Celebrating Sutzkever

January 9, 2011

Academic Conference and Concerts at

American Jewish University's

 Gindi Auditorium

The Sigi Ziering Institute at AJU presents a free event celebrating the work of the late Yiddish poet, Avraham Sutzkever on Sun, Jan 9 beginning at 2:30 p, in the University's Gindi Auditorium. Prominent Sutzkever scholar Prof. Ruth Wisse (Harvard) will give the keynote lecture and will be joined by visiting composers from Lithuania (Anatolijus Senderovas) and Germany (Gilead Mishory) in a roundtable discussion, moderated by Sutzkever scholar Prof. Justin Cammy (Smith College). An evening concert will feature chamber music and art songs by Senderovas and Mishory, performed by the composers and UCLA Artist Faculty members Movses Pogossian (violin), Antonio Lysy (cello) and Neal Stulberg (piano), among others. A newly commissioned work for soprano and chamber ensemble, on poems of Sutzkever, by UCLA's Herb Alpert School of Music composition chair, David Lefkowitz, will receive its world premiere at the event, with soprano soloist Arianne Brown. A family concert will feature a collaboration between the combined youth choirs from Valley Beth Shalom and New Community Jewish High School and the modern dance ensemble from NCJHS, in songs of the Vilna Ghetto, where Sutzkever was imprisoned during the war. For reservations, call Oren Saig at 310.440.1279. Dinner will be available for $10 per person, but must be ordered by Sun, Jan 2 at the above telephone number.

Frequently praised as the greatest Yiddish poet of the twentieth century, Sutzkever wrote before, during and following his internment in the Vilna Ghetto. He was the impetus for the group of poets, writers and artists who came to be known as Yung Vilne ("Young Vilnius"). After joining the partisans and fleeing to the forest for survival, Sutzkever testified at the Nuremberg Trials. Video footage of Sutzkever's testimony will be exhibited at the Jan 9 event. The poet emigrated to Israel one year before statehood, where he remained until his death in Jan 2010 at the age of 96. Sutzkever's image appears among the Yiddish writers on the Arbeter Ring mural.

Celebrating Sutzkever is presented and sponsored by the Ziering Institute, (Michael Berenbaum, director), and is produced by Neal Brostoff. AJU is located at 15600 Mulholland Dr. in Bel Air in the Sepulveda Pass, east of the Mulholland/Skirball Center Dr exit of the 405 Fwy. Parking is free. For more information about this event or American Jewish University, call 310.440.1279.