Indiana State University Newsroom

The 53rd Annual Contemporary Music Festival is scheduled for Oct. 23-25, with a special event on Oct. 15.

The festival's theme, Eternal Reflections, will feature works by Robert Paterson and celebrate music in times of trial. The featured festival guest composer will be Robert Paterson, who will be joined by the Indianapolis Quartet as the featured guest ensemble and the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra as orchestra-in-residence. Guests will also include Michele Caniato, the Orchestra Composition Contest winner and Music Now Contest winners.

In addition to guests, the festival will feature the students of the School of Music in both chamber music and large ensemble settings. Almost the entire student body will be involved in the festival.

At 7:30 p.m. Oct. 15 in University Hall, the festival will present Eva: A-7063, a documentary by Ted Green and Mika Brown produced in partnership with WFYI, Indianapolis' PBS affiliate. In conjunction with the CANDLES Holocaust Museum and Education Center, the festival will celebrate music in times of trial with a special screening of Eva: A-7063 followed by a question and answer period with filmmaker Ted Green and documentary composer Tyron Cooper. As with all festival events, this special event is free and open to the public.

The CANDLES Holocaust Museum and Education Center was founded by Eva Mozes Kor and opened in Terre Haute in 1995. The museum details Kor's journey from before the war through the rise of Nazism, to her experiences as a "Mengele Twin" at Auschwitz, and to her ultimate forgiveness.

As a 10-year-old "Mengele Twin," Kor suffered some of the worst of the Holocaust. At 50, she launched the biggest manhunt in history. In her 80s, she circled the globe to promote the lesson her journey taught: Healing through forgiveness. "Eva: A-7063" tells the full, astonishing story of this historic figure for the first time, tracking her from Auschwitz to Israel to the United States, even into the U.S. Capitol for her jaw-dropping arrest and ultimately to her courageous return to the Nazi death camp. To learn more about the film, visit https://www.thestoryofeva.com.

This festival is made possible, in part, with support from the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency and Arts Illiana, the Indiana Arts Commission, a state agency. Support also comes from the Indiana State University Center for Community Engagement. To find out more about how National Endowment for the Arts grants impact individuals and communities, visit www.arts.gov.