(11/24/15 1:59am)
Brandeis students exhibit talent in all areas — including music. With a trek to Slosberg Music Center, a night at Chomondeley’s Coffee House or a walk by the chapels, that becomes clear. Students sing, play instruments or rap, but until now, nothing has connected these young musicians to each other or to the outside musical community. Avi Hirshbein ’19 seeks to change that with the establishment of Brandeis’s own record label: Basement Records.
(04/22/13 4:00am)
To commemorate the 70th anniversary of the uprisings in the Warsaw Ghetto, the University hosted a performance in the Rapaporte Treasure Hall this past Sunday. The performance, titled "A Legacy of Endurance and Courage: The Warsaw Ghetto, 1940-43," featured Yiddish songs and historical texts. University President Frederick Lawrence's wife, Prof. Kathy Lawrence (ENG) narrated the performance, alongside Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology Professor of Health Sciences and Technology, Susanne Klingenstein. A largely adult audience of formally dressed viewers attended and sat diligently through the program, reliving the legacy of those who were imprisoned in the ghetto. For many in the audience, this included departed family and friends. Klingenstein opened the performance saying, "By telling the story of the Warsaw Ghetto, we've fulfilled the command of passing onto the next generation a story of courage and model behavior." She explained the thoughtful organization of the performance into six segments, each of which highlighted a different part of the history and included a text reading and a musical performance. The program began with a section titled "Jewish Warsaw in the 1930s" and moved to "The Ghetto in 1940-41," "The Ghetto in 1941-42," "The Deportations of 1942," "The Uprisings of January and April 1943" and concluded with "Moral Resistance: One German Officer in 1943-44." Klingenstein's narration between components of the performance provided a sensitive, compelling narrative of the history in the ghetto. There was a certain reverence in her voice as she explained the severity of the tragedies that occurred in the ghetto to the audience, providing statistical support. The ghetto, she said, was created and sealed off in Warsaw, a place where Jews had been living in peace and prosperity for almost 500 years prior. The Germans forced 400,000 people into the space, which was about three times the size of the Brandeis campus. These numbers average out to almost 30 people living in each shoddy apartment, many of which quickly starved to death. Though the entire performance moved with an air of gravity and veneration, the musical pieces were performed with a beautiful range of emotional tones, underscoring the personal connection the performers felt to the story they were telling. A professional opera singer, mezzo-soprano Sophie Michaux, delivered several soulful renditions of Yiddish songs that were written and sung in the ghetto, showing the passion, desperation and hope that the people clung to as they fought for their lives. Eugenia Gerstein, a music teacher at the Solomon Schechter Day School of Greater Boston, provided piano accompaniment for Michaux's vocals and conducted the Temple Emanuel choir, which came from Newton to perform many of the powerful songs. The might of their voices together, proclaiming the misery and injustice that plagued their people, was a powerful display and a highlight of the overall performance. Young composer and Brookline, Mass. native Jeremiah Klarman accompanied the performances, and Temple Emanuel's Cantor Elias Rosemberg performed alongside the choir as well. I found the fourth segment of the performance, "The Deportations of 1942," to be one of the most compelling, as Kathy Lawrence read diligently from an excerpt of the diary of Polish-Jewish engineer and Senator to the Nazi-appointed Jewish Council Adam Czerniakow. The diary entry selected was from the last letter Czerniakow wrote to the men whom he worked alongside, explaining his decision to take his own life: he could not bear to execute the Nazis' order to kill the Jewish children in the ghetto. Klingenstein explained that, in the entry's original German, the word that Czerniakow used to describe the mass murders as "wrong" connotes a heavier sense of injustice-that the crimes committed against the Jews in the ghetto were not just crimes against humanity but inexcusable trespasses against God. This reading was followed by the choir's performance of two moving songs, "Dremlen Feygl" and "Butterfly," both composed by people who lived in the ghetto, pitying and cherishing the children who were trapped there. Upon Klingenstein's uttering of "for the children" as she introduced the music, the room fell especially silent. Though it has been almost three-quarters of a century since the horrific events that occurred in the Warsaw Ghetto, the world will never forget. At the end of the performance, with a quieted, but firm stance, Klingenstein left the audience with something to take away from the memories that were roused by the afternoon, saying wisely: "Only the young can attempt to overcome the vile actions of the past." *
(04/05/11 4:00am)
There are no immediate plans to expand housing options at the University because the University would need a new parking structure in order to construct a new building, reported Senior Representative to the Board of Trustees Heddy Ben-Atar '11 and Junior Representative to the Board of Trustees Adam Hughes '12. Hughes also reported that there would be about 100 total lofted triples in first-year dorms for the Class of 2015. Ben-Atar and Hughes said that they met with Dean of Student Life Rick Sawyer and Senior Vice President for Administration Mark Collins prior to the Board of Trustees meeting Thursday.Hughes said that the Board of Trustees took out a $10 million loan in order to finance the Linsey Pool renovations and the network upgrades. Hughes also reported that the Board of Trustees approved a new Master of Biological Sciences/Master of Business Administration program to be conducted with Tufts University Medical School. The Senate unanimously chartered Project Nur. According to its constitution, "Project Nur is a student-led initiative of the American Islamic Congress. . The AIC provides a platform for moderate Muslim human rights and civil rights activists and empowers them to raise their voices in the hopes of creating a better understanding of the Muslim world." The Senate also unanimously chartered the Piano Club. The club will aim to "inspire creation for piano music, and to provide an outlet for appreciation of piano music," according to the club's constitution. Senator for East Quad Andrew Hayes '13 presented Senate Money Resolution S11-07, which requested $50 for a water event in East Quad. The event would emphasize the "deliciousness of tap water and lack of need for bottled water," according to the SMR. The SMR passed unanimously.Senator for North Quad Shekelya Caldwell '14 presented SMR S11-08, which requested $1,399.28 for a North Quad barbeque. The Senate unanimously approved the SMR. Executive Senator Abraham Berin '11 reported that the Senate currently has approximately $8,000 in unused funds. Caldwell said she would run for the position of vice president of the Student Union. Senator for the Class of 2014 Mitchell Schwartz said that he would pursue a write-in campaign for Student Union President. Berin, Student Union Vice President Shirel Guez '12 and Director of Executive Affairs Ryan Fanning '11 will be election commissioners, according to Berin. -Andrew Wingens
(04/28/09 4:00am)
An Arts teaser last week incorrectly spelled the name of a musical group. It is called Mochila, not Mochilla. (April 21, p. 1). A photo caption in the Leonard Bernstein Festival of the Creative Arts pullout last week misidentified the series the painting "José" is a part of. It is a part of last year's "Faces of TYP," not this year's "Public Memory, November 4th, 2008." (April 21, p. 24) The Sunday schedule in the Leonard Bernstein Festival of the Creative Arts pullout last week incorrectly stated the time of the second Rose tour. It took place from 3:30 to 4 p.m., not from 1:30 to 2 p.m. (April 21, p. 22). An article in Arts last week incorrectly stated the name of the last movement of the Trio for flute, cello and piano, H. 300. It is called an Allegretto, not an Andante. (April 21, p.19). An article in Arts last week incorrectly spelled the last name of a cellist. She is Laura Shechter (GRAD) not Laura Schechter. (April 21, p.19). An article in Arts last week incorrectly stated the last name of the composer of Ruckert Lieder. It was composed by Gustav Mahler, not Gustav Nahler. (April 21, p.19). An article in Arts last week implied that Alicia Kaszeta (GRAD) stopped playing for a period of time because she wanted to pursue a scholarly career. Kaszeta briefly stopped playing because of a performance related injury. (April 21, p.19) An article in Forum last week incorrectly stated when Jonathan Kane '10 ran for the position of racial minority senator. He ran in 2007, not 2008. (April 21, p. 10). The Justice welcomes submissions for errors that warrant correction or clarification. E-mail jsw5@brandeis.edu.
