Kristallnacht Commemoration 2022

Ruth-Anne Lenga is Associate Professor and Programme Director of UCL's Centre for Holocaust Education. She played a key role in establishing the UCL Centre for Holocaust Education, shaping its direction and growth. She has held academic posts at the Institute of Education for over twenty years initiating programmes and partnerships in the UK and Israel.

Ruth Anne Lenga’s work in Holocaust education has been longstanding. She served as Head of Education at the Jewish Museum London, overseeing many developments including the creation of a new Holocaust gallery. She has authored exhibitions and educational resources. Her expertise is sought by national and international organisations in Holocaust Education and interfaith work. She is a UK delegate of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA).

Rüdiger Bohn has been Deputy Head of Mission at the German Embassy in London since August 2022. His career has included posts at German diplomatic missions in Amman, Brussels (German NATO Delegation), Tashkent and Washington DC. He also worked in various departments at the Federal Foreign Office and at the Federal Chancellery in Berlin. Previously, he served as Director for arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation at the Federal Foreign Office.

Rüdiger Bohn holds a diploma in Arabic Studies and a Master Degree in Public Administration (Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University).

Elsa was  eleven years old when she left Germany in 1939 on the Kindertransport. She and her family experienced first hand the effect of anti Jewish legislation. Her brother and parents were all reunited in England just before the outbreak of war. Elsa became a teacher and taught at different secondary schools. Since her retirement she has volunteered for many refugee organisations, teaching English as a second language.

Elsa speaks in schools about her experiences and has been the focus on an exhibition both in Britain and Germany. In addition she has been active in supporting Safe Passage to ensure refugee children have the same chances she had when arriving as an unaccompanied child in Britain.

City of London Sinfonia (CLS) is a London-based chamber orchestra that approaches all audiences - from concert-goers to people in the community or healthcare settings - as individuals who can connect with the musical experience in their own way.

The Orchestra is leading the way in creative, collaborative practice in health and social care through its participation programme – the driver of everything the Orchestra does. In the 2020 Royal Philharmonic Society (RPS) Awards, CLS received the Impact Award for its Sound Young Minds project, which provides opportunities to young people in psychiatric hospitals to work with each other and to express themselves.

Other core projects include Room to Room Music with residents in care homes, Music for Children in London hospitals, and social prescribing with the new Tessa Jowell Health Centre. Its Comfortable Classical series of relaxed concerts features regularly in the Albany (Deptford) and Canada Water Theatre’s events calendar.

Joely Koos has established herself as a versatile and compelling performer, pursuing a varied musical career as soloist, orchestral musician and chamber musician. This year Joely performed at the Whittington, Solent and Fitzfest music festivals where she premiered two new works for cello. Featuring as soloist at the St Endellion Festival this year, Joely will be taking over as joint Artistic Director in 2023.

Joely is appearing as Principal with the English Symphony Orchestra and Co-Principal with the City of London Sinfonia. In particular, Joely is passionate about engaging in the outstanding participation work that CLS initiates. She is also regularly invited as Guest Principal with several orchestras including the BBC Philharmonic and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. Joely enjoys an active teaching career as Professor of Cello at Trinity Laban Conservatoire, at Eton College, and as Artistic Director for her course ‘Cello Dynamo’.

Clarinettist Katherine Spencer made her concerto debut at the age of 14 at the Royal Festival Hall and has since performed there as concerto soloist many times. She has appeared as soloist with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, at the Barbican, at Symphony Hall, Birmingham, and Queen Elizabeth Hall, made many live Radio 3 solo broadcasts, and performs regularly on Classic FM and European radio stations. Katherine is principal clarinet of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Principal Clarinet of City of London Sinfonia as well as regular Guest Principal with the Irish Chamber Orchestra and Gabrieli Consort and Players. 

Katherine is passionate about bringing music to all areas of society. She is always devising and delivering valuable community projects, from composing and recording an entire film score written in collaboration with a mainstream and special needs school, to linking art and music with homeless people, the results of which were exhibited in London’s main art galleries.