International connections preserve music history
Since her arrival in Aotearoa in 2011, Associate Professor Inbal Megiddo of the New Zealand School of Music—Te Kōkī (NZSM) has co-organised annual concerts commemorating Kristallnacht, raising funds and awareness for the Holocaust Centre of New Zealand. In 2020, an international connection gave Dr Megiddo the chance to bring one of these concerts, and the story behind it, to life on film with the help of internationally renowned film director Indrani Pal-Chaudhuri.
“Indrani and I met through an online event in 2020, during the pandemic,” Associate Professor Megiddo says. “We discussed our upcoming projects and decided to collaborate.”
Indrani Pal-Chaudhuri is an award-winning film director and celebrity photographer, as well as a social justice advocate, entrepreneur, and educator at Princeton University. She has won many awards, including recognition by the United Nations as the UN Women's Entrepreneurship Distinguished Fellow 2018, and the Max Mark-Cranbrook Global Peacemaker Award 2019.
When they met, the topic for the next Kristallnacht concert was planned as a tribute to the Women’s Orchestra of Auschwitz. The orchestra was comprised of musicians held prisoner at Auschwitz concentration camp who were forced to play for the entertainment of the Nazi officers.
“The concert followed the lives of three women and tells their story of being sent to Auschwitz, becoming part of the orchestra, and being forced to play under the most horrendous and unimaginable conditions,” Associate Professor Megiddo says. “Indrani and I decided to collaborate to bring this concert and this story to life on film.”
The film itself, Tribute to the Women's Orchestra of Auschwitz, showcases the concert and presents interviews with Holocaust survivors in New Zealand and abroad.
“This is such an important story, and I really wanted to make sure these concerts would have more of a lasting impact than just one evening,” Associate Professor Megiddo says. “Making the film with Indrani will bring the story of these women to a worldwide audience. Every year there are fewer and fewer survivors of the Holocaust left. The ones we approached were eager to share their story, to make sure that the events they lived through would not happen again.”
Associate Professor Megiddo researched and wrote the narration for the concert, selected the music, organised the musicians, and performed in the concert herself. The concerts scheduled for 2021 and 2022 had to be rescheduled due to the COVID-19 lockdowns. "Lockdowns and border closures also meant that Indrani had to direct all the filming from a distance, which led to a lot of calls at crazy hours and in crazy locations," Associate Professor Megiddo says.
“Indrani was incredibly gracious to work with, and a calm voice amongst all the chaos.”
Associate Professor Megiddo has also collaborated with Indrani on a film for White Ribbon USA. White Ribbon USA’s aim with this film is to protect women and children from domestic violence worldwide by reforming the Hague Convention.
“Indrani already had incredible people on board, with a screenplay by Oscar-nominated writer Jamie Donoghue. She asked me for help with the soundtrack. This project is now complete, has already been nominated for awards, and has been accepted for a screening at the White House.”
You can view the trailer for the film, Reunited,here.
“I perform as a concert cellist a lot and love it, but it is really meaningful knowing that my music will have an impact beyond the concert hall as well,” Associate Professor Megiddo says. “I have been interested in music and social justice since I was a teenager when I had lessons with famed cellist Mstislav Rostropovich. One of the things I admired most was how he used music to promote humanitarian causes. This left an impression on me and shaped how I view my role as a musician and performer.”
Associate Professor Megiddo also has several other ongoing projects in 2023.
“When I choose recording projects, concert repertoire, and projects in general, I like to choose projects that challenge me, and that will have reach and impact; projects that might change the way we perform or listen to the music, or where my interpretation adds a new dimension to the work,” she says.
Her recent works include recordings of the Bach Cello Suites, as well as an album called Forbidden Voices, focused on works banned by the Nazis. She has also worked on two teaching-related projects; one, the development of a pedagogy programme for the NZSM, and the other a series of recordings and tutorials designed to demystify and make more accessible one of the pillars of cello technique—the Popper Etudes.
“Aside from these, I have an incredible group of cello students at the NZSM. I work hard to help them have the opportunities and experiences to develop as cellists, musicians, and human beings,” Associate Professor Megiddo says. “For these reasons, I hold an annual international cello festival, Cellophonia, based here in Wellington, which, alongside international guest artists and participants, has an emphasis on collaboration between professionals, students, and amateurs to build the cello community.”
For anyone thinking about pursuing music, Associate Professor Megiddo has this to say:
“I think my biggest piece of advice to any aspiring musician is to be ready for anything and to take the plunge. Talk to people, take risks, be passionate.”