The ACF DC welcomes singer Shira Karmon and pianist Alexander Vounelakos for the concert “Spirit of Hope” on International Holocaust Remembrance Day 2025.
Shira Karmon and Alexander Vounelakos, whose repertoire includes classical music as well as jazz, will take us on a musical journey with interpretations of songs by Ludwig v. Beethoven, Leonard Bernstein and Kurt Weill. Commemorating the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, the artists pay homage to the composers Viktor Ullmann and Szymon Laks who were prisoners in this concentration camp. The concert will end with some well-known jazzy Jewish hits, leaving the audience with some spirit of hope.
Image © Sebastian Kerssenbrock
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
SHIRA KARMON was born in Israel, she studied at the Rubin Academy in Tel Aviv and at the Manhattan School of Music in New York. Shira performed in Germany at the Komische Oper and Neuköllner Oper Berlin, at the Chamber Opera in Hamburg, at the Bavarian State Theatre in Passau, at the Opéra National du Rhin in Strasbourg, France, and the Teatro Comunale di Bolzano in Italy. International Festivals include the Verbier Festival in Switzerland, the Opera Festivals in Chiemgau (Germany) and in Aberdeen (UK). As a renowned concert singer Ms. Karmon performed at the Contertgebow in Amsterdam, at the Berlin Konzerthaus, at the Lincoln Center New York, at the Styriarte Graz, in Mar del Plata, Argentina and the Villa Medici in Rome. Shira Karmon explores the Jewish Repertoire in its many facets such as the Spanish Jewish tradition, as well as the Yiddish swing. The artist lives in Vienna.
Image © Georg Buxhofer
ALEXANDER VOUNELAKOS was born in Vienna and began playing the piano at the age of six. After several years of studying classical music, he found new inspirations especially in jazz and flamenco. He graduated from the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna (MDW) in classical- and jazz piano. He is not only working as a classical soloist but is also part of various jazz formations. Alexander presents his own compositions and variations on jazz standards with his jazz trio, he performed the keyboards in the Zawinul All-Star Big Band, and was also soloist with the Tulln Youth Symphony Orchestra and the Pressbaum City Orchestra . Since 2023 he has been studying classical piano at the Joseph Haydn Conservatory.
Image © Sebastian Philipp