Seton Hall Holds Free Concert at Cathedral Basilica in Newark

On Sunday, November 17, from 3 to 5 p.m.,  the public is invited to a free “75th Anniversary Concert Commemorating Kristallnacht:  The Night of Broken Glass” at the 1,200-seat Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart, 89 Ridge Street, Newark, a musical event exploring how to combat bigotry and prejudice through an expression of unity and healing. 

The free concert is a collaborative effort between Seton Hall University’s Building Bridges: Sixty Years of Jewish-Christian Dialogue, The New Jersey Commission on Holocaust Education, and The Sister Rose Thering Fund for Education in Jewish-Christian Studies at Seton Hall. 

The program includes performances by the 70-member Seton Hall University Choir and various professional musicians and singers as well as a unique ballet.

Kristallnacht, or "The Night of Broken Glass," occurred on November 9th-10th, 1938, when violent anti-Jewish protests broke out across the German Reich and resulted in over 90 Jews killed, 30,000 arrested and taken to concentration camps, thousands of Jewish homes, businesses, and institutions damaged, and over 1,000 synagogues burned.

The concert will be conducted by Dr. Jason Tramm, assistant professor and director of choral activities at Seton Hall University and artistic director of MidAtlantic Opera. 

Among those scheduled to perform are renowned soloists Christina Major, Julie Diniz, Mary Clare McAfee, Theodore Chetsos, and Jeremy Galyon as well as soloists from the Newark Boys Chorus.  The program includes ‘To Remember It All,’ by Cracow émigré Eddie Halpern, featuring singers from The Metropolitan Opera.  

Also being performed are Leonard Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms, Kadish by Daniel Neiden, ‘I Believe’ by Mark Miller, and ‘Hine Ma Tov,’ arranged by Iris Levine. The program will also offer an interpretive ballet performance of a pas de deux with a broken glass theme. 

For additional information, contact Marilyn Zirl at  973.761.9000or marilyn.zirl@shu.edu.