We will make your next event a blast with the instantly social I REVOLUTIONARY PHOTOTAINMENT cap & gown yearbook teen 2 teen exfra I SYSTEM Berkley High School's choir and orchestra perform in the American debut of the cantata, Mein Name ist Anne Frank. Cantors Daniel Gross of Adat Shalom Synagogue and Penny Steyer of Temple Shir Shalom were soloists. Cantata Debut Berkley High student reflects on his role in carrying on Anne Frank's message. Aaron Cohen Teen2Teen Staff Writer 0 TapSnap is a reinvented photo booth for the digital era. Open-concept, highly interactive, and instantly social so everyone can join the fun. Your guests can take high quality photos and share them via social media. Best of all, your TapSnap personal attendant will be on hand to take care of the details so you can relax and enjoy your event! ri Tap Tap the camera icon on the screen, strike a pose, and let the fun begin. Or make your own instant movie with the video icon. 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Offer expires 6/15/2013 VISIT US ONLINE AT WWW.TAPSNAP.NET 110 May 23 • 2013 JN n May 7, I was among a group of Berkley High School students who per- formed in the American debut of Mein Name ist Anne Frank, a 45-minute cantata that combined an entire sym- phony orchestra with choral and solo vocal arrangements. Written by composer Volker Blumenthaler and librettist Alexander Gruber, the piece commemorates Anne Frank and the additional 6 million Jews who perished in the Holocaust. Throughout the rehearsal process, I was able to reflect on what the piece really means and where I, as a Jew, fit into the picture. As we took our final bows, I felt an enormous sense of pride. Throughout history, the Jewish people have experienced persecution. As far back as the Exodus, our lineage has experienced endless trials and tribula- tions. So, standing with my fellow musi- cians as applause filled the BHS audito- rium, I couldn't help but think, "We're still here. That's pretty amazing:' To me, the Anne Frank cantata serves as a testament to the resilience and tenacity of the Jewish people. In the late-1930s to early-1940s, the major- ity of the world's Jewish population was wiped off the map during the Holocaust. Less than a century later, more than a dozen Jews (members of the BHS choir and orchestra) took to the stage to perform a song about it. We have endured. With that knowledge comes a certain responsibility. Mein Name ist Anne Frank, though written to eulogize the death of millions, at its core speaks to the way our generation must approach the future. It is our obligation as Jews and as human beings to create a world where bigotry and injustice no longer exist. Genocide is currently happen- ing. War and poverty ravage countries across the world. We have seen the consequences of indifference — society choosing to look the other way. It is our generation's responsibility to demand justice for all people. After the performance, I got a chance to speak with Dr. Guy Stern, director of the International Institute of the Righteous, a division of the Holocaust Memorial Center in Farmington Hills. At age 15, the same age as a quarter of the musicians involved in the perfor- mance, Stern found himself fleeing the Nazi reign of terror. In reflecting upon this, Stern hopes "[our] generation can now empathize with all of those who are in that position:' and that "the memory of Anne Frank becomes impaled in all of [our] minds:' The Passover Haggadah tells us that to remember our years in bondage, we must constantly retell the story of the Exodus. In the near future, there will be no more living survivors of the Holocaust. Our generation will deter- mine how the rest of the world remem- bers the 12 million lives taken at the hands of the Nazis. This is not a task to be taken lightly. As a Jew, participating in the Anne Frank cantata was an honor and privi- lege. Though her life was cut short, she will be forever immortalized in the music and lyrics of Mein Name ist Anne Frank. So be it! Yes, so it may be! Hear your heart's voice! Open your heart, So it won't forget and may become just, So that your heart will be hearing in: Working, learning and loving ❑ Aaron Cohen of Huntington Woods is a senior at Berkley High School.