A collaboration between two musicians, Frank Pond and Guido Ruhland, was featured in the Holocaust Memorial Day in Norwich. Frank Pond, a 90-year-old composer from Norfolk, has been writing and performing a special lament for each Memorial Day for the past six years. This year, his composition was called “Soliloquy” and it remembered the six million Jews and five million others who perished in the death camps. Guido Ruhland, a young German cellist, reached out to Frank to ask for copies of all his compositions. Some of Frank’s compositions were subsequently recorded and played on German radio. Guido, who plays with the Anhaltische Philharmonic, was honored to be invited to the Norwich events and there was a moving moment at the Norwich Synagogue when the two men embraced to the applause of the audience.
Norwich was one of the first places in Britain to hold a Holocaust Memorial Service. Frank Pond was inspired to write his Holocaust reflections after seeing black and white film footage on British TV that showed the shocking and heartless Nazi attitudes towards the death camps. He was overwhelmed by the response to his music compositions. Frank and his wife, Jean, attend the United Reformed Church and have two musical daughters, one who is a performance pianist and the other a cellist.
The Holocaust Memorial Service in Norwich not only remembered those who were victims of the death camps during the Holocaust, but also those fleeing from terror in Syria, Iraq, and other parts of the Middle East. The congregation also remembered those who were victims of genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia, and Darfur, as well as the millions who died in Soviet Russia and Europe.
The concert in Norwich Synagogue was described as a magnificent concert with profound music. Participants included Emma Penfold on oboe, Briony Roper on piano, Jean Boase-Beier reading Holocaust poetry, and Jane Prinsley as a soloist. The concert was arranged with the help of Maureen Leveton, the president of Norwich Synagogue.
In conclusion, the collaboration between Frank Pond and Guido Ruhland was a moving feature of the Holocaust Memorial Day in Norwich. Frank’s compositions, especially his latest one called “Soliloquy,” remembered the victims of the death camps during the Holocaust. Guido, a talented German cellist, was honored to be invited to the events and their embrace at the synagogue was a powerful moment for the audience. The Norwich Memorial Service also remembered victims of other genocides and those fleeing current conflicts. The concert at Norwich Synagogue was described as magnificent, with performances from various musicians and readings of Holocaust poetry.
