OC Forum’s “The Art of Courage: Grace Over Hate” To Feature Music Conductor Murry Sidlin

OC Forum’s “The Art of Courage: Grace Over Hate” To Feature Music Conductor Murry Sidlin

IRVINE, Calif. (April 8, 2019) — This Thursday, the OC Forum will host “The Art of Courage: Grace Over Hate,” a discussion featuring acclaimed classical music conductor Murry Sidlin, who is currently touring with his concert-drama “Defiant Requiem: Verdi at Terezin.” The performance pays tribute to the historic ​Terezín chorus, in which 150 Jewish inmates facing Nazi oppression in a Czech ghetto performed Giuseppe Verdi’s “Requiem” as a condemnation of their captors.

The program, to be held on April 11 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m at Andrei’s Conscious Cuisine in Irvine, features moderator Rabbi-Cantor Marcia Tilchin, the founder and spiritual leader of the Jewish Collaborative of Orange County.

“The OC Forum has never wavered in offering programs that bring great conversations to the forefront of our communities,” said OC Forum President Paul Stover. “This program is certain to bring you closer to the history and closer to the art of healing hate in America.”

Sidlin currently serves as the president and creative director of The Defiant Requiem Foundation, a nonprofit organization that sponsors live concert performances of “Defiant Requiem: Verdi at Terezín” and “Hours of Freedom: The Story of the Terezín Composer,” as well as additional projects including the documentary film, “Defiant Requiem.”

“The Forum is proud to open this critical dialogue about the importance of choosing grace over hate, and the role the arts can play in that choice,” ​said OC Forum Executive Director, Arianna Barrios. “It’s time for the community to come together and have these difficult, yet necessary conversations.”

The program will also serve as part of Sidlin’s promotional tour for his upcoming performance of “Defiant Requiem: Verdi a​t Terezín”​ with the Pacific Symphony on Tuesday, April 16, as well as the airing of his captivating documentary, “Defiant Requiem,” on PBS SoCal on Sunday, April 14.

His performance with the Pacific Symphony will pair the music of Verdi’s “Requiem” with video testimonies from the survivors of the remarkable ​Terezín​ chorus, along with footage from the 1994 Nazi propaganda film about the Theresienstadt concentration camp and ghetto.

The performances made by the ​Terezín​ chorus, which was famously led by imprisoned conductor Rafael Schächter, came to symbolize resistance and defiance because of the group’s innate ability to confront and undermine the worst of mankind through music.

The OC Forum is the premier nonpartisan current affairs organization convening the Orange County community in an interactive environment, to foster relationships, exchange ideas and discuss public policy issues with the most knowledgeable and distinguished speakers and leaders of our time.