Out & About
We’re not Haydn! Learn more about our activities around the world.
Hans Lewitus: Music and Memories
Go back in time to the earliest beginnings of the Israel Philharmonic, then called the Palestine Symphony Orchestra, with Eva Lewitus, widow of original founding member Hans Lewitus, clarinetist. Eva’s first-person testimony is a riveting oral history of the fascinating but little-known members that made the Israel Phil what it is today. Read our interview with Eva, and view her private collection of photos below. My name is Eva Lewitus. My husband, clarinetist Hans Lewitus, was one of the founding members of the I...
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Five Questions on Life, Loss, and Moving Forward with Rabbi Steve Leder
Steve Leder is the senior rabbi of Wilshire Boulevard Temple in Los Angeles and author of the #1 new release on Amazon (Love & Loss), The Beauty of What Remains. In January 2021, Rabbi Leder joined CEO and Executive Vice President Danielle Ames Spivak in a profound Schmoozic! discussion about what it takes to find love through loss, how the music of our childhood can provide us comfort in difficult times, and how w...
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On Creative Relationships with Entertainment Agent Jeremy Barber
It is often said that business—and life—is all about relationships. There is perhaps no one better to attest to this than community member and talent agent Jeremy Barber—a fierce proponent of creativity and an emphatic supporter of classical music and the arts. This month, we spoke to Jeremy about his whirlwind life as a partner at a talent agency, the necessity of forming connections based on “creative partnershi...
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Danielle’s Letter (January 2021)
As you probably know, the founding musicians of the Israel Philharmonic were Europe’s leading Orchestra musicians who were given the opportunity to flee Nazism by the courageous visionary Bronisław Huberman. This month, on January 27th, we will be recognizing the annual International Holocaust Remembrance Day. In observance of this significant event, this issue focuses on friends of the Israel Philharmonic of all a...
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Generational Memory: Spotlighting Holocaust Families with Lauren Pantzer
At the Israel Philharmonic, we are immensely proud of the connections we build with audiences of all ages. This month, we chose to highlight AFIPO community member 16-year-old Lauren Pantzer, whose passions for photojournalism and storytelling propelled her to create From One Life, a photographic journey through the lives of five families of Holocaust survivors. As a young student of history and a budding author, w...
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The Incredible Life of Dr. George Berci
Few people can boast a more accomplished life than Dr. George Berci. Perhaps best known for his groundbreaking work in the field of endoscopic surgery, Dr. Berci is so much more—an accomplished violinist, Holocaust survivor, medical pioneer, and worldly scholar to name just a few. We had the immense honor of speaking to the 99-year-old surgeon and current staff member of Cedars Sinai, Los Angeles for a conversation abou...
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