'DEFIANT REQUIEM' Set for Avery Fisher Hall, 3/9

Over the past 150 years, there have been many significant presentations of Verdi's Requiem, but none was more powerful than the 16 performances put on by prisoners at the Terezin concentration camp during World War II. These courageous men and women faced starvation, abuse, and imminent death, yet they defied the Nazis by performing this towering masterpiece.

This extraordinary story is commemorated in Defiant Requiem: Verdi at Terezin, which will be performed at Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center on March 9, 2015 at 7:30pm. Hailed as "extraordinarily beautiful and moving," the concert/drama features a complete live performance of Verdi's Requiem interspersed with historic film, testimony from survivors and narration that tells this tale of audacious bravery. Tickets are $65-$150, available at the Lincoln Center box office, by calling 212.721.6500, or through the Lincoln Center website. Concert proceeds will be dedicated to the UJA-Federation of New York Community Initiative for Holocaust Survivors.

This performance will feature actors Bebe Neuwirth and John Rubinstein, The Orchestra of Terezin Remembrance, The Collegiate Chorale, and soloists soprano Jennifer Check, mezzo-soprano Ann McMahon Quintero, tenor Steven Tharp, and bass Wilhelm Schwinghammer. It will be conducted by Maestro Murry Sidlin, president of The Defiant Requiem Foundation and creator of this powerful concert/drama.

Murry Sidlin is an internationally recognized conductor, teacher, and lecturer with a unique gift for engaging audiences, who leads a diverse and distinctive musical career. Sidlin has conducted live performances of Defiant Requiem: Verdi at Terezin in the US, Israel and Europe, bringing the inspirational message of hope and survival through music to diverse audiences. He has been decorated by the Archbishop of Prague and was awarded the prestigious Medal of Valor by the Simon Wiesenthal Center and the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles for his extraordinary efforts to illuminate the Terezin legacy.

Sidlin and The Defiant Requiem Foundation produced an Emmy-nominated documentary film narrated by Bebe Neuwirth that has been praised as a "gripping documentary" (Examiner.com), with "a very powerful message" (CNN). More information can be found at www.defiantrequiemfilm.com.

Defiant Requiem: Verdi at Terezin will be performed coast-to-coast in the United States in 2015, with performances in New York City, Oklahoma City, Tulsa and San Diego. For more information, visit DefiantRequiem.org.

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