One Voice, Two Lives
I just returned from traveling through Poland with my grandfather. Together, we did several performances there, taking some time to visit places in Warsaw where my grandfather grew up, and in Auschwitz where my grandfather was held prisoner by the Nazis. It was an incredibly profound journey, and it inspired me to do a lot […]
Maoz Tsur, Tis The Season
Tis the Season! The holidays have rolled around again, which means that my song Maoz Tsur (Rock of Ages) is now available until January 1. Download this “traditional Hanukah melody with a modern jazz spin” for FREE when you subscribe to the AW Newsletter. Maoz Tsur will also be featured on the Screw The Holidays Compilation from KSCR Radio, a […]
Holiday Sale
Is capitalism still a thing? From now until January 1, all items in the Avi Wisnia Store are on sale! Stock up on kazoos to keep you warm this winter. Or, get my poster to hang on your ceiling – I’m doing my best Spider Man pose, so it works really well on any surface. Visit […]
Sky Blue Sky Reviews
Here’s what people are saying about the new single “Sky Blue Sky“… “Listen to Sky Blue Sky, the samba-inspired new track by Avi Wisnia. The song was inspired by his time in Philadelphia and Rio de Janeiro, and combines a Brazilian samba rhythm and flavor with folk-like strings that sound beautiful together.” – Dylan Otero, 88.5 […]
Poland Part II Day 8
I think we look pretty good for traveling half way around the world, performing a few concerts, and spending days walking around Auschwitz. It is a credit to the amazing friends and strangers we encountered along the way who welcomed us and took care of us. It is also a credit to my grandfather’s sense […]
Poland Part II Day 7.3
My Polish Wisnia turned the camera on me. It was our last night here in Oświęcim. We got back to Hotel Galicja just as another family was checking in. In just a few hours, we would leave for Krakow, and then Vienna, then New York, then Philadelphia. It was going to be a full day […]
Poland Part II Day 7.2
Singing saved my grandfather’s life. It is how he survived his time in Auschwitz. He would entertain the guards with songs like ‘Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen,’ and so became a sort of privileged prisoner in the camp, perhaps somewhat less expendable. During his time as prisoner, he actually composed a song – Oświęcim, a […]
Poland Part II Day 7.1
My grandfather wanted to take me to Bunk 15, the barracks where he slept for most of his nights as a prisoner of Auschwitz. The barracks still stand. We might have gone off by ourselves, but a Dutch filmmaker who was attending the conference approached my grandfather to participate in an interview for his documentary. […]
Poland Part II Day 6
“Remembrance Has Not Matured In Us Yet…” Historians, educators, archivists, advocates, survivors, curators, museum directors; representatives from the Holocaust Museum in DC, Yad Vashem in Jerusalem, Camp des Milles in France, the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, and many more, all convened in one place, in Auschwitz, to discuss the legacy of the Holocaust. How […]
Poland Part II Day 5.2
What does it take to tell your story of survival, to retell and relive those memories? Does it get easier or harder with each visit? It has become more and more clear to me just how much my grandfather distanced himself from what happened, how he separated and blocked out this earlier part of his […]
