(Credit: Jiyang Chen)

The Goldrich Cultural Center will present the world premiere of “It’s Now or Never: Songs of Hope and Resilience,” a musical tribute to Holocaust survivor Renée Firestone, on Nov. 4 and 5, 2026, in Los Angeles.

Both performances begin at 7:30 p.m. The Goldrich will also host daytime performances for students.

The program follows Firestone’s life from pre war Europe through the Holocaust to her years in America, where she became a fashion designer and an advocate for Holocaust education and remembrance. The showcase features works by composers murdered at Auschwitz, as well as Yiddish songs, German lieder, and jazz and musical theater selections.

The centerpiece is “A Room of Light,” a newly commissioned song cycle by composer Michael Schachter and Grammy winning librettist Gene Scheer, drawn from Firestone’s experiences.

Grammy-winning countertenor Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen and baritone and cantor Simon Barrad will perform. Ronny Michael Greenberg is creative producer and pianist. The chamber ensemble features Leah Zeger on violin and vocals, Joshua Ranz on clarinet, Ted Atkatz on percussion and Ted Botsford on double bass.

The production was created in collaboration with JIVE, Jewish Innovative Voices and Experiences, a music group co-founded by Cohen, Barrad and Greenberg.