Every concert helps us rewrite history, correcting the wrongs done to so many by showcasing the beautiful music, written not out of necessity, but out of a desire for a future world to gain balance and understanding of how we can heal through the power of music.
Our concerts will bring together community, will recognize diverse voices and will elevate our society through education programs that weave together our shared history and narrative anew.
Tying together heritage, geography and tracing the lineage of those lost and those who survived, we weave together music and narrative to give future generations a sense of our past in the context of the power of their future, and help provide closure to those whose lives were shaped through tragedy and can now re-experience the beauty created during these horrible times.
The last remaining survivors, and often their children, leave behind a history waiting to be unearthed. The creativity of the human spirit was not extinguished even during such atrocities. As we unearth new notes, scattered on preserved papers, we gain a glimpse of the souls, in captivity, who preserved their voices, waiting until today to be heard. It is imperative that we recover all that we can before these memories are sealed forever.
Inspired by stories about music that was written by captives in concentration camps during the Holocaust, Janie Press was moved and wanted to take action. The impressive result is Holocaust Music Lost & Found, the non-profit Janie is spearheading in the United States.
Press began her more than 3-decade business career in the fashion industry when she established her eponymous children’s wear company, moving on to successful sales positions with several other brands.
Throughout her career, she has always found time for nonprofit work, including the Special Olympics and Caring Kind—the Heart of Alzheimer’s Caregiving, and Jessica Lang Dance.
Even as Press pioneers the creation and development of Holocaust Music Lost & Found, she will pursue her musical passion of performing solo cabaret, which she began in 2011 and which has continued with timely shows entitled Occupy Cabaret, Stops Along the Way, and All in the Times.
“Music has shaped my life since I was a little girl. With HMLF, that force continues in a beautiful and complex new way. Let’s let music be a cord to the past and a weapon to fight anti-Semitism in the present and future.”
Stephanie Cohen is Chief Financial Officer of national non-profit Operation Warm and brings more than 30 years of finance, operations, and consulting experience in public and private companies. Having served in various executive capacities including SVP and CFO of Alliance Consulting (acquired by Safeguard Scientifics), EVP and CFO of XLConnect Solutions (acquired by Xerox, formerly owned by Intelligent Electronics), and in various leadership capacities at Intelligent Electronics, she offers proficiency in financial control and corporate governance, supply chain management, business development, systems and process improvement. Ms. Cohen has a B.S. Accountancy from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, having started her career with KPMG. Stephanie also serves on the board of Operation Warm, which distributes new winter coats to needy children nationally.
“I believe in the power of music to deeply affect one’s emotional state. We work to share music written in captivity, with the hope that people everywhere will hear it, be inspired to learn, struggle to understand, and have the strength to reject hatred – for generations to come.”
Dr. Gubins is President and Editor-in-Chief Emeritus of Annual Reviews, a non-profit scientific publishing organization. Since 1982 Dr. Gubins has served as a member of the Board of Directors and Treasurer of the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics. He serves on the investment committee of the Board of Directors of Canadian Science Publishing, a not-for-profit organization. Dr. Gubins, a graduate of Stuyvesant High School, earned a B.A. from Reed College and a Ph.D. from The Johns Hopkins University (Economics) in 1970. He was on the faculty of Haverford College from 1968 until 1981, during which time he served as Chairman of the Department of Economics and Vice President for Finance. He is the co-author of Macroeconomics: Analysis and Policy (1974). He was Senior Vice President of the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia (1981-1995) where he had broad administrative responsibilities, including the direction of its museum. He was Chairman of the Pennsylvania Humanities Council from 1988-1994. Dr. Gubins is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
“My music-loving, violin-playing uncle was among the few living dead in Buchenwald who survived when the G.I.s liberated the camp. My commitment to HMLF honors Uncle Boris Gubinski.”
Barry is Senior Counsel at Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders LLP and served as Chair of the Executive Committee of Pepper Hamilton LLP, the firm’s governing body, from 1995 to 2007. He is a graduate of Dartmouth College and the University of Pennsylvania Law School.
Barry is recognized in The Best Lawyers in America and is highly ranked as a Senior Statesperson for corporate, M&A, private equity and securities matters in Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business.
Barry received the Judge Learned Hand Award from the Philadelphia Chapter of the American Jewish Committee in 2004, in recognition of his professional achievements and his dedicated leadership and commitment to the community. He received the Blair Thompson Lifetime Venture Award from the Mid-Atlantic Capital Alliance in 2007, in recognition of his role in furthering the region’s venture capital interests. Barry also serves on the board of Operation Warm, which distributes new winter coats to needy children nationally.
“My love of all music with emotional resonance, coupled with an impactful relationship I was fortunate to develop with a Holocaust survivor with a remarkable life story, are the keys to my commitment to HMLF.”
Sarah Miller serves as the Morat Derech, Director of Spiritual and Lifelong Learning, for Congregation Kol Emeth in Palo Alto, CA. She has been working in the field of Jewish Education for over 20 years and has experience with all ages and in many Jewish educational settings. Through her work at Kol Emeth, Sarah has created and helped lead several local, regional, and national programs, including IllumiNation (a Hanukkah celebration with music and candle lighting involving Jewish communities from all 50 States). Sarah has been an educational consultant and curriculum writer for many projects including G-dcast (now BimBam), Babaganewz, and Ravsak’s (now Prizmah) HaYideon. As a senior Day School administrator, she was selected to be part of Ravsak’s Project SuLaM, and with her new position, was chosen as a Bay Area Hartman Community Leaders Fellow. Sarah is passionate about Jewish engagement and the importance of continuing education throughout one’s life. She has a BA in Near Eastern Studies from Cornell University, where she wrote her senior thesis on Holocaust Education, and has a Master’s in Jewish Education from The Jewish Theological Seminary.
“Music has the ability to transcend age, time, and place. Having lived in many communities growing up and as an adult, music has provided both joy and comfort in times of transition and insecurity. I am always moved by the way music can create a community from strangers and stir empathy and passion within us – relating to the deepest parts of our humanity and expressing emotion words often cannot capture.”
Geri is a former Assistant U.S. Secretary of Labor for Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs during the Clinton Administration and Political and Legislative Director of Service Employees International Union. She is a highly respected policymaker, manager, advocate, university lecturer and attorney known for ability to envision and execute effective strategies that affect domestic and international policy. She founded, organized, and managed numerous high-profile policy and political campaigns, government and non-profit organizations, including the Campaign for Fiscal Equity, the Justice at Stake Campaign, National Employment Law Project Advocacy Office, and the Israel Action Network, and advised foundations and philanthropic programs. She has demonstrated effectiveness as a strategist, organizer, consensus-builder, communicator, educator and fundraiser.
“Music has inspired me to dream, express every emotion, provided companionship and solace, and been a source of community and strength. Music has been central to movements for social justice embracing hope and vision for a better world while acknowledging the pain and the trials that life brings. Many members of my family were lost in the Holocaust. Chaim Ajzen, my survivor cousin, sang with his partisan compatriots. Recovering and lifting up the compositions and the stories of those who transcended the horrors of genocide by creating space for beauty for themselves and others honors their enduring legacy and shows the power of the human spirit.”
Josh Gottheimer
Congressman
Dr. Michael Haas
Author and Co-Director for the Exilarte Center for Banned Music
Michael Leavitt
President and Managing Director of MPL Companies
President of the American Society for Jewish Music
Jean Bloch Rosensaft
Senior Advisor to the President;
Director, Dr. Bernard Heller Museum
Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion
Bret Werb
Musicologist, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Simon Wynberg
Artistic Director, ARC Ensemble (Artist of the Royal Conservatory of Music)
