Stories from the Violins of Hope

NIV ASHKENAZI (Violin II) Virtuoso violinist Niv Ashkenazi has captivated audiences with his heartfelt musicianship and emotional performances. Praised for his “lush sound” and “passionate playing” (CASA Magazine) and “formidable technical powers” (Santa Barbara News-Press), he has made several Carnegie Hall and Kennedy Center appearances and has performed in Europe, the Middle East, and across North America. As a chamber musician, he has performed with members of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Juilliard String Quartet, Cavani Quartet, and Ariel Quartet.

In the 2019-2020 season, Mr. Ashkenazi was the first-ever Artist in Resi- dence at the Younes and Soraya Nazarian Center for the Performing Arts (The Soraya). His debut album, Niv Ashkenazi: Violins of Hope, recorded at The Soraya, was released in March 2020 on Albany Records and was named one of the best classical recordings of 2020 by the Chicago Tribune.

Mr. Ashkenazi holds both a BM and MM from The Juilliard School, where he studied with Itzhak Perlman, Glenn Dicterow, Ronald Copes, and Stephen Clapp.

ANDREW FROMER (Ensemble), a Los Angeles native, grew up as an active member in the Jewish community through Stephen Wise Temple. He attended Wind- ward School in Mar Vista, where his career as an actor began in the school plays and musicals. After completing his BFA in theater at UC Santa Barbara and an exciting year of living in Israel, Andrew returned to LA for acting and producing. His TV credits include Never Have I Ever (Netflix) and Anger Management (FX); feature film credits include Highway to Havasu (Billy/Producer) and The Sweet Life (Mike/Assistant to Production). Andrew also edits and directs and is excited to be coordinating this year’s iteration of NEXT @ The Braid’s Emerging Artists Fellowship. Find out more info at https://the-braid.org/ category/nextbraid/.

BARRY GOLD (Cello) has been a member of the Los Angeles Philharmonic since 1982. He has appeared as soloist with the Philharmonic, is a frequent per- former at Philharmonic Chamber Music Society concerts, and has participated in a number of world premieres on Philharmonic New Music Group programs. He is also featured with the New Music Group on the recording of John Harbison’s The Natural World.

A Young Musicians Foundation scholarship recipient, the Los Angeles native began his performing career as a member of the YMF Debut Orchestra of Los Angeles. While still a teenager, Mr. Gold was a member of a piano trio that won a prestigious Coleman Chamber Music Prize. He earned both his BA and MM degrees from The Juilliard School of Music, which awarded him the Eduard Steuermann Memorial Prize upon his graduation.

Mr. Gold has been Principal Cellist and soloist with the Los Angeles Jewish Symphony since 1997.

DR. NOREEN GREEN (Conductor/Piano) is the Artistic Director and Conductor of the Los Angeles Jewish Symphony, which she founded in 1994. Known worldwide for her knowledge and skill in presenting music with Jewish themes, she has served as guest conductor in the United States, Israel, South Africa, Australia, and Canada. In 2017, Dr. Green was honored by Musical America, the oldest and most prestigious American magazine on classical music, as one of the Top 30 Musical America Professionals of the Year.

In February 2020, Dr. Green’s life and career was the subject of a Spotlight Series documentary by the Milken Archive of Jewish Music, which was featured on the Archive’s website and YouTube. After many years of collaborating with local choirs, in 2020 Dr. Green founded the Jewish Community Chorale, a program of the LAJS. While the pandemic prevents live performances, the JCC functions as a virtual choir and made its debut on Jewish Life Television (JLTV) on July 3, 2020.

MARK KASHPER (Violin I) As one of its founding members, Virtuoso Mark Kashper is in his 26th season as featured soloist and Concertmaster of the Los Angeles Jewish Symphony. This is also his 34th year as Associate Principal Second Violinist in the Los Angeles Philharmonic. He has appeared as a soloist at the Hollywood Bowl and the Ojai Festival, as well as in many New Music Group and Chamber Music Series programs, collaborating with such distinguished musicians as Heinz Holliger, Andre Previn, Emanuel Ax, and Yefim Bronfman.

In 2011, Mr. Kashper participated in the concerts of the Super World Orchestra, an ensemble made up of principal players from many of the world’s greatest orchestras, under the direction of Lorin Maazel.

Mr. Kashper graduated from the Moscow Conservatoire and the Leningrad Conservatoire. As an Assistant Concertmaster and soloist with the Moscow Conservatoire Chamber Orchestra, he performed extensively throughout the Soviet Union, Europe and Latin America.

AJ MEIJER (Ensemble) is an Abby Freeman Artist-in-Residence with The Braid. Film: The Laundromat (directed by Steven Soderbergh), All About Nina (with Common and Mary Elizabeth Winstead), Life Partners (with Adam Brody and Leighton Meester), Broken Horses (with Vincent D’Onfrio and Anton Yelchin). TV: Sneaky Pete, NCIS:LA, Hannah Montana. He is a member of the original cast of the off-Broadway smash hit musical Heathers and featured on the cast recording. He co-founded the Los Angeles Theatre Ensemble and was seen in their productions of The War Cycle (Ovation Award nomination). Regional: Lennie in Of Mice and Men at TheatreWorks, Silicon Valley; All About Gordon at the Ahmanson; Getty Center with the National Theatre of Greece; Tug of War at the Getty Villa. AJ is a graduate of the UCLA School of Theatre, Film, and Television. More info at ajmeijer.com.

SUSANNE REYTO (Chairman, Violins of Hope Los Angeles County) is a child survivor of the Holocaust who has dedicated her life to preserving history and educating future generations through various programs and projects. Her childhood experiences and her ultimate escape from Communist Hungary in the late 1950s left Susanne with an unwavering spirit of optimism and perseverance. She is a frequent speaker at the Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust and is a past Chairman of the Board of Governors of City of Hope, American Freedom Alliance, board member of the Beverly Hills Women’s Club, president of Hadassah Los Angeles and ZOA Western Region. Susanne is also an award-winning author, speaker, world traveler, and an ardent supporter of Israel and the free world. Her book, Pursuit of Freedom, has been designated as recommended reading for youngsters. Susanne is married and has one daughter and two grandchildren. She can be contacted at 310 200-6694 or by email at rsrlaser@aol.com.

LISA PEARL ROSENBAUM (Playwright) is the author of the novel A Day of Small Beginnings (Little, Brown & Co., 2006) and Sacrificial Man, a novel of
the McCarthy Era, which she is currently adapting as a play. Lisa is a longtime writer and dramaturg with The Braid and, along with a small but mighty team, produces and hosts podcasts and Sunday with The Braid—performances and conversations with Jews whose work enriches the American experience. She has produced several plays, including The Survivor by Rabbi Susan Nanus (The Electric Lodge). Lisa is honored that the ever-generous Gail Solo and Ronda Spinak invited her to write the first theatrical piece about the Violins of Hope, a remarkable true story of the enduring power of family and music.

ROBERT TREBOR (Amnon Weinstein) had major roles in John Frankenheimer’s 52 Pick-Up, Oliver Stone’s Talk Radio, and co-starred in the Coen Brothers film Hail, Caesar! He is best remembered for playing the Son of Sam opposite Martin Sheen in Out of the Darkness, and Salmoneus on the Hercules and Xena TV series. He began his theatre career in 1973 (with Robin Williams) and more recently won awards for his work in the world premieres of Ravensridge, La Ronde de Lunch, and his one-man show The Return of Brother Theodore. Bob is the author of The Haircut Who Would Be King, which garnered the following Kirkus review: “Debut author Trebor displays a sharp attunement to the politically absurd and a talent for making the already peculiar into the raucously silly. Also, the book slyly interjects some serious reflection into…a hilarious rendering of the contemporary political scene.” It’s available at all online booksellers. Bob is proud to be an Abby Freeman Artist-in-Residence with The Braid. He was also concertmaster of his elementary school orchestra in Philadelphia in 1964.

CLIFF WEISSMAN (Ensemble) is an Abby Freeman Artist-In-Residence with The Braid and has appeared in several Salon presentations. His acting career spans more than 35 years with dozens of roles in film, television, commercials and theatre. Recent television credits include Better Call Saul, The Resident, and Brockmire.

AUDREY YODER (Managing Director and Education Program Director of the LAJS) has a multifaceted background in performing arts and arts administra- tion. She has performed, conducted, directed, and lectured with many arts organizations and universities across California, including CSUN, California Lutheran University, Santa Monica College, Opera Santa Barbara, Pacific Opera Project, City of Angels Community Choirs, and LA Symphony Orchestra.

Ms. Yoder’s expertise as a social-media manager has benefited numerous nonprofits with community engagement, exemplified by the collaboration with Fuente Latina to promote the LAJS’s education outreach program, A Patch- work of Cultures: Exploring the Sephardic-Latino Connection.

A champion of new music, Ms. Yoder has spearheaded an online interview series highlighting contemporary composers. She remains dedicated to the nonprofit arts scene in LA and has volunteered with several organizations, in- cluding Street Symphony’s The Messiah Project at Midnight Mission. Ms. Yoder holds a Master of Music degree from California State University, Northridge.

RICK ZIEFF (Moshe) Stories from the Violins of Hope is the junction of two universes that define much of Rick Zieff’s career. One is the Jewish experience: Yiddle with a Fiddle on Broadway; the title character in The Mensch off-Broadway; Sophie: The Life of Sophie Tucker at the Jewish Rep in NYC; and Love, Dreams, and Lost Uncles opposite Shelley Berman here in L.A. His other projects raise social and political consciousness: political activist Andrew Goodman in the film Mississippi Burning; Kennedy campaign strategist in The New Voice on PBS; conflicted rabbi in Shalom Vietnam; and Richard Nixon in the