14 Friday, December 19, 1980 THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS Soviet Goodwill Gesture Lucky Break for Russian Violinist Here HERE'S WHERE TO FIND A BETTER DEAL THAN WE HAVE FOR YOU AT DEXTER CHEVROLET By HEIDI PRESS Anatole Wieck was one of the lucky ones — the lucky 30,000 Russian Jews who were released in a "good- will" gesture by the Rus- sians in 1972 prior to the visit of then U.S. President Richard Nixon. It wasn't just by chance that Wieck (pronounced Veek), currently the artist- in-residence in the Monroe Public Schools, and his fam- ily were able to leave the Soviet Union. "My parents had applied to leave eight times, six to Israel and two to the United States," he said at a special reception held for him Fri- day in the Farmington Hills home of Mr. and Mrs. Nor- man Zamczyk. Wieck, who performed three short violin pieces at the reception, accompanied by Monroe High School band instructor Al POI°, spoke briefly about life as a Jew in Russia. DEXTER CHEVROLET NEW CHEVYS-USED CARS-COMPLETE AUTO LEASING 20811 W. 8 MILE BETWEEN SOUTHFIELD & TELEGRAPH RD. ADJOINING THE CITY OF SOUTHFIELD 534-1400 ANATOLE WIECK He said that despite his family's attempts to escape Russian repression, "my father wanted to avoid trouble," and the family kept a low profile. The fam- ily had to stop making ap- plications to leave when his brother, a second-year med- ical student, was drafted into the Russian Army in Siberia. Today, his brother is a doctor in West Berlin. When it looked like all was lost, President Nixon made his historic visit to the USSR, and the family was fortunate to be included in the Soviet gdvernment's magnanimous release of tens of thousands of Soviet Jews. From his Riga, Latvia, home, Wieck went to Tel Aviv, where he lived for five months, until he was ac- cepted for enrollment at the prestigious Juilliard School. Wieck spent six years at Juilliard, where he studied violin under Ivan Galamian and viola with Joseph Fuchs. At Juil- liard he earned bachelor's and master's degrees. In Russia, Wieck studied violin at the East Darzin Special Music School and at the Central Music School in Moscow, where his training focused on solo performace. He began his music training at 5 on piano sand at 7 on violin. Life as a Jew was not im- possible, Wieck explained. He said his family cele- brated Passover and kept kosher, as much as one could in Russia. There were no Hebrew schools, per se, but he was able to have a Bar Mitzva. The 27-year-old artist said he "grew up in a Jewish atmosphere. A great many of the cultured people were Jewish." Monday, thru Friday 10-8 Saturday 10-6 idenboirnSunday 12-5 AN w k : ...• Creative Jev\elers ill . 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FREE APPRAISAL WITH DIAMOND RING PURCHASE. -, 29173 NORTHWESTERN HWY / SOUTHFIELD, MI 48034 FRANKLIN PLAZA / AT 12 MILE RD. 356-2525 • , Married to a marketing coordinator for an advertis- ing agency, Wieck is con- tracted, under the sponsor- ship of the Michigan Coun- cil for the Arts, to fulfill his role until June. His respon- sibilities include working with the string teachers in the Monroe schools, coach- ing small ensembles in the junior and senior high school, demonstrations, public performances, in- struction and discussing music and Russia to com- munity groups and social studies classes. Asked if his concentrates on a particular composer, Wieck said "we play every- thing, including country music and European folk. When we get into the Ger- man and French, then we move into classical. "When we play folk music, they (the students) feel that I'm one of them." Prior to accepting the Monroe post, Wieck per- formed at the Brooklyn Museum, Juilliard, Alice Tully Hall (New York), Aspen (Colo.) Festival Prograr Student Chamber Music Festival (San Francisco) and the Newport N Chamber Music Festival. He has conducted master classes at the University of Texas and held many posi- tions with orchestras and chamber ensembles, includ- ing assistant principal vio- list of the Brandenburg Ensemble, New York Pro- Arte Chamber Orchestra and principal violist of the Philharmonic of Northern New Jersey. Freed from the Soviet spectre and a talented vio- linist, Anatole Wieck is truly a lucky man. . Energy Subsidy for NY Poor NEW YORK (JTA) — Applications by low-income New York residents for funds to help them pay util- ity bills this winter are being accepted at 18 sites throughout the city, accord- ing to Jerome Becker, chairman of the board of the Metropolitan New York Coordinating Council on Jewish Poverty. _ - Under the Home Energy Assistance Program, homeowners and renters earning less than 125 per- cent of the federal poverty level — which is $12,948 for a family of four — are eligi- ble to receive a cash grant or -credit with their fuel ven- dors, to offset the increased cost of energy, Becker said. Jerusalem Hit by Snowfall JERUSALEM (JTA) -- Israel had a foretaste winter when a sudden stortu unleashed gale force winds over most of the country lr week accompanied by hez. rain and substantial snow- fall in Jerusalem and other high-lying areas. Meanwhile, Army and Air Force helicopters man- aged a spectacular off-shore rescue in the teeth of the gale. Some 80 foreign labor- ers, most of them Italian; were air-lifted from two floating hostels that broke their moorings at Hadera and drifted helplessly in heavy seas.