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.