Join us every third Sunday of the month from 9 a.m. to noon at the Germanic-American Institute for the GAI Café. Savor homemade and specialty German cakes alongside strong, aromatic German coffee, all available for purchase. At 10 a.m., enjoy a free presentation by a special guest, exploring a new theme each month—perfect for anyone curious about German culture or looking to connect with our vibrant community. Registration for the presentation is encouraged but not required. Whether you're here for the pastries, the conversation, or the cultural insights, we can't wait to see you at GAI Café!

Janet Horvath

Janet Horvath was born in Toronto, Canada. A lifelong performing classical musician, soloist, author, speaker, and educator, she was the Minnesota Orchestra’s associate principal cello from 1980 to 2012. She has performed in recital, chamber music, and as soloist with orchestras throughout the US, Canada, and Europe. An advocate for injury prevention for musicians, Ms. Horvath has given masterclasses and seminars for orchestras and conservatories from coast to coast and has appeared on CBC, BBC, and NPR radio stations, and PBS television. She is a popular guest speaker, in person and on podcasts, and conducts lively conversations about cello playing, the importance of the arts and music in particular, injury prevention, and genocide prevention.

The Cello Still Sings—A Generational Story of the Holocaust and of the Transformative Power of Music, her recently released book, is a sweeping and true history of three generations darkened by the long shadow of the Holocaust. Janet’s parents, both classical musicians and Holocaust survivors, buried who and what they were before. When her father discloses a deeply hidden secret just weeks before his death, about playing morale-boosting programs in the Displaced Persons Camps from 1946-48, two with Leonard Bernstein, it is the spark, which leads to unraveling the past. The story traces Ms. Horvath’s career and that of her father and is a vivid and fast-paced evocation of her parents’ return to life, human resilience, the quest for truth, and music’s healing power. The book features many threads including World War II and Hungarian history, Hungarian foods, the effects on the next generation, refugee life, taking care of aging parents, becoming a professional musician with behind-the-scenes vignettes, humor, resilience, hope, and reconciliation. Ms. Horvath has given over 60 presentations to date to various sized groups holding courageous conversations about anti-Semitism, racism and exclusionism.