The Defiant Requiem Foundation is a non-profit organization founded in 2008 by Murry Sidlin, distinguished conductor, educator and artistic innovator. The Foundation is dedicated to preserving the memory of the prisoners in Terezín during World War II, who, despite monumental suffering, disease and the constant presence of death, found hope and inspiration in the arts and humanities. Click here to learn more.

The Educational Website

Designed to explore the role of the arts at Terezín and its contemporary significance, The Defiant Requiem Foundation offers six original teaching modules for secondary, college and adult education on this website. Click here to review the modules and related materials.

The Documnetary Film

In partnership with Partisan Pictures, The Defiant Requiem Foundation is producing Voices of Defiance, a feature-length documentary that tells the inspirational story of how conductor Rafael Schächter and a chorus of 150 prisoners learned and sang the demanding Verdi Requiem by rote. Click here to learn more about the film or click here to view the trailer.

The Schächter Institute

Located in the Czech Republic, The Rafael Schächter Institute is dedicated to perpetuating the arts and humanities as practiced by the prisoners of Terezín. The Institute creates events each summer to replicate the prisoners' performances, lectures and forums. Click here to learn more about The Schächter Institute and to see a full schedule for the summer of 2011.

The Live Performance

Created by Maestro Sidlin, Defiant Requiem: Verdi at Terezín features a full performance of Verdí's Requiem Mass, which includes actors, historic film clips and interviews and original chorus members who tell the impassioned story of how these Jewish prisoners learned and performed Verdi's Requiem during their darkest hours. Click here to learn more about the performance.