“When I told my wife I wanted to start a klezmer band she said, ‘You’re crazy.’ So I told my Rabbi the same thing and he said, ‘You’re crazy.’ I had to prove them both wrong.” So began my conversation with drummer Saul Dreier who, at the age of 89, decided to start a musical group with Reuwen “Ruby” Sosnowicz, a keyboardist 85 years young. Interestingly, he was inspired to do this by the story of Alice Herz-Sommer who survived a concentration camp by playing piano. (Her story is told in the documentary The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life which is screening Nov. 4th at the Cleveland Museum Art.)
Music also was (and is) a tool of survival for Dreier. Born in Krakow, Poland, he survived several concentration camps playing in informal choirs and learning to play drum accompaniment by clanking spoons together. Sosnowicz’s entire family was killed by the Nazis. He escaped the Warsaw Ghetto and was hidden by a Polish farmer, sleeping next to cows and scraping what he could for food. It was in a German displaced persons camp that he obtained his first accordion.
The inspired founders recruited other descendants of survivors including Sosnowicz’s own daughter. The resulting Miami-based band now performs regularly, taking the stage at synagogues, community centers, retirement homes and even on stage in Las Vegas.
I can assure you, when speaking to these survivors it does not take long to become part of their enthusiasm for music as a way to preserve and celebrate life. The minute I heard their incredible story, I knew I wanted bring them here. It’s hard to imagine an event that fit the spirit of Violins of Hope than the Holocaust Survivor Band.
I hope you can join the Maltz Museum and Mandel JCC for the Holocaust Survivor Band’s Cleveland debut on Sun., Nov. 8 at 1pm at Stonehill Auditorium. The performance will be followed by a question and answer period. Admission also includes an opportunity to see the Violins of Hope exhibition. Seating is limited, so I encourage you to register here or call 216.593.0575 to reserve a ticket.
I also want to share my appreciation to Staybridge Suites in Mayfield Heights for their support of this program.
—Jeffery Allen, Director, Education & Public Programs
