Unsilenced. GLBT and Jewish Voices of the Holocaust

The Nazis tried to silence them, but their music and stories live on. This January, One Voice presents "Unsilenced. GLBT and Jewish Voices of the Holocaust," a concert of hope and resistance. Through music ranging from Berlin cabaret tunes and Gershwin to songs written in the camps, One Voice tells the story of the GLBT and Jewish communities under the shadow of the Third Reich. Special guests for this project include cellist Janet Horvath, soloists David Harris and Cantor Sarah Lipsett-Allison, local synagogues Congregation Shir Tikvah and Bet Shalom Congregation, and the Jean-Nickolaus Tretter Collection in Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Studies archive at the University of Minnesota—the largest collection of GLBT Holocaust materials outside of Berlin. In addition to the musical performances, each concert includes dramatic lobby displays of Holocaust materials provided by the Tretter GLBT Collection, and post-concert discussions with performers and community leaders on the continuing significance of the Holocaust. Performances take place in the Twin Cities and as part of our annual outreach tour outside the metro area. “Creating this concert has been an amazing journey, both emotionally and musically,” says Artistic Director Jane Ramseyer Miller. “The music and stories express the full range of human emotions, from the frivolity of pre-war Berlin so vividly portrayed in cabaret music, to the steely determination immortalized in the songs of the camps and resistance movements. Although originating from a place of deep tragedy the music leaves the listener with a profound sense of hope, strength and resilience. “ David Harris, Music Director at Shir Tikvah, believes this project is urgently needed: “I’m so grateful that One Voice is taking this project on, and that we can be a part of it. For me, what’s particularly valuable about this experience is the unity it will forge—these two vibrant communities, who shared a parallel fate at the hands of the Nazis, will come together, learn from each other and help each other heal.” The focal point of the project is a new commission—an additional movement to Donald McCullough's "Holocaust Cantata," a powerful 13-movement work for SATB chorus, soloists, piano and solo cello with text written by prisoners incarcerated in Nazi concentration camps. One Voice has commissioned McCullough to compose an additional section for his cantata based on Dicke Luft, a song commissioned by a gay man interred at Sachsenhausen and paid for with an extra ration of bread. As McCullough explains, “My hope is to transform statistics into people in the minds of the Cantata’s listeners, and perhaps be a part of making it more difficult for such a horror ever to occur again. In the end, for me, the work flows inexorably back to its source: it is the voice of humanity, crying out to be heard.” Unsilenced also includes songs by GLBT and Jewish composers impacted by the Holocaust, German cabaret music that was a focal point for the GLBT community in Berlin, and contemporary songs such as Not in My Town, which tells the powerful story of a town in Montana that came together to fight anti-Semitic acts in their community. Also on the program are Kurt Weill’s Kiddush and The Lavender Song, a composition from 1920s Weimar Berlin that became the first gay anthem for the emerging homosexual movement in Germany. The concerts also feature educational elements, including stories of the Holocaust told through readings that put a human face on the experience and set the context for the songs. Among the individuals highlighted is Frieda Belinfante, who was doubly persecuted for being a Jewish lesbian. Frieda was a cellist and conductor in Amsterdam who became a leader in the Dutch resistance; she risked her life forging records for Jews and destroying Nazi archives. Each concert will be approximately 90 minutes in length and will be performed without intermission. The concert concludes with a post-performance discussion with performers, GLTB and Jewish leaders about the Holocaust and its ongoing, contemporary significance. These forums will be jointly hosted by One Voice and the St. Cloud University Center for Holocaust and Genocide Education; participating panelists include Jean Tretter (Tretter GLBT Collection), One Voice Artistic Director Jane Ramseyer Miller, staff from the University Holocaust studies program, Janet Horvath and leaders from the collaborating congregations. “Our partners on this project have been truly inspirational and I am honored to work with them to create such a rich, moving concert for the community,” says Ramseyer Miller.