CHARLOTTE — April 3, 2012 — Charlotte Teachers Institute will present “Exploding Canons: Violins of Hope, Courage and Music” from 5:15 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Monday, April 16, at UNC Charlotte Center City. Local academic experts and music educators will reflect on 18 revealing violins and their extraordinary histories related to the Holocaust, considering their structure, their pasts and their power. The audience also will have the opportunity to view the instruments and meet the visionaries who brought the “Violins of Hope” exhibition to life.
Israeli master violinmaker Amnon Weinstein collected and carefully restored the violins and gathered their stories to give voice to the people they represent. Weinstein’s Violins of Hope were first played publicly in 2008 and are making their first journey to the Americas in this debut exhibition at UNC Charlotte Center City April 15-22.
This Exploding Canons series event offers something special for the Charlotte community, says CTI Executive Director Scott Gartlan. “This is an opportunity for us to share the work and passion of Amnon and Assi Weinstein,” Gartlan says. “We are incredibly fortunate to have four professors, two teachers and the Weinsteins in one place on one night to illuminate the beauty, mystery, and music of these violins.”
“Exploding Canons: Violins of Hope, Courage and Music” begins with a reception in the Center City Atrium at 5:15 pm., followed by the panel discussion from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. in the Center City Auditorium. The Center City Gallery’s Violins of Hope exhibition will remain open until 9:00 pm.
Writer Assaela (Assi) Bielski Weinstein, wife of Amnon and daughter of one the Bielski partisans, will provide the welcome address. Featured topics and presenters for the Exploding Canons panel discussion include:
- “Strings + Wood = Violin?” – Dan Boye, professor of physics, Davidson College
- “Music: A Human Response” – Rebecca Engen, associate professor and director of music therapy, Queens University of Charlotte
- “The Violins of Hope in the Holocaust “ – Jay Grymes, associate professor of musicology, UNC Charlotte
Ken Lambla, dean of UNC Charlotte’s College of Arts + Architecture and a key organizer for “Violins of Hope” in Charlotte, will moderate the panel discussion. Musical performances on violin and cello by Jennifer Frisina, orchestra director at Randolph IB and Alexander Graham Middle Schools, and Leigh Marsh, orchestra director at South Mecklenburg High School and Quail Hollow Middle School, will complete the program.
CTI’s “Exploding Canons: Violins of Hope, Courage and Music” is sponsored by the John S. & James L. Knight Foundation and CTI’s educational partners: UNC Charlotte, Davidson College and CMS. Community partners include the Charlotte Symphony, Musical Minds and WFAE 90.7. The “Exploding Canons” speakers series leverages the partnerships among CTI to offer educators and the public collaborative educational opportunities that highlight university and college faculty, explore diverse topics in an interdisciplinary manner, and encourage community conversation.
This “Exploding Canons” event is free and open to the public. For more information and registration visit CTI’s website at www.charlotteteachers.org. CMS teachers and administrators from all grade levels and subject areas are especially encouraged to attend. Seats are limited and will be reserved on a first-come, first-served basis.
UNC Charlotte Center City is located at 320 E. 9th Street, at the corner of Ninth and Brevard streets. Parking is available for $5 at the 707 N. Brevard Street parking lot at the intersection with 11th Street.
About the Charlotte Teachers Institute
The Charlotte Teachers Institute, a collaboration among Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, Davidson College and the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, cultivates content-knowledge, creativity, leadership skills and collaboration within and among Charlotte’s public school teachers through intensive, long-term seminars and a variety of educational events. CTI’s “Exploding Canons” events engage and educate CMS teachers and the community-at-large, as CTI and a variety of partnering organizations produce forums for college and university faculty and other educators to examine topics through multi-disciplinary lenses. CTI is made possible by generous support from the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations, the Wells Fargo Foundation, the Belk Foundation and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.
About “Violins of Hope”
“Violins of Hope” is presented in Charlotte by UNC Charlotte’s College of Arts + Architecture in partnership with about 20 cultural and academic partners in the region and through financial support from Wells Fargo Private Bank, the Leon Levine Foundation, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the Blumenthal Foundation, the Arts & Science Council, Foundation for the Carolinas, the Jewish Federation of Greater Charlotte, US Airways, Lufthansa German Airlinesand other individual and community supporters. More information is on the Web at www.violinsofhopecharlotte.com. Watch “Violins of Hope” on YouTube.
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For more information, contact CTI Executive Director Scott Gartlan, 704-687-2026, info@charlotteteachers.org
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Public Relations media contact: LaTarzja Henry, 980-344-0009, l.henry@cms.k12.nc.us
Davidson College Public Relations media contact: Stacey Schmeidel, 704-894-2798, stschmeidel@davidson.edu
UNC Charlotte Public Relations media contact: Buffie Stephens, 704-687-5830, BuffieStephens@uncc.edu
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