This year marks the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland.
It's estimated that 1.1 million Jewish citizens were sent there during World War II.
Music of Remembrance, a Seattle-based organization, is hosting a concert called "Art from Ashes" at Benaroya Hall to mark the solemn occasion, which coincides with Holocaust Remembrance Day, Jan. 27.
The organization's founder recently joined KNKX All Things Considered Host Emil Moffatt to preview the music that will be performed.
“When I founded Music of Remembrance in 1998 our mission was dedicated to remembering the Holocaust with music,” said Mina Miller. “Our mission has expanded to include exploring those people who have been excluded or persecuted for their gender, ethnicity, sexuality or faith.”
While it may seem that music performed inside concentration camps might be solemn, not all of it is, Miller said.
“One's identity came from making music, composing music, and that sense of courage [and] inspiration is behind every work that we play, and every work that I've come across from Holocaust artists,” Miller said.
Interview Highlights
On what the audience will hear at "Art from Ashes"
This concert is very special because I've programmed works by murdered composers from across Nazi-controlled Europe. And the point of the concert is to try to grasp the enormity of the great talents that were lost, that were swallowed up in the Holocaust.
At Auschwitz, as in other camps, the Nazis used music as an instrument of destruction. They used music to deceive, to dehumanize, to pacify, to humiliate, but they also used music to entertain themselves.
And so we're going to be playing a medley of five tunes that sound like you're in the sweetest time on Earth, [that] life is carefree and gorgeous, and you know that the people playing that music at the time were all set for execution, and there's such a bitter irony to this.
On having the Northwest Boychoir and the Seattle Girls Choir both taking part in this performance
It’s so important to have young people [participate] because they are the bridge. They bridge generations, and they bridge the dedication to building a better world.
Both choirs at this concert will be singing in this stirring finale called "Farewell Auschwitz." It’s a work that was written by American composer Jake Heggie. We commissioned a song cycle from him in 2013. I asked him to set music that was written in Auschwitz by this particular prisoner, Krystyna Zywulska. Jake set a number of her poems, and the last one was titled "Farewell Auschwitz." And it's a very rousing melody. It's a message of strength and courage.
The Art from Ashes concert is being presented free to the public, thanks to a donation from local benefactors.
