LIFELONG LEARNING HIGHLIGHTS

Please consult your CareMerge calendars and weekly announcements for specific dates and times. All programming subject to change based on COVID-related recommendations to maintain health and safety of residents, staff, and visitors.

UMS Season Announcement

Get an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at University Musical Society’s 2023-2024 season from President Ma hew VanBesien and other members of his programming team in our very own Geddes Auditorium.

Streaming weekly: The Royal Opera and Ballet

The Royal Opera, under the direction of Oliver Mears and the baton of Antonio Pappano, is one of the world’s leading opera companies. Based in the iconic Covent Garden theatre, it is renowned both for its outstanding performances of traditional opera and for commissioning new works by today’s leading opera composers.

Cognitive Exercises with Mark Harris

Mark is an experienced fitness instructor and personal trainer. Since 1999, he has been developing fitness programs in the community and for area hospitals and physicians. Mark has participated in programs to promote be er health, funded by federal agencies, local foundations and several universities. Mark has been teaching senior fitness classes since 2006. After being diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2013, he became a community ambassador with the American Cancer Society, an advisory board member of the Michigan Medicine Rogel Center Center, and advisory board member for the University of North Carolina and Henry Ford Health System study funded by Genetech, a co-facilitator of the Michigan Institute of Urology prostate cancer support group, and the first prostate cancer consultant for Merck.

Japanese Music with resident William P. Malm

All Seasons resident William P. Malm is Professor Emeritus of Ethnomusicology, retired director of the Stearns Collection of Musical Instruments and the Japanese Music Study Group at the University of Michigan. Learn about preserved instruments, the Stearns Collection at UM, and more.

Art & Culture presentations with resident Michael Melet

Resident artist Michael Melet discusses various topics each week exploring art and culture. Previous topics have examined: How ancient art influenced modern art, how Picasso was inspired by non-Western art, how Van Gogh painted symphonies in color, the links between Rothko and Mozart, and why was Salvador Dalí against music?

Modern Dance and Choreography with Shannon Gillen

Currently Associate Professor of Dance at U.M., Shannon Gillen is also the founder and artistic director of New York’s visionary new dance company VIM VIGOR. Gillen is one of NYC’s most sought after choreographers with commissions at prestigious national and international venues. Through a prolific body of work that galvanizes the body’s potential to express intellectual and emotional concepts, Gillen has pioneered a recognizable artistic language that possesses heroic physicality, electric emotional life, and cinematic imagery that illuminates and heightens the narrative imagination. She is currently a choreographer in residence at Princeton University. Gillen graduated from The Juilliard School with her BFA and from Tisch School of the Arts/NYU.

New Resident Life Stories & Life Maps with Natalie Stringer

Map your Life Story and find out what you have in common with your neighbors; open to new and long-time All Seasons residents! Natalie Stringer is a theatre maker, writer, and arts administrator. She is the Founding Artistic Director of C&G Collective, an interdisciplinary arts practice and producer. Stringer also serves as the Director for Artistic and Intellectual Planning at All Seasons communities across Michigan, Florida, and Arizona. Previous engagements include facilitation of leadership workshops at Hostos College in the Bronx; workshops with the Center for Performance and Civic Practice; presentations at the national Pedagogy and Theatre of the Oppressed Conference and Interlochen Arts Academy, and training with the Teaching Artist Training Institute, using arts education to connect with students on the autism spectrum in Staten Island. Internationally, she led teachers-intraining at the College of Education in Kigali, Rwanda, and served as Program Manager for Global Arts Corps’ premiere with young Cambodian circus artists. She is a CUNY Ernesto Malave Scholar and a proud Actors Equity Membership Candidate.

Tech Help with Clear Computing

Technology can be the most frustrating necessity. Maybe you’re too busy to fix your misbehaving computer, don’t want to deal with the hassle of ge ing that “smart” device setup, or don’t want to bother a family member with your cellphone question. Clear Computing offers the local, professional help you have been looking for.

PARTNERS: ALL SEASONS AND THE HISTORIC MICHIGAN THEATRE!

We’re thrilled to welcome two prominent figures for live presentations on film, the historic Michigan Theatre, and more at our very own All Seasons Geddes Auditorium.

Henry Aldridge – An Emeritus Professor of Electronic Media and Film Studies in the Department of Communication, Media, and Theatre Arts at Eastern Michigan University (EMU), Henry Aldridge was a leading figure in saving the Michigan Theater and the Barton Organ from being demolished in the 80s, and was an incorporating officer of the Michigan Theater Foundation. Aldridge has wri en over 40 articles and scholarly presentations on electronic media and film studies and three books, including one about the Michigan Theater. Aldridge became involved with efforts to revive the Michigan Theater’s Barton organ in 1971 and became an official organist in 1973. Since then, he has played over 1,500 pipe organ overtures before film screenings.

Russ Collins – UM Alum Russ Collins remembers a pivotal movie that fueled his love for film: seeing “The Godfather” at the Michigan Theater when he was 16 years old. For the past 32 years, Collins has been Executive Director and CEO of the Michigan Theater, earning his living by fostering a love for live performances and film in an 87-year-old building that was designed as a movie palace. He also started the Cinetopia regional film festival, and headed up the Art House Convergence, a national conference for art house cinemas. Collins served on the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority board and on the Michigan Humanities Council board of directors, appointed by the governor. Collins provides commentary on films for several local radio shows. He also taught film studies at EMU from 2002-2013. In 2013, Collins was named to Indiewire’s inaugural list of “influencers” in the independent film industry.

PARTNERS: ALL SEASONS AND OSHER LIFELONG LEARNING INSTITUTE (OLLI)

The mission of OLLI is to enhance quality of life by providing stimulating, meaningful, and high-quality lecture series, classes, travel and social events for an increasingly diverse group of persons 50 and older.

OLLI is a volunteer centered organization in that it offers programs for older adults, designed by older adults. It capitalizes on the skills, knowledge, and experience of dedicated senior volunteers who actively plan and implement the learning programs for their peers.

Resident Spotlight

Andy Pringle

DON’T MISS: SCIENCE POP-UP TALKS

• Gravitational Waves: The Discovery that won the 2017 Nobel prize in Physics

• From Hunting to Herding: The Emergence of Animal Domestication in Southwest Asia

• Altering nature with gene drives We can. But should we?

• Human Migration

Through the Ages: Spring series April 13 - May 18

• Historical Architecture

Fresh Ideas: Summer series throughout June

Born in 1927, Andrew "Andy" Clayton Pringle, Jr. grew up in Detroit. He graduated from high school in 1945 and immediately enlisted in the Navy where he was stationed in Adak, Alaska. When Japan surrendered, Andy left the Navy in 1946. He graduated from U of M in 1950 with a BA degree. After a ending night school at Wayne State Law, Andy received his Law Degree and became an investigator for the Wayne County prosecutor's office. After passing the Bar, Andy joined a large law firm in the Detroit Metropolitan area for 10 years until he opened his own private practice, Pringle and Associates. While in Law School, Andy married Jaqueline Mann and together they had three children. It was a beautiful marriage for 14 years until tragically, Jacqueline died of cancer in her 30s. Andy raised his three children until they went to college, and then he fell in love and married Carol Olson. It was a very happy marriage, but unfortunately, Carol also died of cancer. Andy is very proud of his children who survived the grief of losing two mothers and who have gone on to graduate from college and are living successful lives. Though most of his close friends have passed on, his 96th birthday party was packed with friends and relatives. Andy enjoys living at ASAA. His only regret is that most of the women are too young! He is not into “robbing the cradle.” Would it surprise you that Andy is known for his sense of humor? Today, the best part of Andy's life is his wonderful relationship with his sister, Peggy, who cooks delicious dinners and hosts Andy at her house here in town. Looking ahead, Andy lately has been thinking about skydiving, mountain climbing, and parasailing...When he asked his sister Peggy to join him all she did was laugh. Sisters!