A Q & A with with MYSO Violinist Colette Wiering
Preparing for this performance, how has it felt to hold and play a violin with such a powerful history tied to the Holocaust?
When I first held the Auschwitz violin, I felt the “new violin” excitement. But when I started playing it, it was as if the weight of all the experiences of the hands that had held the violin before were on it. As rehearsals progressed, I realized that for the real sound of this violin to come out, I had to change my attitude. I couldn’t force sounds into the instrument, but I had to let it speak for itself. At the Grand Opening concert, we let these violins sing, we let them testify to their experiences for the audience.
What has the experience of rehearsing and performing with the Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra and Violins of Hope taught you about music’s ability to connect generations and tell stories?
When I heard these violins’ stories, the first thing that struck me was how violins could save people’s lives. I had heard stories of individuals saving the lives of Jewish people, but I didn’t know about musicians being saved by that one piece of bread that the violin earned them when they played in the concentration camp orchestra. Then I tried to imagine the pains people took to preserve their instruments. The violin is passed down generations as a witness, with a moving story, finally to become a Violin of Hope.
I’m grateful for the opportunity to play an actual instrument that survived the Holocaust and to have it play music that makes people feel the power of its story. Playing and listening to music like From the Diary of Anne Frank by Michael Tilson Thomas makes me realize what people felt during the Holocaust. As a 13-year-old, when listening to and reading Anne’s diary, I feel the whirlwind of thoughts that another 13-year-old pondered, living in a completely different time.
It really is beautiful and fortunate that they can be shown to the world as witnesses of the Holocaust events, through programs like MYSO.
Looking back on your time with MYSO, what moments stand out most to you in terms of growth, inspiration, or community?
A big part of my MYSO experience has been chamber music. In my first chamber ensemble in MYSO’s Summer Chamber Program, was introduced to the responsibilities of leadership and collaboration required to play chamber music and learned how much I loved chamber music for that. And little did I know that the cellist and I would continue playing together, not only in MYSO’s Bach ensemble and as a group at her graduation party, but also as a string quartet for a Violins of Hope event. We were asked to play music composed by Pavel Haas, a Polish composer who was murdered in the Holocaust. Playing in this chamber ensemble for Violins of Hope was my first time playing music that was written during the Holocaust, and that inspired me to learn more about it.
As a soloist for this concert, how are you approaching the responsibility of bringing this music and the violin’s history to life for the audience?
I’m playing solos in Michael Tilson Thomas’ From the Diary of Anne Frank, and the third movement from Schindler’s List, “Remembrances.”
To bring out the emotions of the music itself to the audience, I imagine that the violin itself has a voice and I let it speak. So when I prepare the “Remembrances” solo or the From the Diary of Anne Frank solos, I have to get in the right mood; I listen to a recording, while reading Schindler’s List and The Diary of Anne Frank. This way I can better understand the emotions that need to come through and how to play them. I’m looking forward to performing these pieces at the concerts with my fellow MYSO musicians.
Photos: Roost Photography
