Enduring Music:
Compositions From the Holocaust

Italian Pianist, Composer, and Musicologist

Francesco Lotoro

In Concert at

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington, D.C.
January 27, 2026 | 7:30pm

About the Counter Extremism Project and ARCHER at House 88

The Counter Extremism Project (CEP) is a not-for-profit, non-partisan, international policy organization formed in 2014 to combat the growing threat of extremist ideologies. In 2024, CEP acquired the house next door to Auschwitz at 88 Legionów St. The number “88“ was code for Heil Hitler because “H” is the eighth letter of the alphabet. It was once the home of the camp’s commandant, Rudolf Höss, who built an idyllic life for himself and his family there while happily designing the industrial means of extermination of over 1,000,000 men, women, and children, mostly Jews.

CEP put a mezuzah on the door and transformed it into a global center for combatting antisemitism through research, education, advocacy, and cultural exhibitions – The Auschwitz Research Center on Hate, Extremism, and Radicalization (ARCHER at House 88). We opened the house to the many delegations visiting Auschwitz on January 27, 2025, the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the camp – International Holocaust Remembrance Day. The research being done is to find the inciters of violent extremism, the recruiters to violence, the perpetrators of violence, and the financiers of all of it and shut them down using 21st century tools.

As part of our mission, we are dedicated to a form of Holocaust education that not only memorializes the victims but also allows their stories to provide a strong response to the crisis facing Jews today.

Maestro Francesco Lotoro

Without other weapons, these composers and musicians fought their captors with creativity and dignity, in an effort to show them their humanity and dignity, and to bring solace and hope to those in captivity with them. Through stories and video, this concert will bring some of these composers and their music to life and explain how CEP and ARCHER are inspired by them to fight against the horrific surge in antisemitism today using 21st century tools.

In recognition of Maestro Lotoro’s cultural and historical contributions, he has been awarded the Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Letters by the French Ministry of Culture and Knight of the Order of Merit by the Italian Republic.

Event Chairs

Dr. Hiva and Amb. Mark Wallace
Robert Book
Robin and Elliott Broidy
The Hon. Jeb Bush
Tracy and Sander Gerber
Orly Genger and Eric Herschmann
Dr. Thomas Kaplan and Daphné Recanati-Kaplan
The Hon. Kenneth J. Mehlman
Lisa and Brad Mindlin
Carol and Larry Mizel
Nina and Daniel Liebskind
Laura and Isaac Perlmutter
Irina and George Schaeffer
Mercedes and Matt Schlapp
Merryl and James Tisch
The Hon. Frances Townsend
Dr. Herbert Wertheimer
Amb. Lee Wolosky

Event Vice Chairs

Host Committee

Sen. Norm Coleman
Lili and Jon Bosse
Malcolm Hoenlein
Rosa Schecter
Yudit and Rabbi Mordechai Suchard
Reza Tabatabaei

Corporate Sponsors

American Eagle – Jay Schottenstein
The Watergate Hotel
Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP

Ways to Participate

Become an Event Chair	Twenty (20) Tickets to Pre-Concert VIP Dinner at 6:00 PM Ten (20) Front Center Orchestra Tickets Thanked from the Stage Name listed under Event Chair on Digital Invitation Gold Tribute Page in the Digital Tribute Book – Screened Pre-Concert	Give or Raise $50,000	Select Event Chair
Become an Event Vice Chair	Ten (10) Tickets to Pre-Concert VIP Dinner at 6:00 PM Ten (10) Front Center Orchestra Tickets Name listed under Event Vice Chair on Digital Invitation Silver Tribute Page in the Digital Tribute Book – Screened Pre-Concert	Give or Raise $25,000+	Select Event Vice Chair
Join the Host Committee	Eight (8) Tickets to Pre-Concert VIP Dinner at 6:00 PM Eight (8) Orchestra tickets Name listed under Host Committee on Digital Invitation Light Blue Tribute Page in the Digital Tribute Book – Screened Pre-Concert	Give or Raise $10,000+	Select Host Committee
Become a Corporate Sponsor	Corporate sponsorship opportunities are available at any of the levels listed above	—	Select Corporate Sponsor
Patron, Benefactor, or Donor	Patron: $5,000 - Six (6) Tickets to Pre-Concert VIP Dinner at 6:00 PM, Six (6) Orchestra Tickets, and Peach Tribute Page - Screened Pre-Concert Benefactor: $2,500 - Four (4) Tickets to Pre-Concert VIP Dinner at 6:00 PM, Four (4) Orchestra Tickets, and Light Green Tribute Page - Screened Pre-Concert Donor: $1,000 - Two (2) Tickets to Pre-Concert VIP Dinner at 6:00 PM, Two (2) Orchestra Tickets, and White Tribute Page - Screened Pre-Concert	—	Select Support Option
Purchase Tickets	Click the button on the right to purchase tickets directly through the Kennedy Center Box Office	—	Select Tickets
Contribution Only	Support the program with a donation of your choosing	—	Enter Other Amount