Once a month, the Holocaust Survivor Services team at JF&CS Atlanta finds musicians who are interested in volunteering to play music for Holocaust Survivors. These musicians travel around Atlanta to visit a few Survivors at their homes and perform a lovely set of songs, all while practicing safety precautions such as social distancing and wearing masks whenever possible.

On Sunday, September 13, the Holocaust team provided pop up concerts for eleven Holocaust Survivors at four different homes. The performers included Gus Garay on guitar and vocals, Justin Holzer on percussion, Liz Garay on violin, and Julia Johnson on Flute. This is the second pop up concert for Gus, Liz and Julia. They find it so rewarding to bring isolated seniors the joy of music, and can’t wait to do it again.

Gabe Richman, a 4th grader at Epstein School, provided the Holocaust survivors with the sound of the Shofar. Gabe is the Great Granddaughter of four Holocaust Survivors. She wanted to help out by making sure the survivors were happy and that they heard the shofar blasts. Doing this helped her feel connected to her great grandparents whom she never had the chance to meet.

The Survivors were so thrilled and felt so special to experience the sweet music performed by these wonderful volunteers.