Now that I’ve had a chance to experience several Violins of Hope Cleveland events, I am even more astounded by the power of collaboration than I was during the project planning process. For almost two years a group of representatives from each of seven partner organizations—Case Western Reserve University, The Cleveland Orchestra, Cleveland Institute of Music, ideastream, Facing History and Ourselves, the Jewish Federation of Cleveland, and of course the Maltz Museum—met to strategize and implement a project that brought master violinmaker Amnon Weinstein, a number of his instruments, members of his family and an incredible array of inspiring programs to Northeast Ohio. From the start it was clear that with the collective resources at the table great things could happen, but none of us could imagine what it might feel like to sit together in the restored Silver’s Temple and listen to Shlomo Mintz and the Cleveland Orchestra perform moving, brilliant scores on violins that survived the Holocaust. Or what it would feel like to hear the Cleveland Institute of Music Orchestra and guests perform “Avinu Malkeinu” at Severance Hall. Or how seeing the violins up close, learning the stories of their former owners hearing Franz Welser-Möst and Cleveland Orchestra musicians describe what it was like to play on the instruments would move some Maltz Museum visitors to tears.
More than 50 funders made this unprecedented collaboration possible. I think all parties involved were blown away by the results of this community-wide partnership, which continues to unfold. The way in which each partner organization put their distinctive world-class resources behind this project and contributed what they do best is amazing. It didn’t hurt that the leadership of many of our organizations were already closely connected, but people continue to marvel at how cooperatively our respective institutions worked. Some think a collaboration of this magnitude could only happen in a place like Cleveland, which is large enough to have world renowned cultural assets and educational institutions but not so big that we can’t come together around a project like Violins of Hope Cleveland.
Another critical ingredient was of course Amnon Weinstein and family. The entire project wouldn’t exist if not for the work he does to restore violins that might otherwise be discarded and forgotten. His passion and warmth come through from the minute you meet him. And the pride in his face when his violins are played is priceless. Amnon’s son Avshi is also a master violinmaker, trained of course by his father, and he is also passionate, patient and generous in sharing the stories of the violins.
Last we
ek I attended a dress rehearsal of a “Shadowbox,” an original dance piece produced by GroundWorks DanceTheater in response to the Violins of Hope. The work was commissioned by the Maltz Museum and the Jewish Federation’s Cleveland Israel Arts Connection. It was choreographed by the incomparable David Shimotakahara with a score written by Israeli composer Oded Zahavi—another incredible artistic collaboration. During the sneak preview of the dress rehearsal of this world premiere, Jewish Federation, GroundWorks and Maltz Museum supporters had the chance to talk with David and Oded about their collaborative process. They described talking, sharing ideas, breaking bread [and wine] together, ultimately yielding a beautiful, moving and unique piece.
While the collaborative process among the Violins of Hope partners may have been slightly less organic (after all seven organizations of varying sizes are more unwieldy than two artists), it inspired each of us to work internally to contribute the very best to the project as a whole. As we’ve all reminded each other recently, the whole is so much greater than the sum of its parts. I hope Violins of Hope Cleveland will serve as a model for how our region can come together to produce once-in-a-lifetime events and experiences that not only exhilarate us but continue to put Northeast Ohio on the world stage.
See (and hear) the Violins of Hope through Jan. 3. For more information on the films, lectures, tours, exhibitions nd performances happening across Northeast Ohio, visit violinsofhopecle.org and follow #violinsCLE on social media.
