Nov 15 and 17 Holocaust Survivor and Daughter to Perform in Twin Piano Recitals

 

NEWS from HOLOCAUST MUSEUM HOUSTON Download Print-Quality Photos at: www.hmh.org   FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2010 MEDIA CONTACT: Ira D. Perry Director, Marketing & Public Relations Office: 713-942-8000, ext. 103 Mobile: 832-277-5693 E-mail: iperry@hmh.org Repeat of A Sellout Performance Holocaust Survivor and Daughter to Perform in Twin Piano Recitals at Holocaust Museum Houston HOUSTON, TX (Oct. 26, 2010) - A Holocaust survivor who was able to turn his childhood dream of becoming a musician into reality following that grim period in history will perform twice this November with his daughter in twin piano recitals at Holocaust Museum Houston. Survivor Al Marks and his daughter, Karen Marks Aarons Survivor Al Marks and his daughter, Karen Marks Aarons, will conduct two performances of "A Journey of Musical Memories." The event will begin with a 6 p.m. reception, followed by the concert at 7 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 15, 2010, and Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2010. The father-daughter duo will grace the Albert and Ethel Herzstein Theater at Holocaust Museum Houston's Morgan Family Center with the music of Ira Gershwin, Johannes Brahms, Edith Piaff, George M. Cohan and other composers. Seating is limited, and advance reservations are required. Tickets are $15 for Museum members and $25 for non-members. Visit www.hmh.org/RegisterEvent.aspx to reserve seats online. All proceeds will go to support the Museum's ongoing mission and educational programming. Born in Budapest, Marks and his two parents were deported from his Hungarian birthplace to Auschwitz in 1944. After losing both of his parents to the gas chambers and crematoriums that took 6 million lives during the Holocaust, Marks was transported to the Melk camp. On July 8, 1944, the U.S. Air Force bombed Melk by mistake on the way to Vienna, causing more than 600 casualties and leaving Marks with a piece of a bomb in his chest that remains there to this day. After the attack, Marks was moved to Ebensee, his last camp before liberation. On May 4, 1944, the Schutzstaffel (SS) tried to execute all the prisoners in the camp by forcing them into tunnels they had dug during their imprisonment and then collapsing the tunnel entrance, suffocating all those inside. Marks and the other prisoners resisted entering a certain deathtrap, and he believes that if General George S. Patton's Third Army had not liberated the camp the very next day, the prisoners would have been doomed. Arriving as an orphan in Houston on Jan. 8, 1948, Marks attended high school during the day, worked during the afternoons and spent his weekends at the Houston Conservatory of Music for piano lessons. After leaving for a two-year tour in Korea with the U.S. Army, Marks returned to Houston and met and married Sarah Dvoretzky, his high-school sweetheart. They have three children. Marks' piano playing became his career for 50 years. He was an orchestra leader for a variety of engagements, his most endearing one when he played for the Apollo 17 commanders a day after they returned from the moon. Aarons followed in her father's footsteps by also entering the classical music field. She received her bachelor of music degree from the North Carolina School of Arts, where she studied with Clifton Matthews, before gaining her master's degree in music from the Saint Louis Conservatory of Music, studying with Pamela Mia Paul and Jozsef Kalichstein. Currently, Aarons is an accompanist for several churches and choral groups and presents mini-recitals both as a soloist and duo-pianist with her father. The concerts are underwritten by Three Brothers Bakery, Houston Pecan Company, Ellen and Dan Trachtenberg and Eileen Reed, with special thanks to Continental Airlines, the official airline of Holocaust Museum Houston. Holocaust Museum Houston is dedicated to educating people about the Holocaust, remembering the 6 million Jews and other innocent victims and honoring the survivors' legacy. Using the lessons of the Holocaust and other genocides, the Museum teaches the dangers of hatred, prejudice and apathy. Holocaust Museum Houston is free and open to the public and is located in Houston's Museum District at 5401 Caroline St., Houston, TX 77004. For more information about the Museum, call 713-942-8000 or visit www.hmh.org.   Copyright 2010, Holocaust Museum Houston   Morgan Family Center • 5401 Caroline St. • Houston, TX 77004 • TEL: 713-942-8000 • FAX: 713-942-7953 • E-mail: info@hmh.org

October 20 Jewish Museum Prague Cinegogue Film Series

PREMIERE – DON'T MISS – ONLY ONCE A YEAR!

The Jewish Museum in Prague presents this year's premiere in its CINEGOGUE film series   When? 10/20/2010, 7:30 pm Where? The Spanish Synagogue, Vezenska 1, Prague 1 What? JEWISH LUCK / ŽIDOVSKÉ ŠTĚSTÍ / ЕВРЕЙСКОЕ СЧАСТЬE /  יידישע גליקן  A silent film by Alexander Granovsky from 1925 with a new score composed and performed by Milos ORSON Stedron in a unique space with unforgettable atmosphere  Tickets Bohemia Ticket International http://www.bohemiaticket.cz/WBS/ang/frame0.php?cobj=0&cpre=158147  Jewish Museum in Prague http://www.jewishmuseum.cz/aindex.php   Bonus A guided tour of the Spanish Synagogue at 6:30 pm  Special – Second chance to win tickets on FaceBook Join the Jewish Museum in Prague on FaceBook, stay tuned and and win two tickets!  Partners Strings of Autumn www.strunypodzimu.cz BERG Orchestra www.berg.cz  Due to limited seating we recommend early reservation and ticket purchase. We look forward to seeing you there!   Please do not hesitate to contact me for further information. With kind regards Noemi Holekova 

May 24 Jewish Heritage Trip to Portugal with TAMU Hillel

Jewish Heritage Trip to Portugal,

May 24 - June 1 2011

TAMU Hillel is organizing a Jewish Heritage Tour to Portugal in May of 2011.   To learn about this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity please go to our TAMU Hillel Website at

http://www.tamuhillel.org/travel/

 Click on the Portuguese flag to see updated photos and schedule.

Questions about Travel?  Please contact our travel agent

Barbara Panzer <barbarapanzer@tramex.com>

Or call her Austin number at (512) 795-5177

--  

B'shalom u-vrachah,
In peace and blessings,

Rabbi Peter Tarlow
TAMU Hillel Foundation
800 George Bush Dr.
College Station, Texas, 77840
(979) 764-8402 (home)
(979) 696-7313 (office)