Holocaust Remembrance Concert to be Held at UT Dallas April 19

The Dallas Chamber Orchestra and the Ackerman Center for Holocaust Studies at The University of Texas at Dallas will present a Holocaust Remembrance Concert on the UT Dallas campus on Thursday, April 19, which is Yom HaShoah, or Holocaust Remembrance Day.

The concert, which is free and open to the public, will feature music and poetry composed by artists who died in the Holocaust.

This performance will feature the Dallas Chamber Orchestra, which will play music written by Ervin Schulhoff and Gideon Klein.  UT Dallas Founders Professor of Arts and Humanities Frederick Turner will read the poetry of Miklós Radnóti, a Hungarian poet killed on a death march, whose work has been translated into English by Turner and Dr. Zsuzsanna Ozsváth, also of UT Dallas.  In addition, Cantor Don Croll of Temple Shalom Dallas will sing four Yiddish songs of the time.

“The concert promises to be a moving event, given the extraordinary level of talent involved and being staged as it is on the day set aside worldwide to remember the Holocaust, or Shoah,” said Dr. Ozsváth, the Leah and Paul Lewis Chair of Holocaust Studies and director of the Ackerman Center for Holocaust Studies at UT Dallas.  “We invite the public to join us to enjoy the performance and to remember.”

The event is presented in cooperation with the Jewish Community Relations Council of Dallas.

The concert will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the UT Dallas Conference Center.  Although there is no admission charge, reservations are required and may be made by telephone at 972-883-2100 or e-mail at holocauststudies@utdallas.edu.

The Dallas Chamber Orchestra was founded in 1977 by violinist Ronald Neal, who serves as the ensemble’s director.  The highly praised orchestra consists of a number of virtuoso performers who play a variety of stringed instruments.  The ensemble performs in the tradition of smaller orchestras, without conductor.  The Dallas Chamber Orchestra is frequently heard on National Public Radio and has numerous recordings to its credit.

Croll is an invested cantor, having graduated with honors in liturgical interpretation from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion’s School of Sacred Music.  He served as cantor at synagogues in New York, California and New Mexico, and has performed in concerts in venues in Israel and around the U.S., including the Kennedy Center.  As music director of Temple Shalom Dallas, he sets music curriculum, directs the adult and junior choirs and teaches in religious school.

Turner holds three degrees in English language and literature from Oxford University.  He is a poet and professor who teaches a wide range of subjects, such as science, poetry and cultural studies.

The Ackerman Center for Holocaust Studies promotes the study of the Shoah and of Jewish culture and history among UT Dallas students and the larger Dallas-Fort Worth community.  Over the past two decades, the center has developed an international reputation in its field.  The work of the center, housed in the university’s School of Arts and Humanities, is augmented and supported by the Ackerman Challenge Endowment, the Leah and Paul Lewis Chair in Holocaust Studies, the Burton C. Einspruch Holocaust Lecture Series and the Arnold A. Jaffe Holocaust Book Collection.

About UT Dallas

The University of Texas at Dallas, located at the convergence of Richardson, Plano and Dallas in the heart of the complex of major multinational technology corporations known as the Telecom Corridor, enrolls more than 14,500 students.  The school’s freshman class traditionally stands at the forefront of Texas state universities in terms of average SAT scores.  The university offers a broad assortment of bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs.  For additional information about UT Dallas, please visit the university’s website at www.utdallas.edu.