The foundation is the owner of Villa Seligmann and is dedicated to preserving the building and ensuring its long-term cultural purpose.
The Siegmund Seligmann Foundation was established in 2006 on the initiative of Prof. Andor Izsák and with the support of the then Minister President of Lower Saxony and later Federal President Christian Wulff as a foundation with legal capacity under civil law. Its purpose is to promote art and culture, in particular Jewish culture. The foundation is advised by a board of trustees made up of elected and elected members.
Since acquiring the building in December 2006, the foundation has ensured that it is preserved and used in accordance with its listed status. In doing so, it creates the structural basis for the cultural work that takes place there and makes a significant contribution to making Jewish life visible in Hanover and beyond.
Board of Directors
Robert Cholewa, Chairman
Former Chairman of the Board of Managing Directors Mittelstand of Commerzbank AG.
Dr. Johannes Janssen, Deputy Chairman Chairman
Director of Niedersächsische Sparkassenstiftung and VGH-Stiftung
Michael Wieck, Treasurer
Lawyer and notary, Wieck & Hölscher law firm
Board of Trustees
Dr. Sabine Johannsen, Chairwoman
State Secretary for Science and Culture of Lower Saxony a. D.
Dr. Franz Rainer Enste, Deputy Chairman
Former Commissioner of the State Government of Lower Saxony against Anti-Semitism and for the Protection of Jewish Life
Prof. Dr. Joachim Schachtner
State Secretary in the Ministry of Science and Culture of Lower Saxony
Dirk Roßmann
Founder of Dirk Rossmann GmbH
Martin Kind
Managing Director of KIND GmbH & Co. KG
Hans-Jürgen Duensing
Member of the Executive Board Continental AG a.D.
Volker Alt
Chairman of the Board of Management of Sparkasse Hannover
Herbert Flecken
Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Verlagsgesellschaft Madsack GmbH & Co. KG
Prof. Andor Izsák, Honorary President
Director of the European Center for Jewish Music (ret.)
Claudio Esteban Seleguan, Honorary Member of the Board of Trustees
Managing Director Pelikan Group GmbH
Seligmann family
Dr. Felix Klein
Federal Government Commissioner for Jewish Life in Germany and the Fight against Anti-Semitism
Prof. Dr. Jascha Nemtsov
Franz Liszt University of Music Weimar
Heinz-Gerhard Wente
Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Salzgitter AG
Ronald Clark
Former Director of the Herrenhausen Gardens
Andrea Rey-Suter
Seligmann family
The Siegmund Seligmann Society e.V.
The company “plays” the Villa Seligmann and is responsible for the cultural content.
The focus is on communicating Jewish music and culture in all its diversity. The Siegmund Seligmann Society develops a program that takes into account Jewish cultural heritage as well as current social issues. The Society’s office receives substantial funding from the state of Lower Saxony, while the Hannover Region and the state capital of Hannover also provide institutional support for the non-profit organization.
The members and sponsors make the work of the Siegmund Seligmann Society possible with their annual contributions, but also essentially through their commitment to shared values.
Board of Directors
Anne Remmers – Chairwoman
Officer in the State Chancellery of Lower Saxony
Michael Wieck – Treasurer and Deputy Treasurer Chairman
Lawyer and notary, Wieck & Hölscher law firm
Robert Cholewa – Deputy Chairman Chairman
Former Chairman of the Board of Managing Directors Mittelstand Commerzbank AG
Daniela Finkelstein – Deputy Chairwoman
Head of the Göttingen site Netzwerk für traumatisierte Flüchtlinge in Niedersachsen e. V. (Network for traumatized refugees in Lower Saxony)
Dr. Reinhard Geck – Deputy Chairman Chairman
Retired lawyer and tax consultant
Management and artistic direction
Eliah Sakakushev-von Bismarck has been Managing and Artistic Director of Villa Seligmann since 2018. His extensive responsibilities include artistic planning, business management, fundraising, public relations and the moderation of events.
As a cultural manager and moderator, he regularly accepts invitations to panel discussions and lectures on the topics of Jewish culture, democracy education and Jewish cultural heritage.
He has been the director and initiator of various chamber music festivals in Germany, Spain, New Zealand and Bulgaria. He turned to music at an early age and attended a special school for professional musicians. At the age of 16 he became a student of cello at the University of Music in Vienna. He received his orchestral diploma and concert diploma from the University of Music and Performing Arts Mannheim. He has performed as a chamber musician, orchestral cellist and soloist on international stages worldwide. Appointments as solo cellist in orchestras have taken him to Spain, Germany, Brazil and New Zealand.
Eliah is fluent in six languages. He lives with his family in Hanover.
International Artistic Advisory Board
Prof. Dr. Edwin Seroussi (Israel, USA)
Hebrew University Jerusalem
University of Pennsylvania
Prof. Dr. Jascha Nemtsov (Germany)
Franz Liszt University of Music Weimar
University of Potsdam, University of Lüneburg
Concert pianist
Prof. Dr. Sarah Ross (Germany)
European Center for Jewish Music, Hanover University of Music, Dance and Media
Prof. Dr. Mark Kligman (USA)
University of California in Los Angeles – The Lowell Milken Center for Music of American Jewish Experience
Max Stern (Israel)
Composer, music critic, conductor
Yair Harel (Israel)
The Piyyut Database
The Jerusalem Massortiyut Conference
Concert musician, singer
Matt Austerklein (USA)
Cantor, musicologist