Osher Lifelong Learning Institute

ENews4-14

Print a condensed .pdf copy of this newsletter, two web pages per sheet of paper.

 
Photos by Dan Feighery, Jan 31, 2014
New Member Coffee, January 31, 2014

February 7, 2014


Editor of the Week: Paul Van Hemel
Table of Contents

Alerts & Notices

The spring catalog is now available on the OLLI website.

Valentine's Day Party, Fri Feb 14, 1:00 - 3:00 (Note: changed time). Remember to sign up; register at your home campus office or call the Tallwood Main Office (703-503-3384). Note: Party is at the Church of the Good Shepherd.

Here is the OLLI website link for the chart of make-up classes for those affected by weather closures this term: https://olli.gmu.edu/closed-and-changed-courses/.

Special instructions for parking at Reston: If you are registered for a class in Reston, please see the parking instructions posted in Reston classrooms.

Spring term registration begins Feb 18; it closes Feb 28. The term runs
Mar 24 - May 16.

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Inclement Weather/Area-wide Emergency Closing Policy


by Kerin Broadaway, OLLI Administrator/Registrar


The closing policy information provided below is for quick reference. For detailed information, check your Winter Term 2014 Winter Catalog, page 17.
 
IF THEN
Fairfax County Public Schools Closed  Tallwood and Reston Closed
Fairfax County Public Schools Delayed Opening  Tallwood and Reston Usually Open
Loudoun County Public Schools Closed  Loudoun Closed
George Mason University Closed  Loudoun Closed
George Mason University Delayed Opening  Loudoun’s first class may be delayed
 

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Welcome New Members


by Wendy Campbell,
Chair, New Member Services Committee

A special welcome goes out to all our new members this term. OLLI is a great place to meet other people with like interests and to make new friendships that will last for years. We hope you all got to go to the welcome coffee at Tallwood on Friday, January 31st. If you missed it this Friday, there is one every term and we would love to see you there. Please LOOK FOR RED DOTS ON NAMETAGS and welcome these new members (listed alphabetically by last name) who joined our OLLI community starting this term.
Phil Altman, Springfield
Jim Anderson, Ashburn
Cynthia Anthony, McLean
Kent Baum, Centreville
Monique Bergin, Fairfax
Lillian Brodeur, Reston
Linda Buczek, Fairfax
Fred Churchill, Vienna
Rita Citrenbaum, Fairfax
Starla Clement, Ashburn
Roger Conrad, Springfield
Kathe Conrad, Springfield
Elizabeth (Libby) Deans, Reston
Bernard (Barry) Dentz, Reston
Kathryn (Nancy) Derenner, Lake Ridge
Jeanette (Jan) Edmunds, Alexandria
Nicky Evans, McLean
Hans Filip, Burke
Pamela (Pam) Garcia, Vienna
Martha Garland, Annandale
Bill Gordon, Purcellville
Floyd Gripman, Fairfax
Jo Ann Gundry, Fairfax
Pat Harahan, Springfield
Ann Harahan, Springfield
Roberta Head, Manassas
Edward (Ed) Hummer, Vienna
Gary Jensen, Springfield
Warner Johnson, Reston
Diane Kazuba, Chantilly
Joanne Keenan, Manassas
James (Jim) Kelly, Sterling
Richard Klaus, Fairfax
Jean Klaus, Fairfax
Ellen Korin, Haymarket
Jonathan Korin, Haymarket
Evelyn Lappalainen, Ashburn
Joseph Laznow, Reston
Richard (Rick) Leininger, Fairfax
Ron Lieberman, Fairfax
John May, Fairfax
Karen Miles, Falls Church
Lottie Mosher, Falls Church
Jon Peterson, Clifton
Karen Pyeatt, Vienna
Stephen (Steve) Quinn, Fort Belvoir
Deborah (Debbie) Richlen, Annandale
Norman Rosenthal, Burke
Jane Rosenthal, Burke
Barbara Rubino, Ashburn
Joyce Taormina, Springfield
Stephanie Trachtenberg, Burke
John Trevey, Fairfax
Bo Tumasz, Annandale
Valerie Turner, Arlington
William (Bil) Vogelson, Arlington
Catherine Wagner, Alexandria
Bill Watson, Centreville
Joseph Whitehill, Springfield
Frances Williams, Oakton
Carol Wolter, McLean

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Inside
OLLI-Mason



Where in the World Is Jennifer Disano?



by Nancy Scarborough, OLLI E-News Staff Writer


As part of OLLI-Mason’s series about its inside workings, our new Executive Director (and former geography major!) Jennifer Disano shares where she goes and what she does in a typical day.                                        
Jennifer believes that OLLI has a “kind of heartbeat to each day.” There is a “steady pulse of regular assignments,” but there are “days when that heart rate is up and racing!”

A typical day for Jennifer starts in the main office with the staff, as they discuss the “daily ‘to-do’ list.” They “work as a team to consolidate tasks, share ideas and generate solutions.” As the day continues, she might have meetings with “committee groups, external partners and vendors.” She also can be found visiting with members between sessions and sometimes stopping by a class for a lesson. Program planning is something which she particularly enjoys.

OLLI President Martha Scanlon has been a “wonderful mentor” to Jennifer. The two might frequently be found discussing OLLI happenings, pressing issues, or future plans. Jennifer says that Martha has helped her “tremendously to ease into the ED position.”

What has surprised Jennifer the most? She has found that there is an intensity to the job” which she did not expect. “At OLLI, I feel I need to rely on all my senses to attend to group and individual concerns, with a deliberate effort to listen, observe and look at all sides of an issue.” She has discovered that “patience and calm reserve are required, as well as enthusiasm and gratitude.” She recognizes that “OLLI members are a worldly group, to say the least,” and many times she finds herself “naturally yielding to that knowledge base.”

Jennifer compares the ED job to that of being principal of a school. There is a “high profile aspect.” I am looked to as the “proud representative of OLLI, the happy, welcoming greeter.” The ED, however, is also the “enforcer of the rules or bearer of bad news (e.g., closings).” It is something which she is “still getting used to.”

“The good news,” Jennifer says, is that “this type of role really suits me. I’m generally a happy person with a ‘sunny side of life’ personality, but I’m also a rule follower, a pragmatist and a realist, so the principal role for me is spot on.”

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Freedom and Learning Forum
at George Mason University

The George Mason University Office of Strategic Communications announces a Freedom and Learning Forum event hosted by University President Dr. Angel Cabrera. This year's first guest leader is Rangina Hamidi, founder and president of Kandahar Treasure, the first women’s private enterprise in Kandahar, Afghanistan. The event is open to OLLI members and staff, as well as the general public, to attend. For more information on this event, click here. At the bottom of the resulting web page, there is a free ticket link.

Videoconferencing Makes
Two OLLI Class Locations One


by Paul Howard,
Director and Videoconferencing Coordinator


For the winter term course L606/F602, Jewish and Christian Religious Philosophers, taught by John Rybicki, a videoconference of the Jan 28 class brought the Loudoun-based presentation to Tallwood attendees (see photo). This is OLLI's first use of videoconferencing with a class originating in Loudoun and transmitted to Fairfax. It's also the first multi-session (4 classes) offering. Our previous videoconferences have been one-time events.

An anonymous benefactor made a generous donation to the Friends of OLLI, directing it to the expansion of our videoconferencing capabilities. An additional high definition pan-tilt-zoom camera has been acquired, which will enable the deployment of videoconferencing in Reston after several months of testing and experimentation. OLLI's program planning groups continue to seek opportunities to allow the sharing of classes between our campuses.

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OLLI Photo Club



by Bob Kelberg, Photography Club Program Coordinator


The OLLI photo Club will meet at 9:30 on Friday, Feb 14, Valentine's Day, in TA-1. Our speaker this month will be Marti Belcher, a distinguished photographer with many awards and honors to her credit, and an extensive travel portfolio. Her quest to capture the exterior beauty of her subjects, as well as the beauty within, has led her to India and Southeast Asia and to many other countries as well. I think Marti's presentation will prove to be a very special experience.

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OLLI Book Club News


by Ceda McGrew, Club Coordinator


The OLLI Book Club will meet on Wednesday, February 12 at 1:30 PM at Tallwood. The book for discussion is Island Beneath the Sea by Chilean author Isabel Allende. Set in the first half of the 19th century at first in Haiti and then New Orleans, it tells the story of Tete, a mulatto slave, and Toulouse Valmorain, a young Frenchman sent to Haiti to run his father's sugar plantation.
 
All OLLI Members are welcome.
 
The selection for March is Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood.

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Let's Play A-Round: Strings, Anyone?


by Rosemary McDonald, Art/Music Resource Group Chair

A recent query from Stephanie Trachtenberg, a new member of OLLI, expressed interest in forming a strings chamber group or orchestra club. I encouraged her to write a brief article about her idea for the E-News to gauge interest; I was reminded of a similar effort not too long ago that ultimately resulted in formation of the Tallwood Trio. Here is the resulting article:
 
Let's Play A-Round!
Hello. I am a new member of OLLI. I retired recently after teaching elementary school string orchestra in Fairfax County Public Schools for 33 years. I heard there is a recorder group and a trio at OLLI. I wondered how many folks play a string instrument and might be interested in forming a String Orchestra Club? Any old violins, violas, cellos or basses in your attic from your high school years?

I can probably borrow easy string orchestra music from my former elementary school. If you play a band instrument and are interested, you would be welcome to play too, but I do not have access to music for full orchestra–only string orchestra. If interested, please contact Stephanie Trachtenberg at mrsfiddle@aol.com. Thanks!
Poet's Corner
Courtesy of the Poetry Workshop

Going Into the Wind

Broken edges, biting
winds, chafed skin
beg to be softened,
warmed, soothed.
We are made to be comforted.
 
If we can find the courage to leave
that soft place, retrieve the raw
energy of cold winds, we may learn to
love the jagged beauty of
the unfinished.
 
Claire Hasselbeck

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Arts & Music at George Mason
Performances, Feb 8 to Feb 21

by Shelly Gersten, OLLI E-News Staff Writer

For tickets for either CFA or Hylton, call 1-888-945-2468, buy tickets online through the event calendar (see links below), or visit the venue's box office. For more information see the CFA ticket page or the Hylton ticket purchase page.
At the Fairfax Campus Venues

Metropolitan Jazz Orchestra: Simply Swingin' with Sinatra and Friends
Sat, Feb 8, 8:00.
Modern crooner Steve Lippia joins the Metropolitan Jazz Orchestra to present an evening of American pop and jazz classics. Enjoy your all-time Sinatra favorites as well as hits by Nat King Cole, Tony Bennett, and Barry Manilow. Artistic Director Jim Carroll leads this superb group of musicians from the greater D.C.
Pre-performance discussion by a member of the company.
Admission: $48, $40, $24.
Center for the Arts Concert Hall.
The King's Singers: The Great American Songbook
Sun, Feb 9, 4:00.
This British a cappella sextet performs songs by Gershwin, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, Etta James and others.
Pre-performance discussion by a member of the company.
Admission: $48, $40, $24.
Center for the Arts Concert Hall.
Virginia Opera: Ariadne auf Naxos
Fri, Feb 14, 8:00.
Sun, Feb 16, 2:00.
This new Virginia Opera production of a Strauss work is a comic opera with beautiful music. Sung in German with English supertitles.
Admission: Fri, $86, $72, $44. Sun, $98, $80, $48.
Center for the Arts Concert Hall.
Peter Nero: Music of the Heart
Sat, Feb 15, 8:00.
An evening of romantic piano music by the Juilliard-trained artist combines the work of popular and classical composers.
Admission: $60, $52, $30.
Center for the Arts Concert Hall.

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Mason Student & Faculty Performances

East Coast Dhamaka!
Sat, Feb 8, 7:00.
The George Mason University Indian Student Association presents its first ever intercollegiate Indian dance competition. The event is a fundraiser for Save our Sisters.
Admission: $15, advance purchase; $20, day of the event.
Harris Theatre.

Season Event: The Vagina Monologues

Sat, Feb 15, and Sun, Feb 16, 8:00.
Mason performance as part of an initiative to raise awareness and illustrate the effects of violence against women and children. Proceeds will go to the Mason Victims of Violence Fund and worldwide campaigns fighting sexual violence.
Admission: $25 general, $15 groups of 10 purchased together.
Harris Theatre.

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At the Hylton Center

Imago Theatre - FROGZ
Sat, Feb 8, 2:00.
A mix of dance, circus arts, masks and illusions comes to the Hylton Center. A cast of five transports the audience out of their everyday lives in segments that include frogs doing acrobatics, penguins playing musical chairs, lizards wrestling, and a paper bag coming to life.
Admission: Adults: $15; Children: $5.
Merchant Hall.
Haifa Symphony Orchestra of Israel
Sun, Feb 9, 4:00.
Continuing its US tour, the orchestra is conducted by Boguslaw Dawidow. The program includes Carl Maria von Weber’s Overture to Euryanthe and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4. Israeli pianist Roman Rabinovich joins the orchestra for Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3.
Pre-performance discussion by a member of the company.
Admission: $60, $52, $44.
Merchant Hall.

Matinee Idylls: Marcolivia

Tue, Feb 18, 1:30 (preceded by a lunch at 12:30).
The violin and violin/viola duo perform folk-based classical music from many nations and eras. The concert is preceded by a buffet lunch catered by a local restaurant; the concert is followed by a coffee and dessert reception with the artists.
Admission: $43 (includes concert and lunch); $20 (concert only).
Gregory Family Theater.

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For further details on any of the above events, please see the
CFA event calendar and the Hylton Center event calendar.

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Mason Highlights
Other Mason events, next two weeks

by Helen Ackerman, OLLI E-News Staff Writer
Exhibit: Black and White and Thread All Over: Work by Sonya Clark. The artist explores issues of identity, race, and culture through the use of textiles, combs and hair, blurring the boundaries between art and craft. Her work has been exhibited in over 250 museums and galleries around the world, and she has received numerous honors and fellowships. Tue, Jan 21, to Fri, Feb 21. Art & Design Building, Fine Art Gallery. Free.

Exhibit: Making Connections through Art: Presented by Prince William County Schools. The student work featured in the 2014 display was selected first by the art teacher and then adjudicated by a team of retired art educators. Every day, thousands of art pieces are created in art classrooms across Prince William County. This work represents just a small number of the young artists in the School Division. Tue, Jan 28, to Sat, Mar 1. Buchanan Partners Gallery. Free.

Art Show: Seeing and Responding to Italy. Twelve School of Art students–painters, photographers and printmakers, spent 3 weeks in Tuscany this past summer investigating their new surroundings–visiting Florence, Pisa and the Venice Biennale and creating artwork in response.  This group show provides an overview of their completed projects. Mon, Feb 10, to Fri, Mar 7. Mason Hall Atrium Gallery. Free.

Film: Gravity. The Academy Award-nominated movie Gravity involves two people struggling to survive after an accident leaves them adrift in space. Sat, Feb 15, 9:00; Sun, Feb 16, 3:00; Thu, Feb 20, 9:00; Fri,
Feb 21, 6:00 and 9:00; Sat, Feb 22, 6:00. Johnson Center, Cinema. $3.

Lecture: Eminent happiness economist Justin Wolfers of the University of Michigan and the Brookings Institute discusses the subject of his most recent research, the relationship between income and happiness.
Tue, Feb 18, 12:00 to 1:30. Johnson Center, Room A. Free.

Speaker. Jim Dinegar, president and CEO of the Greater Washington Board of Trade, oversees the leading regional organization representing the business interests for major companies. He will discuss business challenges and opportunities throughout the Greater Washington area. Tue, Feb 18, 6:00 to 8:30. Stacy C. Sherwood Community Center,
3740 Old Lee Highway, Fairfax, Virginia 22030. $5.

Meetings & Clubs

The following list covering the next two weeks is extracted for your conven-
ience from the master online calendar maintained by the office, with direct web links added when available. The list is accurate as of mid-week but to check anytime for the latest information, please view the latest forecast of upcoming events on our website (News/OLLI Calendar). Note: All OLLI members are welcome at, and encouraged to attend, meetings of the Board of Directors, committees and resource groups, Kickoff Coffees, etc. (bolded below).
Sat Feb 8 10:30am Tai Chi Club–TA-3
Tue Feb 11 10:00am Knitting and Needlework Club–Panera, Herndon
Wed Feb 12   1:30pm
  1:45pm		 Book Club–TA-2
Bridge Club–TA-3
Fri Feb 14   9:00am
  9:30am
10:00am
10:30am
 
11:00am		 Recorder Consort–TA-3
Photography Club–TA-1
Craft and Conversation–Cottage
Loudoun Program Planning Group
Loudoun Rm 236
Homer, etc–Annex
Sat Feb 15 10:30am
 1:00pm		 Tai Chi Club–TA-3
Personal Computer User Group
Tue Feb 18 10:00am
10:00am		 Knitting and Needlework Club–Panera, Herndon
Literature, Language and Theater Program
Planning Group–TA-2
Wed Feb 19 10:00am
  1:30pm
  1:45pm		 Bridge Club–TA-3
Mah Jongg Club–TA-2
A/V Committee Training/Meeting–TA-1
Fri Feb 21   9:00am
10:00am
10:00am
11:00am		 Recorder Consort–TA-3
Craft and Conversation–Cottage
Board of Directors Meeting–TA-1
Homer, etc–Annex

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About OLLI E-News

OLLI E-News was created by Rod Zumbro, who served as its editor from 2005 to 2013.

Current Editorial Staff
Chief Editor/Technical Editor: Irene Osterman
Associate Editor:
Weekly Editorial Team: Paul Van Hemel, Sheri Siesseger, Leslie Vandivere,
Proofreaders:  John West, Gordon Canyock, Susan Van Hemel, Harriet Kaplan
Backup Chief Editor: Sheri Siesseger

Submissions. Members are encouraged to submit letters to the editor, letters to Ms. Ollie Ettakit (on etiquette matters), OLLI-related news items, articles and photos. Submit material to: ollienewseditor@gmail.com.
Deadline – 6:00 pm Tuesday for that week's issue (6:00 pm Monday for letters to the editor); early submissions are greatly appreciated. Please limit articles to about 250 words.
Note: You can view past issues of OLLI E-News on the DocStore. To search the content of issues, use Search Our Site or put your search term in Google followed by "site:olli.gmu.edu/" without the quotes.

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Notice: You received this newsletter because either you are a current OLLI member or you have been provided a courtesy copy. If you are an OLLI member who did not renew your membership, you can continue to receive our newsletter by emailing the office with your request. If someone forwarded this newsletter to you and you'd like to receive a copy each week, please email the office and ask to be added to the courtesy-copy list.

Copyright  2013 Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at George Mason University

Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at GMU, 4210 Roberts Rd., Fairfax, VA 22032-1028
Phone 703-503-3384, Fax 703-503-2832

OSHER LIFELONG LEARNING INSTITUTE
AT GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY

4210 Roberts Rd. Fairfax, VA 22032-1028
Phone: (703) 503-3384
Fax: (703) 503-2832
Email: olli@gmu.edu

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