Singing the Defiant Requiem

Here’s the article/review about the performance, in the Buffalo News. It’s positive, yet, the reviewer seems to miss, for the most part, the idea that music SAVED these people’s lives. That Schachter saved them by what he did. He gave them hope and dignity and moments in time when they could literally lose themselves and forget where they really were and what they were dealing with.

I don’t feel she really got that. The articles focuses, rightly, on the horrible conditions that the prisoners were living under. But, what made this special, is that there were survivors from that original chorus in the audience. They were appreciative of what we did. Recreating the story. Really, of what Murry Sidlin has done, and we just were lucky enough to be participants in this re-telling. I thanked Edgar Krasa at the reception after, and he literally, threw his arms around me and said “No! Thank you for doing this!”

I was in awe of that man. Truly. What a blessing he is.

And the review only mentions the choral performance once. I suppose the thrust of the story has nothing to do with us, but since it was a musical performance, we all probably were hoping that someone might say we’d done the story justice through our singing.

No matter. The response of the audience was telling enough. I heard many many positive things from them. And the story isn’t about us. I guess it’s a bit self-centered to be upset that we were only mentioned once. Petty, really.