This year to mark UN International Day in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust on 27 January, the Hong Kong Holocaust and Tolerance Centre (HKHTC), in conjunction with the Hong Kong Jewish Community Centre Events Committee organised a musical concert.

Entitled: Music from the Ashes, the 90 minute memorial event showcased musicians who composed and perished in the Terezin concentration camp. Works by Gideon Klein, Robert Dauber, EgonLedec, Frantisek Domazlicki and Viktor Ullmann were included.

The venue was the Concert Hall of the Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts, in a break from tradition where events normally take place at the Jewish Community Centre.

The concert hall was a fullhouse with over 380 people attending. Invited dignitaries included representatives from the Hong Kong government. Consulate generals from dozens of countries including the Czech Republic, Poland, Canada, France and Holland. Members from the Jewish community, rabbis and many local Hong Kong residents also attended.

The evenings musical event was introduced and led by pianist, Allan Sternfield, who also acted as moderator. Sternfield has been performing and promoting the works of composers who were victims of the Shoah, especially those active in theTerezin ghetto for many years. Sternfield has been a member of the senior faculty of the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance since 1976. He now resides in Israel, orginally born in the US.

The evenings programme included Kaddish by Ravel, performed on piano by Sternfield and accompanied on voice by Mezzo Soprano, AlexsiKesslerCalice.