Violins of Hope
January 31 — February 12, 2023
UNCLE Credit Union Art Gallery
Daily, 11 am — 6 pm
Free & Open to the Public
Powerful, internationally-recognized exhibit of violins, violas and cellos collected from World War II that were owned and played by Jews before and during the war. Exhibit and concert in collaboration with the East Bay Holocaust Education Center and the Livermore-Amador Symphony.
Docents will be at the exhibit Monday-Thursday from 11am-1pm and Friday-Sunday from 4pm-6pm.
Special Gallery Talks:
Friday, Feb 3 & Wednesday, Feb 8, 4 pm – 5 pm
Violins of Hope Lecture in the Gallery by Avshalom (Avshi) Weinstein
Amnon Weinstein has spent the last two decades locating & restoring violins that were played by Jewish musicians during the Holocaust. Amnon dedicates this important work to 400 relatives he never knew. These grandparents, uncles, aunts, & cousins stayed behind in Eastern Europe after Amnon’s parents, Moshe and Golda, immigrated in 1938 to Palestine, where Moshe opened a violin shop. After the war, Moshe learned that his entire family—400 in all—had been murdered during the Holocaust. Amnon maintains his violin workshop in Tel Aviv, Israel.
Amnon’s son, Avshalom, began working with his father in 1998 as a violin-maker and restorer of violins, violas, and cellos of the highest level. Avshalom is trained in the tradition of the Italian Cremonese School of violin-makers & the French school of restoration. Avshalom opened his own workshop in Istanbul in 2009, where he continues the family tradition.
Monday, Feb 6, 11 am
Gallery talk by Rachelle Blaine, on her mother Joyce Venderveen’s violin.