Northwest Louisiana will mark its 43rd annual Holocaust Remembrance Service at 3 p.m. Sunday, April 19, at First Methodist Church Shreveport, with a cello performance, a survivor family story, choir music, and recognition of student artwork.

The free ecumenical observance is open to the public regardless of faith background. Eleven candles will be lit in memory of the approximately 11 million lives lost during the Holocaust, and prayers will be shared in memory and solidarity.

Event Chair Laura Popper Crawford, director of the Centenary Suzuki School and a Centenary College faculty member, has direct family ties to the Holocaust — her father escaped Nazi persecution while her grandparents and other relatives perished.

“If these stories are not passed down through generations, there is a real danger that they will be forgotten,” Crawford said.

The program includes cellist John-Henry Crawford performing on his grandfather’s 200-year-old cello — smuggled out of Nazi Austria before Kristallnacht by Dr. Robert Popper — along with slides recounting Dr. Popper’s escape. The Centenary College Choir, led by David Hobson, will also perform.

Winners of the annual Northwest Louisiana Holocaust Remembrance Literary and Arts Project will be recognized. This year’s competition drew more than 250 submissions from middle and high school students in categories including poetry, essay, visual art, and musical composition.

The service has been held annually since 1984. It falls five days after Yom HaShoah — Holocaust Remembrance Day — observed this year on April 14.

Registration is available at HolocaustRemembranceService.org. For information, contact Barbara Joseph at 318-868-1200 or barbara@jewishnla.org.