Songs of Truth Community Concerts - FREE of CHARGE
Ilse Weber and one of her compositions, 1925
1 in 5 young Americans thinks the Holocaust is a myth.
(YouGov/Economist Poll, 12/2023)
Songs of Truth began with a simple melody scratched out on a piece of paper by Ilse Weber in 1944. A young Jewish composer imprisoned in a Nazi concentration camp, Weber was murdered in Auschwitz, but her music survived.
Weber's story is part of a multimedia storytelling project that pays tribute to the talent and resilience of six Jewish composers who continued to create music while imprisoned by the Nazis.
Their music, arranged for orchestra and chorus, and interwoven with narration and archival media, celebrates creativity as a form of resistance — and inspires diverse audiences to recognize and resist xenophobia and antisemitism today.
This program was one of the very best I have witnessed during my fifty years as an educator of Holocaust Studies.
— David Nigel, Jewish Studies and Holocaust Educator
Marin School of the Arts in Novato perform “Songs of Truth” alongside the GGSOC - Photo Credit: Michael Van Auken
Songs of Truth community concerts are offered every year, FREE OF CHARGE, to a limited number of Bay Area schools, libraries, churches, synagogues and community organizations.
The 60-minute event features 11 performers and a multimedia slideshow — followed by a post-concert conversation moderated by San Francisco's Contemporary Jewish Museum (CJM).
ACTIVE LEARNING
Songs of Truth uses active learning to bring history alive for students — and the Golden Gate Symphony partners with high school teachers to prepare their students to perform alongside our professional ensemble, giving young performers the chance to bring this history to life on stage for their own peers.
The post-concert experience includes a hands-on art project led by the Contemporary Jewish Museum, inviting students to respond to the music by creating something of their own.
It was interesting starting off with music… it's a different perspective from what we're being taught in school, because there it's mostly just reading… But here — I don't wanna say it's better, but it kind of IS better learning here.
— Juan, Student Musician, San Lorenzo HS
San Lorenzo HS students performing with the GGSOC at the Contemporary Jewish Museum - Photo Credit - Jeff Rosenstock
Songs of Truth was created collaboratively by the Golden Gate Symphony Orchestra & Chorus, Citizen Film and Holocaust Music Lost & Found in 2023.
Free community concerts are made possible thanks to the generous support of the Jewish Federation Bay Area and individual donors to the Golden Gate Symphony.