By One Voice Mixed Chorus

On Thursday, April 19, OVation (the portable version of One Voice Mixed Chorus)  performed at the Twin Cities Annual Yom Hashoah Commemoration service at Congregation Beth Jacob in Mendota Heights, MN.

Yom Holocaust Remembrance Day, or Holocaust Day, is observed as a worldwide day of commemoration for the approximately six million Jews who perished in the Holocaust as a result of the actions carried out by Nazi Germany and its accessories, and for the Jewish resistance in that period. In Israel, it is a national memorial day where throughout the country sirens are sounded for a minute and all activity is halted. It was inaugurated in 1953, and is held on the 27th of the Jewish calendar month of Nisan (April/May).

OVation was an integral part of the service, and was accompanied by Janet Horvath (solo cello) and Heather McLaughlin (piano). The program included numerous readings by the Mpls. Talmud Torah Adopt-a-Survivor Participants program and other Twin Cities Jewish speakers.

The OVation program consisted of excerpts from the “Holocaust Cantata – Songs from the Camps” (music by Donald McCullough, English lyrics & readings by Denny Clark).  The selections performed were: “The Prisoner Rises”, “In Buchenwald”, “Dicke Luft”, “The Train”, and “Songs of Days Now Gone”.

The service was attended by over 200 people.  It culminated in concentration camp survivor candle lighting, singing of “Hatikvah” (Israeli national anthem, led by Israeli soldiers) and “America the Beautiful”.