The Maimonides Society of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater hosted a special reception for its members prior to the screening of Orchestra of Exiles at the Sandler Family Campus on Tuesday, Feb. 25.
Featured at the reception was professional violinist Pavel Ilyashov. A Virginia Symphony Orchestra musician and teacher at the Governor’s School for the Arts, Ilyashov played a selection of pieces that provided an introduction to music featured in Orchestra of Exiles.
In addition to performing, Ilyashov shared his connection to the film’s protagonist, Bronislaw Huberman, a Polish violinist who rescued Jewish musicians during the Holocaust, moved them to Palestine and formed the Palestine Symphony, now known as the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra.
“Three of my teachers were students of Huberman’s, and they either appeared or were mentioned in the film,” Ilyashov said. “And while I can’t say that I can even come close to playing like Bronislaw Huberman, he certainly inspired me and many of the greatest violinists of our time.”
Ilyashov also relayed additional, little- known stories about Huberman with the audience of 35 who gathered to hear him in the Miller Family Judaic Studies Library on the second floor of the Hebrew Academy of Tidewater.
Maimonides Society co-chair Michael Gross appreciated the opportunity to hear live music with other Jewish healthcare professionals in the Society, as well as Holocaust Commission members who also attended.
“The Maimonides Society is holding excellent and diverse programs that appeal to many of our members,” Gross says. “We look forward to the Maimonides Society’s continuing growth, increasing both our membership and our support for the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater.”
To find out more about joining the Maimonides Society, its mission, and even more about its programs, visit JewishVa.org/Maimonides.
by Laine Mednick Rutherford