superb musical training.
More than 900 students are enrolled in the Collegiate Division of the Eastman School of Music—about 500 undergraduates and 400 graduate students. They come from almost every state, and approximately 23 percent are from other countries. They are taught by a faculty comprised of more than 170 highly regarded performers, composers, conductors, scholars, and educators. They are Pulitzer Prize winners, Grammy winners, Emmy winners, Guggenheim fellows, ASCAP Award recipients, published authors, recording artists, and acclaimed musicians who have performed in the world’s greatest concert halls. Each year, Eastman’s students, faculty members, and guest artists present more than 900 concerts to the Rochester community. Additionally, more than 1,700 members of the Rochester community, from young children through senior citizens, are enrolled in the Eastman Community Music School.
About the University of Rochester:
The University of Rochester is one of the nation’s leading private research universities, one of only 62-member institutions in the Association of American Universities. Located in Rochester, N.Y., the University gives undergraduates exceptional opportunities for interdisciplinary study and close collaboration with faculty through its unique cluster-based curriculum. Its College, School of Arts and Sciences, and Hajim School of Engineering and Applied Sciences are complemented by the Eastman School of Music, Simon School of Business, Warner School of Education, Laboratory for Laser Energetics, School of Medicine and Dentistry, School of Nursing, Eastman Institute for Oral Health, and the Memorial Art Gallery.