The Dual Violin World Peace Tour 2026
Two violins shaped by war.
A journey carried by music.
April 19, 2026 Williams Center for the Arts, Pennsylvania
Beginning in Tokyo on 11 April 2026, this extraordinary journey has crossed the United States and Europe before returning to Japan for its fourth phase August, performing in places that hold deep memories of the Second World War. For the first time, violins that survived two of its defining tragedies - the Holocaust and the atomic bombing of Hiroshima - are brought together in a shared performance. Created and produced by acclaimed cellist Udi Bar-David, the programme weaves film, spoken word and live music into a deeply human journey across Hiroshima, Vienna, Warsaw and Shanghai, revealing the stories carried by these instruments and by the people whose lives became intertwined with them.
Featuring violin virtuosos Niv Ashkenazy and Mio Imai alongside an international ensemble of artists and young musicians, the performance looks beyond history as a sequence of events to the people who endured it, honouring profound loss from different sides of the war while allowing these surviving instruments to speak again through music. More than an act of remembrance, their meeting carries a living message of resilience, reconciliation and hope - and of the friendships that former enemies, and new generations, can choose to build.
Connected Through Music
Different places.
Different stories.
One continuing message of hope.
From Tokyo to cities across the United States and Europe, and back to Japan - communities touched by conflict are now connected through the universal language of music and the shared pursuit of peace.
The journey continues. The music lives on.
The Peace Violin Tour 2026 is more than a series of concerts. It is a living bridge between past and future, built by people who believe in the power of music to heal, unite and inspire.
Every note played, every conversation shared, and every hand extended adds to a global movement where peace is more than a hope - it becomes a choice we make together.
Thank you for being part of this journey.
Let’s keep the music of peace alive.
About the Peace Violin Tour 2026
The Peace Violin Tour 2026 is a cultural initiative that carries forward the legacy of the Second World War with a message of remembrance, reconciliation and hope.
Through concerts, conversations and education, we bring people together - across generations, cultures and borders - to build a more peaceful future through the universal language of music.
From Tokyo to the United States
Across the United States, the Hope Violin and the Hiroshima Hibaku Palchikoff Violin were welcomed into diverse communities and historic spaces.
Different places. Shared attention.
Different stories. One continuing message.
The journey began in Tokyo on 11 April before continuing across the United States.
Concerts and gatherings brought together musicians, families and communities in Monterey, Virginia, Lehigh Valley and New York.
The instruments were not presented as silent objects from the past. They were heard again, played by a generation that did not experience the war but will inherit responsibility for how its memory is carried forward.
The Hibaku Violin World Peace Prayer Performance Tour- Japanese American Citizen League Monterey, CA
Across Europe Cities of Memory
From the United States,
the journey moved into Europe.
Guernica, Berlin, Auschwitz, Paris and Rome became part of a wider chain of remembrance. These places do not share the same history, and they should not be flattened into one story.
The violins connect them through music, carrying memory into new relationships and shared acts of listening.
Different histories.
One continuing act of remembrance.
Music connects places once marked by conflict.
Bilbao 24th April
The Fourth Phase: A Journey Through Japan
The violins return to Japan for the fourth phase of the World Peace Tour 2026.
This phase takes the journey through places that carry deep memories of the Second World War and into communities where peace is nurtured today.
From Hiroshima and Nagasaki to cities across the country, concerts, talks and collaborations bring young musicians together with local communities.
Each performance extends the message of remembrance, reconciliation and hope for the next generation.
The people who carried the journey, The message that unites us
A tour of this scale is built by musicians, organisers, teachers, venues, families, volunteers, translators and local cultural partners.
My heartfelt thanks go to Minoru Watanabe for his vision and leadership in bringing this extraordinary project to life.
I also extend my gratitude to Udi Bar David and the Strings of Hope team, and to every person who welcomed the violins, supported a young musician, opened a venue, organised a programme or helped the journey cross another border.
