THE Defiant requiem An encounter in five measures SPRING 2017 THE DEFIANT REQUIEM An encounter in five measures The highly anticipated “The Defiant Requiem: Verdi at Terezin,” premiers in Michigan, Spring 2017. The “Requiem” tells the story of courageous Jewish prisoners in the Theresienstadt Concentration Camp who performed Verdi’s Requiem Mass. This two-hour multimedia performance, created by Conductor Murry Sidlin and performed by The Detroit Symphony Orchestra, combines the music of Verdi with testimony from survivors of the original chorus and footage from propaganda films. Learn more about “The Defiant Requiem” and Theresienstadt Concentration Camp through lectures, documentary film, and pictures. Then, experience the Detroit Symphony Orchestra’s performance of this poignant and important work. All five encounters are independent. Check each event for specific registration details. Unless otherwise noted, events will take place at Congregation Shaarey Zedek, 27375 Bell Road, Southfield. For general information call 248-205-2557. SPONSORED BY: CO-SPONSORED BY: Anti-Defamation League, Michigan Region; Cohn-Haddow Center for Judaic Studies; Holocaust Memorial Center, Zekelman Family Campus; Jewish Community Center; Jewish Family Service; MSU Hillel Professor Howard Lupovitch received a Ph.D. in Jewish History from Prelude to The Defiant Requiem: Columbia University. He is an Associate Professor of History and the 1 A Defining Lecture Series Director of the Cohn-Haddow Center for Judaic Studies at Wayne State University. Professor Lupovitch is the 2009 winner of the Benard APRIL 5 L. Maas Prize for Achievement in Jewish Culture and Continuity in the Jews of Czechoslovakia Pre-World War II Area of Humanities. Professor Howard Lupovitch In this lecture, we explore the rich culture of Jews of Interwar Professor Amy Simon holds the William and Audrey Farber Family Czechoslovakia, and root this vibrant and diverse Jewish life in Chair in Holocaust Studies and European Jewish History at Michigan convergence of Eastern and Western Jews, especially in Prague. State University. She has previously worked as a researcher at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC and is APRIL 19 a former fellow there and at the Claims Conference. The Music and the Meaning of “The Defiant Requiem” Detroit Symphony Orchestra Associate Conductor Michelle Merrill; Community Chorus of Detroit Artistic Director Edward Maki- Schramm; Members of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra Pricing for the lecture series: An insider’s look at the music, preparation and meaning of “The $50 – Congregation Shaarey Zedek; Friends of Melton; Friends of Defiant Requiem.” Cohn-Haddow; Holocaust Memorial Center Docents; Members, Jewish Community Center APRIL 26 The “Model” Concentration Camp Theresienstadt $60 – General Public Dr. Amy Simon Every participant enrolled in the three-part lecture series will receive Theresienstadt holds a unique place in the history of Jewish persecution one complimentary ticket to the Thursday, May 4 concert with the during the Holocaust. This session will examine that history, focusing on DSO at Congregation Shaarey Zedek. (No substitutions.) the relationship between the role of the ghetto-camp Theresienstadt in Nazi propaganda and the daily lives of its inhabitants. To register for the lecture series call 248-205-2557 Wednesdays • 7-8:30 p.m. Congregation Shaarey Zedek Berman Center for Jewish Education Documentary Film: 2 Defiant Requiem This feature-length documentary film highlights the remarkable story of Rafael Schächter, a brilliant, young Czech conductor who was arrested and sent to Theresienstadt Concentration Camp in 1941. His most extraordinary act was to recruit 150 prisoners and teach them Verdi’s Requiem by rote in a dank cellar using a single score, over multiple rehearsals, and after grueling days of forced labor. The Requiem was performed on 16 occasions. The last, most infamous performance occurred on June 23, 1944 before high-ranking SS officers and the International Red Cross to support the charade that the prisoners were treated well and flourishing. Sunday, April 30 7:45 p.m. The Berman Center for the Performing Arts Jewish Community Center D. Dan and Betty Kahn Building Eugene and Marcia Applebaum Jewish Community Campus 6600 W. Maple Road, West Bloomfield Free of charge For information call Congregation Shaarey Zedek at 248-357-5544 Winner Best Documentary Big Apple Film Festival 2012 A Discussion with Creator and 3 Conductor Murry Sidlin Why would a large group of Jews, imprisoned for being Jewish, willingly volunteer to learn, rehearse and perform such a demanding choral work that was deeply steeped in the Catholic liturgy? That question eventually led him to create Defiant Requiem, a concert-drama that includes a complete performance of Verdi’s Requiem. The mission of the performance and of The Defiant Requiem Foundation is to preserve the memory of the prisoners in Terezín, who, despite monumental suffering, disease, and the constant presence of death, found hope and inspiration in the arts and humanities. Murry Sidlin is the president and creative director of The Defiant Requiem Foundation, an organization that sponsors live concert performances of Defiant Requiem: Verdi at Terezín, as well as other projects. Monday, May 1 7:00 p.m. Congregation Shaarey Zedek Free of charge For information call Congregation Shaarey Zedek 248-357-5544 The Butterfly: 4An Art Exhibition Children at the Congregation Shaarey Zedek Religious School have created depictions of butterflies in conjunction with the Michigan premiere of “The Defiant Requiem: Verdi at Terezin,” premiering Spring 2017. The project, inspired by the poem “The Butterfly” written in 1942 by a child in a concentration camp, calls upon children to take a stand against intolerance by creating a butterfly to represent endurance, change, hope and life. By making the butterflies, the children have expressed themselves, and seen how their small work contributes to the completed whole—just as small acts against injustice can ultimately create an environment where hate cannot flourish. April 6-May 4 Congregation Shaarey Zedek Free of charge For information call Congregation Shaarey Zedek 248-357-5544 The Defiant Requiem: Verdi at Terezin 5Detroit Symphony Orchestra with Creator and Conductor Murry Sidlin Davidson Neighborhood Series The performance begins with cacophony of sounds representing the vast variety of performances presented at Terezín during any week. At the sound of a piercing train whistle all music stops and the Requiem begins. Included among film excerpts are moments from the propaganda film about Terezin, “The Führer Gives the Jews a City” which was made by prisoner Kurt Gerron as ordered by the Nazis. To achieve authenticity, movements of the Requiem begin with an out of tune piano and evolve into the ideal of the orchestra. Thursday, May 4 7:30 p.m. Congregation Shaarey Zedek Pricing for Davidson Neighborhood Series at Congregation Shaarey Zedek $25 – General Admission $10 – Students No Charge – Students enrolled in “Prelude to The Defiant Requiem: A Defining Lecture Series” For performance tickets only call Detroit Symphony Orchestra at 313-576-5111 or www.dso.org NONPROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE PAID 27375 Bell Rd. SOUTHFIELD, MI Southfield, MI 48034 PERMIT NO. 10 THE Defiant requiem An encounter in five measures SPRING 2017.