Back To Summer Camp
Good morning, Camp Harlam!
After 20 years, I returned to perform at my summer camp in the Pennsylvania Poconos, and it feels so good to be back home. After getting a tour and reuniting with old friends (who now run the place), I squeezed an entire summer of camp into 24 hours.
Flashback: 1992. I remember it vividly. That one special evening concert at Camp Harlam.
I was 9 years old, one of the youngest campers there, sitting in the Beit HaTarboot main theater and they announced the concert’s performer, our famous camp alum GRAMMY WINNER JULIE GOLD. It was rare that every age group would do events together, but all of us were there that night. Julie came out on stage that night and played us some songs, including her famous “From A Distance” that had become a hit for Bette Midler. I was in awe. I did not know that you could be a professional songwriter, that you could make music for a living.
This week, I was invited to come back to that same stage at the Beit HaTarboot and perform for a new generation of campers. I performed my own music, music that is now a part of telling my family’s story in the film “How Saba Kept Singing.” I got to present the film with director Sara Taksler, also a camp alum. We spoke and connected with campers and staff, old friends and new, in one of the most special places on earth. A very full circle moment.
Thank you Julie Gold for that very first bit of inspiration. I’ve never forgotten it.
The award-winning documentary “How Saba Kept Singing” tells the story of how singer David “Saba” Wisnia survived the Holocaust and how his journey back to Poland with his grandson Avi Wisnia unlocks the secret about someone else who had a hand in his survival. The soundtrack features music by both David Wisnia and Avi Wisnia, plus a brand new original song composed for the film. Directed by Sara Taksler, and executive produced by Hillary and Chelsea Clinton. Screenings include discussion with Avi Wisnia, and a special live musical performance. Experience this powerful film, which explores themes of faith, family, and resilience, the persistence of discrimination and the power of music, and the urgency of telling these stories today.
