Rebekah Geller has always taken a strong interest in her family’s musical roots.
From a distant cousin who soloed for the New York Philharmonic at age 13 to a clarinet-playing grandfather to her parents’ Charm City Klezmer band, Rebekah, a violinist, says music is “probably the biggest part of who [she is].”
It was that musical connection between her family and their Jewish heritage that inspired her to create her artwork titled “Music Tells the Stories,” says Rebekah, 12, a student at the Waldorf School of Baltimore and the Bolton Street Synagogue’s religious school.
The piece was recently named one of 50 winning entries — out of 20,000 entries from 28 countries — in the 22nd annual “My Family Story” competition overseen by Beit Hatfutsot-The Museum of the Jewish People in Tel Aviv. Winners receive a free trip to Israel.
A component of the museum’s “My Family Story” educational initiative, the competition is the culmination of a yearlong curriculum for Jewish students ages 12-15 from around the world. The initiative incorporates research, class discussions and interviews with family members to increase students’ knowledge of their family’s roots and to strengthen their connection to the history of the Jewish people.
Rebekah’s piece comprises a life-sized papier mache and cardboard violin mounted on a backdrop of sheet music used at family klezmer performances. There are also family photos, written passages telling the story of Rebekah’s grandfather and intricately sculpted figures of family and band members playing instruments.
The artwork is accompanied by a video of Rebekah playing the violin and describing her display.
For the past three years, the Jewish Museum of Maryland has administered the initiative locally, partnering with Beit Hatfutsot to bring the program to educational programs. Those schools include Beth Tfiloh Dahan Community School and the religious schools at Baltimore Hebrew Congregation and Bolton Street.
The JMM displayed the “My Family Story” projects from students at the schools for a week in March and selected six to submit to the international competition.
“Music is such an integral part of Rebekah and her family, and I think she did a fabulous job showcasing that in her project,” says Ilene Dackman-Alon, the museum’s director of education. “It is such a delightful expression of her family’s special talent and uniqueness.”
Rebekah learned that her project won shortly before Passover. Next month, she will travel to Tel Aviv to join other winners at an awards ceremony at Beit Hatfutsot, where their projects will be on display for a month.
Rebekah’s creative talents may not have been internationally known previously, but in Baltimore her musical achievements have long been recognized. She performs regularly with her family as part of their Organic Family Band, participates in a chamber orchestra in her Charles Village community, and occasionally plays for shoppers at local farmers’ markets.
Rebekah also enjoys participating in the East Bank Havurah, drawing, contra music, hip-hop dancing, basketball, and track and field. In addition, Rebekah has been involved in the Baltimore Symphony Youth Orchestra since she was in the third grade and has served as the concertmaster in the past.
Rebekah’s mom, Judith Geller, says she and her husband, Michael Raitzyk, couldn’t be any prouder of their daughter and her winning artwork.
“She had ideas about what she was doing,” she says. “She started on one path, of how it was going to look, what it was going to be made of, what was going to be in it, and did some work in one direction. And then, she realized she wanted to go in another direction and was willing to abandon stuff she’s put time into and just go with another vision. To me, Rebekah’s a true artist.”
Jolene Carr is a local freelance writer.
Photos of Rebekah Geller by Daniel Kucin Jr.
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