RESILIENCE: “Lost and Reclaimed Voices from the Holocaust” with Desirée Ruhstrat, Melissa Reardon, and Wendy Sutter

RESILIENCE
Lost and Reclaimed Voices from the Holocaust
Desirée Ruhstrat, violin
Melissa Reardon, viola
Wendy Sutter, cello

Resilience is an intimate and deeply moving concert project in which three acclaimed artists of
international stature come together to restore music silenced by the Holocaust to the living repertoire.
Violinist Desirée Ruhstrat, violist Melissa Reardon, and cellist Wendy Sutter—each a leader in the
classical music world—unite in a program devoted to extraordinary chamber works by composers
whose lives and careers were shaped, interrupted, or extinguished by Nazi persecution. Through
solo, duo, and string trio repertoire, Resilience offers both remembrance and renewal, allowing
voices nearly erased by history to speak again with urgency and clarity.
The program features music by composers such as Erwin Schulhoff, Gideon Klein, Schul,
Hermann, and Hans Gál, including Gál’s String Trio in F-sharp minor, Op. 104 and Serenade, Op.
41. Alongside these recognized works, Resilience incorporates chamber pieces that have only
recently resurfaced—some drawn directly from archival sources and private holdings, and in certain
cases not performed publicly for decades, if not since the period immediately following the Second
World War.
These works are presented not as historical artifacts, but as living music—expressive, daring, and
profoundly human. The program’s flexible structure alternates between solo, duo, and trio
performances, creating contrast, intimacy, and narrative flow while highlighting the individuality of
each composer’s voice. Designed for chamber-scale halls and series, the concert can be adapted in
length and format to suit a wide range of venues.
Violinist Desirée Ruhstrat brings to this project a long-standing commitment to rediscovering
suppressed repertoire. As founder of the Black Oak Ensemble, her work on the acclaimed album
Silenced Voices—recognized by the Chicago Tribune, Fanfare, and WQXR—has been instrumental
in returning forgotten composers to the concert stage. Her scholarship and musical insight form a
central pillar of Resilience.
She is joined by Grammy-nominated violist Melissa Reardon, a member of the Borromeo String
Quartet and Artistic Director of the Portland Chamber Music Festival. Praised for her “elegant” and
“virtuosic” performances, Reardon brings a wide-ranging artistic voice shaped by international
touring, leadership in major chamber organizations, and collaborations across classical and
contemporary traditions.
Cellist Wendy Sutter—hailed by the Wall Street Journal as “one of the great leading cellists of the
classical stage”—completes the trio. Renowned for her intensity and expressive range, Sutter has
performed as a soloist on five continents with major orchestras and leading conductors, while also
shaping contemporary music through decades-long collaborations with composers including Philip
Glass, Tan Dun, and Steve Reich. Her career bridges the classical canon and the modern
avant-garde, bringing urgency and depth to music that demands remembrance.
Together, Ruhstrat, Reardon, and Sutter form an ensemble of rare authority and sensitivity.
Resilience is more than a concert: it is an act of artistic restoration, a testament to creative
endurance, and a powerful affirmation that music silenced by violence can—and must—be heard
again.