Out of the Depths

OUT OF THE DEPTHS

Musical Performance
Based on the book Out of the Depths: The First Collection of Holocaust Songs by Joseph Toltz and Anna Boucher

In 1945, researchers documenting the experiences of Jewish refugees began collecting songs written and sung in Nazi camps and ghettos, preserving fragments of music that might otherwise have disappeared. Drawn from Mima’amakim (Out of the Depths), one of the earliest collections of Holocaust songs, this event brings those works to life through live performance alongside stories of the composers, lyricists and the remarkable effort to preserve their voices.

Joseph Toltz and Anna Boucher share the story behind these remarkable songs and the effort to preserve them. Together, music and storytelling reveal how creativity became a form of witness, endurance and human expression.

Banner image photo credit:

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

Provenance: Rosalie Fingerhut Gerut

Source Record ID: Registry 006888

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Featuring
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Featuring

Joseph Toltz - Co-author, narrator, performer
Ethnomusicologist, musician and arts producer specialising in Jewish music and its movement across cultures and communities. A former fellow at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, his work spans research, performance and archival practice. Out of the Depths: The First Collection of Holocaust Songs is his first book.
Anna Boucher - Co-author, narrator
Associate Professor at the University of Sydney and researcher of global migration, mobility and migration policy. Her work examines immigration systems, labour and diasporic movement across contemporary societies. Out of the Depths: The First Collection of Holocaust Songs is her fourth book.
Cantor Zvi Teichtahl
Cantorial singer and musical leader who has served as Cantor at North Shore Synagogue since 2008. Trained in classical voice, music theatre and opera, he later studied at the Tel Aviv Cantorial Institute under Cantor Naftali Herstik z”l and Maestro Raymond Goldstein. He is the recipient of vocal scholarships from the Melba Conservatorium of Music, the Music and Opera Singers Trust of Australia and the Council of Orthodox Synagogues Victoria.
CHUTNEY Band - Performers
Australian klezmer fusion ensemble bringing together Jewish musical traditions with contemporary performance. Their debut album Ajar received international recognition including a triple Gold Medal at the 2024 Global Music Awards, and their work has been featured by Rolling Stone. Performing members: Ben Adler, Paul Khodor, Ralph Marshall and Oliver Shermacher.

Photo credit: Max Goodman