A book club leading up to the event was inspired by Gruenbaum’s op-ed.

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, UNITED STATES, August 20, 2020 /EINPresswire.com/ — Before the pandemic, Holocaust survivor Michael Gruenbaum had planned to have a 90th birthday party. But like everything else, it had to be cancelled. So Steve Fisher, Founder of Commonwealth Youthchoirs (CY), offered to throw him a virtual party. In the lead up to this special event, some of the young singers of CY are participating in a weekly summer book club to discuss “Somewhere There Is Still a Sun,” written by Gruenbaum.

“After reading an op-ed in The Boston Globe, I decided to create a unique reading experience that would culminate in a virtual party for Michael’s 90th,” explains Fisher. “I’m thrilled that Michael has accepted the invitation to this celebration!” The event will take place on Saturday, August 22, from 2-3pm on Zoom and will be live-streamed to Facebook.

Gruenbaum’s book is unique because it conveys the harrowing subject matter of the Holocaust sensitively but unflinchingly, through the eyes of a child. Young readers gain insight into what Michael’s experience was like when they were his age, not only in Terezin concentration camp, but in Prague once the Nazis marched into Czechoslovakia. The book club participants are in for a special treat: the author himself will take part in the final Zoom literary gathering on Thursday, August 20th. “Michael’s call for young people to not give up and to keep learning in these trying times inspired me to think outside the box,” adds Fisher. “Nothing like the opportunity to meet a survivor and an author to get kids to read in August!”

Gruenbaum is a regular guest of “The Last Boy” Podcast, which features the incredible stories of survivors as they themselves tell them. Hosted by Fisher, it has been climbing the ranks of new podcasts in the history category. Other regular guests, including survivor Sidney Taussig (after which the podcast is named), and survivor Inge Auerbacher, will attend the August 22nd virtual party. Joining them will be Gruenbaum’s sons and granddaughters, along with a surprise VIP guest or two. Gruenbaum sang quite a bit in Terezin, so CY singers plan to present a choral gift or two in his honor. One of them will even be in his native Czech language.

Steve Fisher, Michael Gruenbaum, Sidney Taussig, Inge Auerbacher and CY singers are available for interviews upon request. Press are welcome to attend the virtual “Meet the Author” book club gathering on August 20th and/or the virtual birthday party on August 22nd.

About Fisher Mann Podcasts: Fisher Mann Podcasts is the official home of CY’s podcasts, a nonprofit organization that seeks to transform the lives of young people through the power of singing together, one song at a time. For more information, visit cychoirs.org.

Michelle Boyles
Fisher Mann Podcasts
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