Violins of Hope @Vanderbilt

Mama un Tati Tants, Klezmer Ensemble

by the Andy Statman Klezmer Orchestra
​with Patrick Mills, Lila Meretzky, Chris Glen, Noah Luna, and Will Mangum 
at Vanderbilt University, Turner Hall
April 21, 2017

​I will never forget this experience for as long as I live. This is our performance of the Klezmer (traditional Jewish dance music) tune "Mama un Tati Tants", on the incredible Star of David Violin. This instrument was made for a Klezmer violinist, but was found in a concentration camp after World War Two. It was used (like many of the other Violins of Hope) to play marches and Nazi propaganda songs as trains of Jews, Roma, Homosexuals, and those deemed "non-contributing" were led to their death.

Using this instrument to do what it was made for made me the saddest and happiest I've ever been.

​Many thanks to the Nashville Symphony and the Violins of Hope project for lending our ensemble this instrument, and thank you to the performers who played alongside it.