Holocaust tribute concert at MSU features special instrument from Violins of Hope collection

Contact: Bethany Shipp

STARKVILLE, Miss.—A powerful evening of music and remembrance Sept. 18 will feature a restored instrument that survived the Holocaust as the Starkville-MSU Symphony Orchestra, in collaboration with Theatre MSU, presents a tribute to Holocaust victims.

The concert takes place at 6 p.m. and again at 7:30 p.m. in Mississippi State’s Music Building Recital Hall, 124 Hardy Road, featuring an instrument from Violins of Hope. Through a repertoire of chamber music, narration and historical imagery, the program illuminates voices silenced by tragedy and celebrates the resilience of humanity.

The concert’s featured instrument, the Soldiers’ Violin, is housed in the Alabama Holocaust Education Center. According to the AHEC, it is the only organization nationwide that has a violin on permanent loan from the Violins of Hope, a collection of restored instruments from the Holocaust.

“When the Violins of Hope sing, they carry the voices of those who could not,” said Daniel Stevens, head of MSU’s music department. “We honor their memory by transforming remembrance into compassion and action.”

Provided by the McMullan-O’Connor Fund, the program is a collaborative effort with Theatre MSU, which will present “Memory and Violets,” a theater piece inspired by stories of the instruments and those who played them.

“These instruments are symbols of hope and the enduring power of music in remembrance of unimaginable suffering,” said Tonya Hays, an assistant professor of theatre performance.

Tickets are $25 for adults and $10 for those 17 and under. They may be purchased at the door or at www.starkvillesymphony.org. Admission is free for MSU students with ID, and MSU faculty and staff receive a 50% discount. For ticketing assistance, contact the MSU Department of Music Box Office at 662-325-5000.

Under Stevens’ direction, the Starkville-MSU Symphony Orchestra presents an eclectic array of traditional, contemporary and emerging compositions each season. The 2025-26 lineup also includes:

—Sept. 25, 7:30 p.m., “Jazz at Renasant Plaza,” Starkville Renasant Plaza, free

—Nov. 9, 2 p.m., “Dance to the Music” featuring Peter Infanger and the Starkville-MSU Symphony Community Chorus, First Baptist Church of Starkville, ticketed

—Dec. 6, 7:30 p.m., “The Spirit of Christmas,” Bettersworth Auditorium, Lee Hall, ticketed

—Jan. 24, 6 and 7:30 p.m., “Baroque Splendor: An Evening with J.S. Bach,” Recital Hall, Music Building, ticketed

—Feb. 28, 7:30 p.m., Symphony Gala, “A Mardi Gras Celebration,” The Gathering, 1437 Fire Station Road, ticketed

—March 28, 2 p.m. “Echoes of Elegance” featuring Nicholaus Cummins, MSU Choirs and Starkville-MSU Symphony Community Chorus, Bettersworth Auditorium, Lee Hall, ticketed

—May 2, 7:30 p.m., “Wingo Pops: Swing, Strings, and All That Jazz!” featuring the Starkville-MSU Symphony Community Chorus, Bettersworth Auditorium, Lee Hall, ticketed

More information about the Starkville-MSU Symphony Orchestra is available at www.starkvillesymphony.org.

MSU’s College of Education, home of the Department of Music, also includes four additional academic departments, a division of education, one research unit and numerous service units. Learn more at www.educ.msstate.edu.

For more information about the Department of Communication, Media and Theatre, part of MSU’s College of Arts and Sciences, visit www.comm.msstate.edu.

Mississippi State University is taking care of what matters. Learn more at www.msstate.edu.