Dr. James Grymes, professor of musicology, recently completed a residency at The Florida State University (FSU), where he a taught a musicology seminar, presented a public lecture, and delivered the keynote address at the annual Remembrance Dinner for the Holocaust Education Resource Council, a fundraising event in support of Holocaust education, on October 10. An article about the lecture appeared in the Tallahassee Democrat.
Dr. Grymes, who received his master's and doctoral degrees from FSU, also spoke at the University Symphony Orchestra's "Music of Resistance" concert on October 13. The concert was inspired by Grymes's book, Violins of Hope: Instruments of Hope and Liberation in Mankind’s Darkest Hour (HarperCollins, 2014). Winner of a National Jewish Book Award, Violins of Hope tells the stories of violins played by Jewish musicians during the Holocaust and of the Israeli violinmaker who has restored them.
In January 2020, Intonations: Songs from the Violins of Hope, a new work by composer Jake Heggie inspired by the violins' stories, will receive its world premiere in the San Francisco Bay area.
Read more about Dr. Grymes here.