By Eileen Wingard
SAN DIEGO–During the recent war with Gaza, many facets of the Israeli economy suffered. I had conflicting reports about whether concerts and theatre performances continued as scheduled and what effect the war had on the lives of some of my friends in the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. I recently emailed the person I am closest to in that wonderful ensemble, Violist Rachel Kam. She, her husband Zvi, and their two children lived in San Diego while Zvi, a chemist on the staff of the Weizmann Institute, did post-doctoral work at UCSD.
I still remember their attending one of our Pesach Seders, their two young children joining in with the afikomen search. I also recall the special concert where Rachel and my sister, violinist Zina Schiff, were soloists with David Amos’s orchestra at the JCC on 54th Street, each playing a solo work with the orchestra and then combining forces in a beautiful rendition of Mozart’s Sinfonie Concertante for Violin and Viola. Rachel and Zvi’s daughter, Sharon, is one of the world’s foremost clarinet soloists, having soloed with major orchestras in Israel and Europe. I remember her playing at the JCC on a “Musicians in the Making” program with my niece, Avlana Eisenberg, my sister, Zina’s daughter. Sharon played recorder and Avlana played the violin.
Rachel and Zvi’s son Ori, a brilliant violist is currently the violist of the famed Jerusalem String Quartet.
In my email to Rachel, I inquired whether the IPO was able to function normally during the hostilities. Rachel
replied: “We had very frustrating and worrying 6 weeks of war here, but managed to go on with our lives in Tel Aviv. People in the southern part of Israel, on the other hand, left home or spent most of the time in shelters. The worst was losing beautiful 20 year- old courageous warriors. This, we will never overcome.
“When the war started, on July 8th, we were in the midst of performing Johann Strauss’ Die Fledermaus with Zubin Mehta and wonderful singers. The audience filled the hall every single night and none of the singers left Israel! There was a siren once, at 2100, when the operetta was about to begin, but since people were told, before every concert, what to do in case of alarm, it took a few minutes and the concert went on!
“We could do this, thanks to the knowledge that Kipat Barzel (Iron Dome), our clever anti missile system, will protect us. Outdoor concerts were cancelled all over Israel, during the war, but indoors performances went on. A lot of theatre actors and musicians appeared in front of soldiers and Southern cities’ audiences in order to cheer them up.
The Jerusalem festival, this year, took place in the first 15 days of June, so there was no problem. We should all applaud our audiences and soloists for not deserting us!”
Those of us fortunate to enjoy the security and comfort of life in the USA, can only look with admiration and respect at our Jewish brethren in Israel who, once again, have endure the hardships of war.
We hope and pray that the coming year will bring a sustained cessation of hostilities, and, eventually, a lasting peace.
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Wingard, a retired violinist with the San Diego Symphony, is a freelance writer specializing in coverage of the arts. She may be contacted via eileen.wingard@sdjewishworld.com