Experience a unique opportunity to see, hear, and learn about instruments that were owned and played by Jewish musicians before and during the Holocaust. Twenty-four violins that have been lovingly restored by Israeli violin makers Amnon Weinstein and his son, Avshalom (Avshi), will be played by Elgin Symphony Orchestra musicians in a Violins of Hope concert on Saturday, May 20, at 7:30 p.m., at the Hemmens Cultural Center in Elgin, Ill. The event will also include commentary on the violins featured in the performance by Dr. James A. Grymes, musicologist and author of the book “Violins of Hope.” A pre-concert chat will be held at 6:30 p.m.<br/><br/>Conducted by Matthew Sheppard, artistic director of the Elgin Youth Symphony Orchestra, the concert will include “Theme from Schindler’s List” by John Williams, as well as music by Mahler and Mendelssohn.<br/><br/>Violins of Hope aims to bring awareness and insight by telling the stories of resilience, resistance, and unity through the power of a musical experience. Rather than Holocaust statistics that, in their enormity, can be difficult to fathom, Violins of Hope uses the violins and the music to explain the sufferings and hope of Jewish people. <br/><br/>Each violin has its own story. For some Jewish musicians, their violin gave them passage to freedom. Others threw their instruments off trains bound to concentration camps, seeing no point in bringing the violins with them. Still others provided music in the camps. Many of the violins had been lost, found in disrepair, and identifiable as Jewish-made or -played only by the Star of David inlaid into the instrument by craftsmen. <br/><br/>Tickets for the ESO’s Violins of Hope concert start at $20 and are available on the ESO’s website, www.ElginSymphony.org, and, from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m., Tuesday through Friday, by calling its box office at 847-888-4000. Student tickets are $10, and youth age 17 and under are free with an accompanying adult, limit one free youth ticket per adult ticket purchase. <br/><br/>