This program resonates with the remarkable cultural activity that arose in the Vilna Ghetto during its two years of existence under Nazi rule, from 1941 to 1943, under conditions of unimaginable deprivation and suffering. This culture is most easily accessible to us through the songs that reflected the tragic lives of the inmates but also gave them home and couage to endure. Professor Solon Beinfeld's English narration will provite the context of the Yiddish songs of the Vilna Ghetto sung by Wren Ross.

Samuel Bak, painter- Pucker Gallery
BK431 - Rainbow Suite, 1996   Oil on Linen - 32 x 39" 

More About Wren...

Wren Ross has been performing for over twenty years. She was a cast member of Shear Madness for eleven years (Boston's longest running play), and appeared in major roles at The Charles Playhouse, The Next Move Theatre, and The Boston Repertory Theatre. Her one-woman show, A Strong Woman Is... received much acclaim.

Wren was invited by the curators of the Starr Gallery and the Jewish Women's Archives to produce and appear in a cabaret performance called Then and Now that was a companion piece for the "Women Whose Lives Span the Century" project. The collaboration was intended to preserve the rich oral histories of Jewish women living in the twentieth century. Wren has an extensive knowledge of the music of the Holocaust. She sings Yiddish songs of the Vilna Ghetto (1941-43) as part of a touring performance/lecture about the cultural life of the ghetto with Dr. Solon Beinfeld, Professor Emeritus of Washington University; Dr. Beinfeld is a known expert on the subject. . In the spring of 2002, she was a guest artist at the International Conference On Resistance in Nazi Germany at Boston College where she sang songs of the Ghetto. Wren was invited to sing at a tribute to the internationally renowned artist Samuel Bak, a survivor of the Vilna ghetto. Sam asked her to narrate his memoirs in a documentary about his life called Speaking the Unspeakable: The Art of Samuel Bak. Wren was MC and sang the songs of Brecht/Weill at a special "Kabarett" held in conjunction with an exhibition of German Expressionist self-portraits at the McMullen Museum at Boston College. She was the guest artist at the opening night of the "Anne Frank in the World" exhibit in Albuquerque, New Mexico in January 2000. Recently, she was honored to be brought by the Holocaust survivors of New Mexico to sing at the 2004 Yom HaShoah memorial service.

In addition to her singing and dramatic credits, Wren has been seen and heard in hundreds of broadcast spots. She has worked with such notable personalities as Walter Cronkite, Jason Robards, Mason Adams, and Ben Vereen.

Her voice can be heard in major museums across the United States. Among her television voice-over credits are the PBS programs, Nova, The People's Century, Celebration of the American Family and Prelude to Kosovo. She narrated She Lives to Ride, a feature film about female motorcyclists.

Wren sings a wide variety of styles from Broadway, Folk, Jazz, World, to Classical and Pop. She loves to sing Jewish music and includes Hebrew, Ladino and Yiddish songs in her repertoire. Wren is dedicated to keeping the legacy of Holocaust music alive.

Hear Songs from "Sits a Stranger Singing" - Songs of the Ghetto:
(Songs are in MP3 format. Click on the to download the file.)

Frilling (Springtime)
Yisrolik
S'Dremlin Feygl (Birds Are Sleeping)