Jewish Olympian Jason Brown now skates to music from ‘Schindler’s List’

“My background, obviously, is Jewish, and the story is so touching,” Brown, 24, told NBC Sports.

Jason Brown (USA) performs in the men’s free skate program during the Skate America figure skating competition (photo credit: ROB SCHUMACHER/USA TODAY SPORTS)
Jason Brown (USA) performs in the men’s free skate program during the Skate America figure skating competition
(photo credit: ROB SCHUMACHER/USA TODAY SPORTS)

(JTA) — Jewish figure skater Jason Brown has skated to a wide variety of music in his career, from Simon and Garfunkel to the “Hamilton” musical soundtrack to the latest James Bond song by Sam Smith. This season, he’s added a particularly Jewish track to his free skate routine: music from the seminal Holocaust film  “Schindler’s List” by John Williams.

“My background, obviously, is Jewish, and the story is so touching,” Brown, 24, told NBC Sports earlier this month after debuting his new routine at Skate America, the first event in the Grand Prix series of international skating competitions for the 2019-20 season. “I grew up learning about the Holocaust and about Oskar Schindler and the stories. I always wanted to skate to it, but it has to be when I’m at the level, maturity-wise, that I’m really ready to skate to it.”

Brown ended up wining silver in the men’s singles division. Fellow American skater Nathan Chen took home gold.

“I think as performers a part of our job is to teach and to get people engaged in the story you’re trying to tell on the ice,” Brown added. “The point is to have the passion and intensity with I skate to it and get the story across.”

You can watch the full performance in a series of videos he posted to his Instagram, or from this spectator who posted it on Youtube.