FEBRUARY 24 • 2022 | 21
Maestro
Murry Sidlin
COURTESY OF JEFF ROFFMAN
Treblinka and Auschwitz.
Maestro Murry Sidlin
will speak to OU students
during an afternoon event
about the film and its
music. He will then show
the film at the evening
public event and lead
a discussion after the
screening. Defiant Requiem
has received numerous
awards nationwide.
Sidlin, a conductor with
a unique gift for engaging
audiences, continues a
diverse and distinctive
musical career. He is the
president and creative
director of the Defiant
Requiem Foundation, an
organization that sponsors
live concert performances
of Defiant Requiem: Verdi
at Terezín and Hours of
Freedom: The Story of the
Terezín Composer.
“Defiant Requiem captures
the horrors of the Third
Reich, but also shows
the power of the human
spirit to create art and
beauty under the most
egregious circumstances,”
said Oakland University
professor Michael Pytlik,
director of Judaic Studies
and director of the Cis
Maisel Center for Judaic
Studies and Community
Engagement. Pytlik also
serves as director of OU’s
Study Abroad program to
Israel. “It is a testament
to the importance of
preserving history. As such,
it will be a memorable
experience for our
students and everyone in
attendance.”
There is no cost to
attend the screening, but
registration is required
at https://tinyurl.com/
yd9dwcds.
The Oakland University
Cis Maisel Center for Judiac
Studies and Community
Engagement was created
through a generous gift by
Cis Maisel, a community
leader in southeastern
Michigan and a staunch
advocate for education.
The center focuses on the
study of Judaism from an
academic standpoint as well
as providing an important
space for research that
enhances the understanding
of the rich traditions of
Judaism from around the
world.