A Powerful Connection Between Music and History

Members of WLHS’s String Orchestra and Chamber Strings ensembles enjoyed a meaningful musical and educational experience on October 9, attending the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra’s performance of Made in America: Korngold & Rachmaninoff at the Bradley Symphony Center. Prior to the concert, students heard from a presenter with the Nathan and Esther Pelz Holocaust Education Resource Center, who shared the experiences of Jewish refugees during World War II and how persecution and displacement influenced the music of that era. Students learned about Austrian-Jewish composer Erich Wolfgang Korngold, who found refuge in America following the Nazi annexation of Austria in 1938 and went on to become a celebrated Hollywood film composer.