Ohio Jewish Chronicle, 1992-02-20

              The Ohio Jewish Chronicle
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VOLUME 70
NUMBER 8
FEBRUARY 20,1992
16ADARI5752
i
Aliyah from Soviet
successor states continues
to decline
page 2
Laura Riding's
Kabbal is tic surge
page 3
The time is now
to help Cap. Ron Arad
page 4
Bank One purchases
State of Israel note
pageS
Aqi
4
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Adiim
Rabbi Moshe Tendler
page 6
mnmm In The Chronicle m
Syrian Jewry Rally to
begin NCSY Shabbaton
page 21
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o be presented
M-n vjviumous with Love9
By Ina Horwitz
A very extraordinary and
special concert will be held
March 8 at the Leo Yassenoff
Jewish Community Center.
The performers and the program's philanthropic goals
make it unique.
Called "In Columbus with
Love," this rare benefit concert will highlight the talents
of five Russian members of
the Jewish community — assistant principal second violinist of the Columbus Symphony
Orchestra (CSO) Leonid
Polonsky, his wife Nina (pianist), twin daughters Anna
(pianist) and Olga (violinist),
Dora Levenstein (pianist) and
principal violist with the CSO
David Shmookler.
The funds from the project,
organized by the Association
of New Americans, the Jewish
Center, the Columbus Jewish
Federation and the Jewish
National Fund, will be used to
create a local chapter of the
Hebrew Free Loan Society
and to help resettle Russian
Jews in Columbus and in Israel.
Said Concert Committee
Chairman Les Somogyi,
"While there have been fund-
raising concerts before, this
one is different — totally unprecedented. In the past, local
Russian immigrants have
been helped by organizations,
such as Jewish Family Services; in this instance, they
(Association for New Americans) have set out, for the first
time really, to raise funds to
help themselves. And what
also makes the event so distinct is that the performers
are all Russian, some recent
immigrants, such as the Po-
lonskys, who moved to Columbus from Moscow in September, 1990."
Somogyi added that he
came to America as a Hungarian immigrant 26 years
ago. "Immigrants remain
close to my heart," he siad.
"Many people helped my family get settled, and I feel very
fortunate and thankful that I
am now in a position to help
others."
Levenstein expressed the
same sentiments. "Although
my husband and I emigrated
from Russia 12 years ago, we
still feel very strongly that
whenever we can be useful to
this country — the United
States which has accepted us
so graciously — we should do
whatever we can. By performing in this concert, is a way to
show my appreciation and a
way to help newcomers."
Levenstein teaches piano
and performs as a soloist, a
chamber musician and an accompanist.
Shmookler also expressed
his desire to help his fellow
Russians. Coming to the West
from Moscow in 1981, he had
previously served as a violist
with the famous Bolshoi Theater Orchestra.
"Unlike many other immigrants, I was able to come
The Polonsky family, Leonid, assistant principal second violinist with the Columbus Symphony Orchestra; his wife, Nina, a
pianist; and their twin daughters, Anna, a pianist and Olga, a
violinist, will all participate in the "In Columbus .with Love"
concert to be presented by the Association of New Americans at
the Jewish Community Center on March 8.
here and immediately work in
my profession," he said.
"Now I want to do something
in return., By putting on this
concert, the other Russian
performers and I can use our
instruments and our heads to
express our gratitude for what
has been done by others to
help us."
Committee member Cantor
Jack Chomsky of Tifereth Israel said, "Anyone who has
had the opportunity to hear
the«Polonskys and the other
performers play will know
they can expect a fine performance and anyone who has
not heard them is in for a
fine treat. It is always a pleasure to hear young perform-.
ers, such as Anna and Olga,
who play with so much energy
and enthusiasm." ■"■,-.'
Like Shmookler, the Polon-
skys didn't arrive in Columbus without work prospects as:
have other immigrants.
Leonid Polonsky had already
secured a position with the
CSO before he and his family
left Russia. In Moscow he was
the concertmaster of the Moscow State Orchestra and the.
assistant concertmaster of the
Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra. ;.■:';.'.
"There are so many people
here who deserve thank you's
— people who helped us from
the very _eg__iing," he said.
The Polonsky twins, 13,
began playing at age 5, studying at the Special Music
School for Gifted Children, affiliated with the Moscow Conservatory. Both have won an
annual competition at Inter-
lochen National Music Camp
in Michigan, where judges
told them they were prime future candidates for the Juiit-
liard School of Music in New
York.
They are currently studying
at the Cleveland Institute of
Music and have played a number of solo recitals and chamber duets together. Olga has
- won a state and divisional
competition, making her eligible for a national competition
to be held in April in Washington.
Levenstein, who gives Anna
piano lessons, said both girls
are not only extremely talented, but they realize without
a great deal of practice (they
. usually practice three to four
hours a day), they will not
achieve. She also felt that the
whole Polonsky family performing in the same concert
was very exciting.
Honorary chairman of the
proposed Hebrew Free Loan
Society, Frank Nutis, stressed
its importance to the community. "Its establishment will
be unique, since it will be
started by New Americans
raising funds for themselves
through the benefit concert,"
he said. "It lends an added dimension to the program, for
the formation of the Society
has become a beautiful cause;
it makes way for new immigrants to take their place in
society."
The Free Loan Society, once
established, will provide interest-free loans, not just for immigrants, but for members in
the Jewish community who
are truly in need. Nutis said
an institution of this nature
existed in Columbus at the
turn of the century and lasted
until the 1960s.
He hopes in two or three
years, a bank can be established. "The Loan Society is a
beginning in this direction,"
he said. "This giving comes
out of our prayers — gemiles
chesed or doing good deeds for
each other."
The upcoming concert is exceptional in the hearts and
minds of all committee members, who in addition to
Somogyi and Chomsky, include Leonid and Nina Polonsky, President of the Association of New Americans Fred
Magaziner, Executive Director of JNF Nancy Martin, Director of Community Relations at the Columbus Jewish
Fedration Samuel Horowitz,
Jewish Community Center
ESL (English as a second language) Coordinator Joan
Shell, Dr. Larry Shell, Cantor
Vicki L. Axe, Marvin Bonowitz, President of JFS
Howard Burnett, Dr. Jeff Til-
son, Josef Sklyut, Marjorie
Garek, Boris Lasch and Linda
Long. '
Magaziner said the Alliance
of New Americans, founded in
June, 1990, provides activities
for Russian Jews that deal
with education and holidays
as well as helping new arrivals to adjust and become productive members of the community.
The concert is "under the
umbrella of our group," he
said. "We urge community
support in this significant
project. "People can expect a
beautiful classical program
performed by excellent musicians for a very good cause.
The funds raised will help our
brothers and sisters in Israel
and in our own community.
For we are all one family —
distant cousins coming together."
Martin added that monies
going to Israel as a result of
the project will provide housing for immigrants and enhance their quality of life.
Tickets, which are tax-deductible, are $15 each. There
are also different levels of giving which include: contributor
$100; Patron $200; Sustainer
$300; Benefactor $500, and
Angel $1,000. Person who contribute to any of these five levels are entitled to two tickets
to the concert. Magaziner
wuld like to see as many people as possible become sponsors on one of these levels.
Musical compositions from
the program include works by
Chopin, Rachmaninoff, Prokofiev, Debussy, Tchaikovsky
andBartok.
For further information
about the concert, contact
Joan Shell at the Jewish Community Center, 231-2731, ext.
202.
Ina Horwitz is a local freelance writer and frequent OJC
contributor.
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