Songs from My Childhood Concert
The sweet strains of music filled the Saperstein Middle School Campus amphitheater at the “Songs from My Childhood” concert on Tuesday, May 15. The event was the culmination of a project by Spiritual Practice Teacher Nachum Peterseil, who received a Project Focus Learning Initiative grant. Peterseil worked together with the nonprofit Facing History and Ourselves and with the Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust (LAMOTH) on the project, which was a musical conversation between Holocaust survivors and students. Students interviewed survivors about a song from their childhood that sparked an important memory for them. Four songs were chosen and arranged by the Milken Concert Orchestra led by David Brown and Kol Echad led by Sarah Shapiro and recorded at a UCLA recording studio.
The concert featured the survivors’ recorded interviews with each song coming to life as the Concert Orchestra and Kol Echad performed them live. Survivor Henry Slucki was there in person to introduce his memorable song, “Bésame Mucho.” Other interviews and songs played during the evening included Peterseil’s grandmother Esther Peterseil, “Zog Nit Keynmol”; Renee Firestone, “My Yiddishe Mame”; and Gabriella Lande, “Heidenröslein.”
Peterseil noted a special part of the night was the interview with survivor Renee Firestone. Singing with her sister and her parents in their bed on Sunday mornings was a big part of her childhood, and some of the songs they sang were Yiddish. She recalled her first night at Auschwitz and how she and her sister were separated from their parents. That night in the dark barracks, they heard someone in another bunk singing “My Yiddishe Mame,” which is an ode to the Jewish mother, and everyone started to cry.
Another highlight of the evening was when Hannah Lande ’18 sang “Heidenroslein,” a song that had a special significance for her. It was her grandmother’s, survivor Gabriella Lande, favorite song — one that her mother would sing to her when she was young. “It is fascinating that I sang the same notes and words as my great-grandmother used to and I never even met her,” said Lande. She shared that the experience was very impactful for her. “It helped me gain an appreciation for the power music truly has to unite people.” She added that it was amazing to hear her grandmother Gabriella Lande’s recorded story and then be able to sing the song.
The project had a big impact on those who were involved. Elijah Dardashty ’20, a member of the Kol Echad, took part in several of the interviews with the survivors. “The ‘Songs from My Childhood’ project was very interesting and moving,” said Dardashty. “I never would have imagined that music could be so important and special to Holocaust survivors.”
It was a powerful and memorable evening of music as the songs were shared from one generation to another. “If there is one thing clear it is that music bridges generations,” said Peterseil. “It creates a direct and sincere dialogue between the present and the past.”
The concert featured the survivors’ recorded interviews with each song coming to life as the Concert Orchestra and Kol Echad performed them live. Survivor Henry Slucki was there in person to introduce his memorable song, “Bésame Mucho.” Other interviews and songs played during the evening included Peterseil’s grandmother Esther Peterseil, “Zog Nit Keynmol”; Renee Firestone, “My Yiddishe Mame”; and Gabriella Lande, “Heidenröslein.”
Peterseil noted a special part of the night was the interview with survivor Renee Firestone. Singing with her sister and her parents in their bed on Sunday mornings was a big part of her childhood, and some of the songs they sang were Yiddish. She recalled her first night at Auschwitz and how she and her sister were separated from their parents. That night in the dark barracks, they heard someone in another bunk singing “My Yiddishe Mame,” which is an ode to the Jewish mother, and everyone started to cry.
Another highlight of the evening was when Hannah Lande ’18 sang “Heidenroslein,” a song that had a special significance for her. It was her grandmother’s, survivor Gabriella Lande, favorite song — one that her mother would sing to her when she was young. “It is fascinating that I sang the same notes and words as my great-grandmother used to and I never even met her,” said Lande. She shared that the experience was very impactful for her. “It helped me gain an appreciation for the power music truly has to unite people.” She added that it was amazing to hear her grandmother Gabriella Lande’s recorded story and then be able to sing the song.
The project had a big impact on those who were involved. Elijah Dardashty ’20, a member of the Kol Echad, took part in several of the interviews with the survivors. “The ‘Songs from My Childhood’ project was very interesting and moving,” said Dardashty. “I never would have imagined that music could be so important and special to Holocaust survivors.”
It was a powerful and memorable evening of music as the songs were shared from one generation to another. “If there is one thing clear it is that music bridges generations,” said Peterseil. “It creates a direct and sincere dialogue between the present and the past.”
No comments have been posted
At Milken Community School, we think education is more than what you know. Our School, founded on Jewish values, is about who our children can become and how they can help others become who they might be. Because the world our children will create tomorrow is born in the School we build today, our mission is to educate our children so they can surpass us.
Non-discrimination Policy: Milken Community School does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation or national and ethnic origin in the administration of its educational policies, admission policies, financial aid, athletic, and other school-administered programs.
Saperstein Middle School Campus
Upper School Campus
Copyright © 2024 Milken Community School