In an intriguing photo taken at the Terezín Nazi ghetto and forced labor concentration camp, a group of musicians known as the Ghetto Swingers is performing in a poignant scene, where a prisoner with a Jewish Star of David sewn onto his jacket presides against the backdrop of the jazz musicians.

The photo is a still from the Nazi propaganda film “Theresienstadt, A Documentary Film from the Jewish Settlement Area” of the Ghetto Swingers performing in 1943 with band leader Martin Roman.

The film name uses the Nazi-era German name of the town, Terezín, where the camp was located in the Czech Republic.

The image speaks volumes about the vibrant arts scene at Terezín, where musicians and artists from across genres brought joy to other prisoners in acts of resistance during one of the darkest times of inhumanity, according to Mark Ludwig, executive director and founder of the Boston-based Terezín Music Foundation.

The Nazis used the camp as a subterfuge to showcase to outsiders, a cruel hoax designed to fool the public, including the International Red Cross.

In reality, only some 23,000 prisoners, mostly Jews, survived Terezín. More than 88,000 prisoners, including children, were deported to Auschwitz, where most were killed.

These themes and the legacy of these courageous musicians reflect TMZ’s annual concert on to be held Sunday afternoon, Oct. 25, at 4 p.m. at Boston’s Symphony Hall.

“The Legacy Continues: Simone Dinnerstein plays Bach, Mehldau and Jarrett” reflects the program that boasts works by world-renowned pianist Dinnerstein, Grammy composer Brad Mehldau, and the music of legendary jazz musician Keith Jarrett.

This year’s Terezín Legacy Award will honor Cynthia (“Cindy”) and Oliver (“Ollie”) Curme in recognition of their extraordinary and enduring support of the foundation and its mission.

The program includes Johann Sebastian Bach’s “15 Inventions,” Mehldau’s “Suite for Piano” (world premiere; commissioned by TMF) and Jarrett’s “Encore from Tokyo” (translated by Uwe Karcher).

“Each year, I try to connect the concert to the world we live in today,” Ludwig said.

“Hand in hand with remembrance is the question of what we take from that. What are the lessons moving forward? When we say, ‘may their memory be a blessing,’ I always ask what we take that enriches our world in moving forward and that we in turn can add something,” he emphasized.

“In this particular program, you have Bach and then you also have jazz. The classical and the jazz components, these were forces that were very important in that incredibly vibrant community that existed,” Ludwig continued.

He noted the bitter irony that under the Nuremberg racial laws, Jews were not permitted to perform, adding that with the Nazi policy of degenerate music, jazz was one of those art forms that Nazi policy deemed a subversive and illegal force.

“An important part of our mission as an organization is commissioning works by composers of our period and nurturing the voices of today and the future,” Ludwig said, reflecting the concert’s title, “Legacy.”

“That is perhaps the most powerful way of giving memory, to these artists who were lost,” he said.

Among the concert’s highlights is a work commissioned for Dinnerstein by Mehldau. Dinnerstein is excited to take the work with her on her worldwide tour, Ludwig added.

Bach figures in prominently for the musicians at Terezín and of the broader Holocaust era. His were important works in their performance repertoire, as these Jewish musicians were becoming rising stars on world stages across Europe.

“With Bach, there is also a spiritual component. At Symphony Hall, with its world-class acoustics, Bach draws the audience in to an intimate experience,” Ludwig noted.

Ludwig is especially moved to be honoring Cindy Curme, a classically trained pianist and decades-long colleague at the BSO, where Curme, a classically-trained pianist, now serves as a life trustee of the board.

She has also served on TMF’s board and co-chaired two of its gala concerts.

Together, the Curmes have participated in four TMF Prague Festival tours, hosted foundation gatherings, and sponsored a commission for pianist Garrick Ohlsson. “Cindy is a person who so values the traditions within classical music, and is also so invested in where classical music is going forward for future generations – of artists and audiences to come,” Ludwig told the Journal.

Ollie Curme also has a background in classical music, according to Ludwig explained Ludwig.

“Most notably, they share a longstanding interest and commitment to Holocaust studies, not only main-taining the memory but what are the lessons to be learned from the Shoah,” Ludwig said. Θ

For more information, visit tmfgala.org.