Beyond Bars: Music by Holocaust Survivors

Join concert pianist Manuel Cini for a powerful program featuring rarely performed and newly recovered compositions written by prisoners in Nazi concentration camps.

This recital offers a rare opportunity to hear music that remained silent for decades, fragments of hope recently brought to light through Cini’s research at the University of Surrey. The performance, presented in collaboration with fellow musicians, will be preceded by a talk by Dr Constance Bantman, who will explore how art offers powerful ways of remembering and retrieving unwritten histories, and will include readings and reflections from wider community. In this 80th anniversary year of the International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust, this recital honours the resilience of the human spirit and the enduring power of art in the face of atrocity.

You will be invited to reflect on the readings and musical pieces throughout the performance. After the performance there will be a short Q&A session, inviting any personal audience responses or reflections.

Event timings:

First half: from 7pm, the performance will include a talk by Dr Constance Bantman, followed by reflections from students from a university partner school and literary performances from ‘Write into Culture’, the first all-female Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller–led writers’ collective who will be reflecting on their community connection to the theme.

Interval: 8pm

Second half: from 8:20pm, a short introduction to the musical compositions followed by performance by Manuel Cini (pianist), James Beddoe (tenor) and David Rome (cantor)

Spaces are limited - register now to secure your place. 

This event is part of the University of Surrey Being Human Festival 2025 Hub Programme. Being Human Festival is the UK’s national festival of the humanities, taking place 6 - 15 November 2025. Led by the School of Advanced Study, University of London, with generous support from Research England, in partnership with the Arts and Humanities Research Council and the British Academy. For further information please see beinghumanfestival.org.

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