The USC Polish Music Center, Holocaust Museum LA, and Museum of Tolerance invite you to a special event 

WITNESS TO TRUTH: André Laks, with Music of Szymon Laks

Sunday, October 19, at 1:00 PM
at the Museum of Tolerance

Register Here

Join us for a special afternoon of the Witness to Truth series, highlighting the experience of 2nd generation of Holocaust survivors through the lens of the Laks family. Guest scholar Dr. Grzegorz Mania and Museum of Tolerance Deputy Director, Mark Katrikh, will lead a discussion with philosopher André Laks, followed by a performance of music composed by his father, Szymon Laks. 

Paris-based Polish Jewish composer and writer Szymon Laks’s music uniquely balances elements of French modernism, Polish folk music, and American jazz. The composer survived imprisonment at Auschwitz by conducting the camp orchestra, an experience which he later recalled in his hauntingly honest book entitled Music of Another World.  

Shortly after regaining his freedom in May 1945, Szymon Laks used Polish folk idioms to create his Third String Quartet. This lively work will be the centerpiece of this afternoon program, which will be performed live by students from the USC Thornton School of Music Strings department. 

This event is offered free of charge. RSVP required. Register here.

FREE UNDERGROUND PARKING. Please be considerate of our residential neighbors and make every effort to avoid driving through single-family residential neighborhood streets.