WE ARE HERE Concert in Costa Mesa to Offer Reduced-Price Tickets
The event will take place in Costa Mesa, with proceeds supporting the Holocaust Lecture Series at Vanderbilt University.
We Are Here: Songs from the Holocaust, a concert of remembrance and resilience, comes to the Renée & Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall on Wednesday, November 4, 2026. The one-night-only performance brings to life songs written inside the ghettos and concentration camps of Nazi-occupied Europe and the former Soviet Union. From folk ballads to up-tempo satire, these songs present a powerful tribute to artists who, in the worst of times, continued to create. Taking place just days before the anniversary of Kristallnacht, the evening is also a community commemoration of the 'Night of Broken Glass.'
The west coast premiere of We Are Here is co-presented by the Orange County Jewish Community Scholar Program (CSP) and Vanderbilt University. It is made possible by the generous support of the Samueli Foundation and the Vanderbilt Holocaust Lecture Series. This performance is the first under a multi-year partnership between Vanderbilt University and We Are Here.
The program draws on the fourteen Shoah songbooks, collections of music written by Jewish prisoners who knew their fate was likely sealed yet refused to let their voices be silenced. Each song is introduced by a presenter who shares the true story of the person who wrote it. Following sold-out performances at Carnegie Hall, The Salt Shed in Chicago and Vanderbilt University, the Segerstrom Center concert marks the first Southern California performance of We Are Here.
Their songs of resilience, hope, courage and perseverance were not acts of escape. They were acts of defiance and dignity. In a world increasingly fractured by polarization, antisemitism and hate, We Are Here gathers community to bear witness through story, song and shared presence.
The evening features performances from the Pacific Chorale, the Grammy Award-winning professional chorus in residence at Segerstrom Center for the Arts; R&B and gospel legend Regina Belle; Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Justin Jesso; Contemporary Christian music artist Gary Pigg; singer-songwriter Landon Pigg; Israeli actor Mike Burstyn; actor and director John de Lancie ('Q' on Star Trek); and the acclaimed Los Angeles-based klezmer gypsy-rock band Mostly Kosher.
Presenters include actor Paul Ben-Victor (HBO's Lanterns, Nobody Wants This); Pastor Rick Warren of Saddleback Church; Danijel Skrelja, Deputy Consul General of the Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany in Los Angeles; Joseph Toltz, author of Out of the Depths: The First Collection of Holocaust Songs; journalist Alix Wall; Arie Katz, executive director of CSP; Rabbi Elie Spitz, Rabbi Emeritus of Congregation B'nai Israel of Tustin, CA; Rabbi Richard Steinberg of Congregation Shir Ha-Ma'alot; Rabbi Gersh Zylberman of Temple Bat Yam; and Darren Reisberg, Vice Chancellor for Operations and the Campus Network at Vanderbilt University.
Before the concert and during intermission, guests are invited to view a special exhibit from the David Labkovski Project, presented in the lobby of the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall. Student docents trained through DLP's program, which empowers students to become peer-to-peer educators through art, storytelling, and historical engagement, will be on-site to guide guests through the works.
Additional performers and presenters will be announced in the coming weeks. Visit www.wearehereconcert.com for the latest lineup.
Creator Ira Antelis states: 'These artists never knew if their songs would be heard again, much less by thousands in venues like these. We Are Here exists to honor that hope, and to remind the world that resilience and humanity endure even in the darkest of times.'
TICKETS
Tickets range from $54 to $180. A VIP package is available for $240 and includes a pre-concert reception at 5:30 p.m. Doors open at 6:00 p.m. and the concert begins at 7:00 p.m.
Tickets are available at Segerstrom Box Office https://www.scfta.org/events/2026/we-are-here and www.wearehereconcert.com
30% Discount for educators and students with CODE: EDU30
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