About Likht Ensemble
Likht (ליכט, "light") Ensemble is a piano-vocal duo whose goal is to uncover and disseminate music by Jewish composers from the Holocaust. As Jewish artists, the discovery of this music has allowed us to reclaim our history with a new perspective, while ensuring that voices once silenced are heard.
The Shoah Songbook is an ongoing series of recitals exploring music by Jewish composers from the Holocaust. The series is designed to shine a spotlight on great composers silenced before their time, ranging from the subtle poetry and haunting lullabies of Ilse Weber, to the stylistically advanced works of Viktor Ullmann, to the never-before-recorded songs of Edwin Geist. The Shoah Songbook began with Part One: Terezín in collaboration with the Harold Green Jewish Theatre Company, and will culminate with Parts Four and Five in January 2024. Likht Ensemble regularly shares performances of excerpts from the series
Likht Ensemble regularly performs recitals across North America, which explore various themes, locations, and music from the Songbook series.
The Shoah Songbook
Jewish Space Lasers is a one-hour theatrical piece structured around the songs and stories of musicians killed during the Holocaust and examining the place of Jewishness in classical music. This cabaret-style performance interweaves personal reflections through stand up comedy, monologues adapted from historical documents, art song by Holocaust composers, new arrangements of Yiddish folk tunes, and pieces from the Germanic canon such as Wagner’s Wesendonck Lieder. The complexity of antisemitism, Holocaust awareness, and Jewish identity in classical music, not to mention richness and vividness of our source material, invite this three-dimensional storytelling format that engages audiences to connect with difficult subject matter in a light-hearted way.
Curious about our lasers? Join us at the Opera America Conference on May 18th!
Jewish Space Lasers
Likht Ensemble works with various universities and organizations to speak about music from the Holocaust, ranging from lecture-recital programs to presentations about musical life within the ghettos and concentration camps. To date, Likht has shared presentations about specific composers and compositions, and the experience of artists in the Polish, German, Czech Republic, and Lithuanian ghettos.
Watch our digital lecture-recital at Vanier College's Holocaust and Genocide Symposium:
Likht also works to support arts organizations and companies in their learning around antisemitism in classical music and opera. Read Likht Ensemble’s recent education package, Antisemitism in Music, here.
Likht is passionate about supporting artists and encouraging others to integrate their individual and cultural identities into their art. We regularly work with artists and students to provide professional development training opportunities to empower artists to pursue their passions. Our workshops explore topics such as understanding your personal values and passions, identifying and expanding your professional skill-set, developing projects, grant writing, time management, and more.
Education and Outreach
"One certainly can appreciate the rich soprano voice of Jaclyn Grossman and her gifts in interpreting the songs. Nate Ben-Horin is a graceful pianist, a gifted arranger of the music to best serve the song and an attentive but unobtrusive accompanist"
