AMSTERDAM
SONOMA
The story of the Amsterdam performance of Defiant Requiem began in late June of 2009 when the concert- drama was featured as the closing event of the multi- national Holocaust Era Assets Conference in Prague and Terezín. On the way to the post-concert reception Foundation President & Artistic Director, Murry Sidlin, was stopped by a representative of the Dutch delegation who asked, “How do we bring this performance to Amsterdam?” So began the long road traveled by Julie-Marthe Cohen, Curator at the Jewish Cultural Quarter in Amsterdam. Julie-Marthe and her colleagues faced a variety of setbacks, including multiple postponements due to COVID, but, 13 years later, on June 19, 2022, Defiant Requiem received its Dutch premiere at the Beurs van Berlage, transformed into a concert hall for a sold-out audience. The brilliant Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra and elegant Netherlands Concert Choir were joined by four magnificent soloists and two superb actors (speaking in Dutch) for this long-awaited performance. The concert was recorded by the NOS – part of the Netherlands public broadcasting system – and aired on Thursday, June 23, 2022, on NPO 2. June 23rd was selected as a symbolic date as on that day in 1944, during the infamous visit of the International Red Cross, Rafael Schächter and the prisoner choir performed Verdi’s Requiem for the last time. The concert recording will be available in perpetuity via NOS’s online streaming platform.
2022 included three performances given under the auspices of The Defiant Requiem Foundation’s University Residency Project. On Thursday, September 15, 2022, Hours of Freedom: The Story of the Terezín Composer was presented as part of the 8th Annual Jewish Music Series at Sonoma State University in Rohnert Park, CA. Featuring local instrumentalists and singers led by Murry Sidlin and joined by guest pianist, Phillip Silver, the performance in Schroeder Hall at the Green Music Center was the culmination of several days of events that included Maestro Sidlin appearing as a guest lecturer for numerous classes including Jewish Studies 255: “Evolution of Antisemitism,” instrumental and choral conducting techniques, music education, and a traditional instrumental master class, in addition to leading and narrating the performance. This residency came about through the Foundation’s ongoing outreach efforts to colleges and universities nationwide and at the invitation of Dr. Brian S. Wilson, professor in the Department of Music, and Director of the Jewish Studies Program at Sonoma State. The University Residency Project was launched in 2014 to facilitate bringing the Foundation’s artistic offerings, and other Terezín related events, to campuses across the country. The program is currently supported by a grant from Jeffrey Schoenfeld.
DEFIANT REQUIEM PERFORMANCE AT THE BEURS VAN BERLAGE Photo credit: Ben van Duin
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