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JCC Chicago’s administrative offices will be closed December 23-27 for a holiday break. We will reopen on Monday, December 30. See our fitness center holiday hours here.

Emceed By
montana tucker

Montana Tucker

Tik Tok influencer and emcee of the Growing Hope concert, Montana is an award-winning singer, songwriter, dancer, actress, social media force, and philanthropist. Montana is the granddaughter of Holocaust survivors and creator of the TikTok series How To: Never Forget, which is focused on Holocaust education.

About Montana

Special Guests Include
Miri Ben-Ari

Miri Ben-Ari

Grammy winning hip hop violinist Miri Ben-Ari is a classically trained musician who has collaborated with Jay Z,  Alicia Keys, Wynton Marsalis, Maroon 5, Patti Labelle, Janet Jackson, and John Legend, Ben-Ari is the founder and CEO of “Gedenk,” a non-profit dedicated to educating and encouraging self-expression among youth about anti-semitism, racism, and their brutal consequences. 

About Miri

Avery Dixon

Avery Dixon

Saxophonist extraordinaire and “America’s Got Talent” 2022 Golden Buzzer Winner, in addition to first runner-up on “America’s Got Talent: All-Stars,” Avery uniquely understands the importance of tolerance and inclusion after overcoming a childhood marked by constant bullying.

About Avery

the boykins

The BoykinZ

15–22-year-old singing sisters, known as “the black girls of country TikTok”, have performed on Shania Twain’s “Queen of Me” Tour and CMT Awards. “Just expressing ourselves to the fullest, even in music, can help set other people free because there are people who want you to stick to stereotypes, but we don’t do that,” said Kylan Boykin.

About the BoykinZ

wendell hanes

Wendell Hanes

Wendell Hanes is an Emmy winning composer and owner of Volition Sound. He earned a Sports Emmy for his work with ESPN and composed the 2021 NAACP Image Award-winning Hulu documentary The Killing of Breonna Taylor. Hanes has scored over 2000 commercials and has won nearly every major award in advertising.

About Wendell

Violins of Hope

Violins of Hope hosted by JCC Chicago is a collection of 70+ string instruments played by Jewish musicians before and during the Holocaust that have been lovingly restored, sharing a message of hope, resistance, resilience, and unity.

About the Violins

Auschwitz Violin: This instrument was originally owned by an inmate who played in the men’s orchestra at the concentration camp in Auschwitz. And survived. Learn more…

Roddy Edmonds Violin: Master Sergeant Roddie Edmonds was being held at Stalag IXA POW camp when the Germans announced that all Jewish POWs in the camp were to report the following morning. Edmonds ordered the whole 1,292 American captives to fall out with him and fearlessly pronounced, ‘We are all Jews here.’ The Nazi commander backed down and more than 200 lives were saved. Learn more…

Bielski Violin: The restoration work on this violin is dedicated to the Bielski partisans who lived, fought and saved 1,230 Jews during the war. Assaela Weinstein, Amnon’s wife, is the daughter of Assael Bielski, one of the three brothers who formed the Bielski brigade in Belarus. Learn more…

Contact Us

For more information, please email voh@jccchicago.org.