Jewish American Heritage Month Concert: The Émigré Songbook: From Exile to Hollywood

Celebrate Jewish American Heritage Month with a concert-lecture from the Los Angeles Jewish Symphony exploring how exile, adaptation, and cultural exchange helped define the musical identity of Los Angeles and modern America. Featuring composers from Gershwin, Bernstein, and beyond, the program reveals how displacement became one of the most powerful creative forces of the century. Wendy Prober, piano, is a Los Angeles–based soloist and chamber musician who has performed throughout the United States and Israel. A founding member of the award-winning Viklarbo Chamber Ensemble and presenter of the Los Angeles SPaCE Salon, she has appeared as a soloist with numerous Southern California orchestras and is Principal Pianist of the Malibu Coast Silent Film Orchestra, with performances at venues including Hearst Castle, the Eastman School of Music, and LA’s Grand Performances, and broadcasts on Turner Classic Movies. A frequent collaborator with composer Maria Newman, she has premiered and recorded dozens of contemporary works, including Newman’s piano concerto. Prober has taught at Loyola Marymount University and the University of Judaism and holds degrees from Northwestern University and the University of Southern California, where she studied with John Perry. Audrey Yoder, soprano, is a Los Angeles–based performer, arts leader, and educator praised for her “attractive timbre and laudable musicianship” (Opera Today) and as a “dramatically engaging singing actress with great vocal flexibility” (Broadway World). She has performed, conducted, directed, and guest lectured with organizations and universities across California, including California Lutheran University, CSUN, Opera Santa Barbara, Pacific Opera Project, Opera San Luis Obispo, and the LA Symphony Orchestra. A champion of contemporary music and arts education, she has curated composer interview series and led interdisciplinary performance programs, with additional broadcast work featured on KMozart. She currently serves as Managing Director and Education Program Coordinator of the Los Angeles Jewish Symphony and remains deeply engaged in Southern California’s nonprofit arts community.