SO MANY PLACES ... SO LITTLE TIME Not one, but two travel/learning opportunities for OLLI members By Susanne Zumbro, Board member and OLLI travel coordinator

TURKEY

THIS IS A REMINDER THAT IT IS NOT TOO LATE to sign up for that trip to Turkey! The GMU Center For Global Education has invited OLLI members to join them on a trip to Turkey: Istanbul and the Aegean coast.      The trip, led by Professor Larry Butler, is scheduled for March 10-19, 2006. While glancing through your winter catalogs, please note that Professor Butler will be contributing to a class on Turkey, which is scheduled during our winter semester in preparation for this trip. For more information visit the CGE Turkey Website or call Shannon Phelan, CGE program officer, at 703-993-3864.

IRELAND

NOT INTERESTED IN TURKEY? BEEN THERE, DONE THAT? NOT AVAILABLE IN MARCH? OLLI has another travel opportunity in store for you!      GMU Professor Coilin Owens will be our faculty escort for a two-week journey to Ireland, September 7-21. Professor Owens has taught several classes at OLLI, and anyone taking one of his classes will advise you that this is a not-to-be-missed opportunity. More information about this trip will be forthcoming soon. In the meantime, visit our provider's Website (click on Tours and select Ireland 2006 under 2006 Tours) or check out the literature and applications which will be available soon in the Tallwood social room.      Save the date! This trip will be limited in size and is likely to sell out fast.

FOR QUESTIONS related to these trips, you are also invited to send me an email or call me at 703-569-2750.

By Luci Martel, OLLI E-News staff writer
ON MONDAY AFTERNOONS IN RESTON, GLORIA SUSSMAN CONDUCTS THE OLLI COURSE, “The Ongoing Pleasures of Music.” Both the class and Gloria herself are unique.

GLORIA SUSSMAN Photo by Abbie Edwards

     This is not the typical lecture environment with a fixed syllabus, but rather a relaxed informal gathering of friends who share a passion for listening to classical music. Each week, a variety of classical music that relates to a common theme -- and includes full movements, whole songs, and arias -- is played. Most of the afternoon is taken up by the music itself, with Gloria interjecting at times with background information to enhance the understanding of attendees.
     When I sat in on the class, a sixties Broadway musical entitled “Stop the World, I Want to get off” came to mind. Everyone sits around tables, coffee in tow, with Gloria acting as moderator. For 90 serene minutes, there is just the music and total relaxation, the outside world off somewhere else.  
     Gloria herself is an exceptional person. She has Macular Degeneration but has not let it affect her love of music or sharing her knowledge with others. She uses a laptop computer with a special enlargement computer program for the class. The selections are played from a library Gloria has created in “iTunes.” Her goal for these sessions is to help people understand music better and to learn what to listen for. She especially enjoys putting each week’s selections together -- something she considers the creative part of the process.
     She comes by her love of music naturally as it was the focal point of her family life growing up. Two of her uncles were successful musicians. She graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with both a BS and an MS in Music Education and taught music in several school systems until the 1980’s, when her sight problems began. Gloria was the coach of Musica Concordia, a small Reston-based a cappella ensemble from 1978-1996. She was an accompanist for the Reston Chorale in the early ‘70’s. Her interest in choral groups extends back to her youth when she was active in church choirs. In addition to her active musical schedule and her family of two children and two grandchildren, Gloria participates in the Prevention of Blindness Society of Washington DC, acting as a facilitator for share/support groups in the greater DC metro area.
     The class, which has been ongoing at OLLI for five years, has around 30 members, many of whom are longstanding attendees. They are Gloria’s biggest fans. One told me that for her, “The On-Going Pleasures of Music” formed the center around which every other class is scheduled. Another, Robert Simon, who founded the concept of Reston, said, “I think what impresses me the most about Gloria is the breadth of her familiarity with music and the enthusiasm with which she communicates it.” A third, Eric Henderson, says, “Gloria is a real treasure; as I’ve taken her music classes, she has always been interesting and captivating. The classes are educational and interesting; I always learn something new.”
     These accolades say it all. Gloria Sussman is a truly admirable lady and inspirational teacher. Back to top.

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ANOTHER SUPER OLLI HOLIDAY PARTY

By Gordon Canyock, Publications Committee chair THE ANNUAL OLLI HOLIDAY PARTY WAS A GREAT SUCCESS, with more than 125 attendees enjoying the ambiance of the Country Club of Fairfax.      Thanks go to Sandy Driesslein and the Hospitality Committee for organizing the event, and to all the members who entertained us-- Norm Rosenberg and his Recorder Players provided delightful holiday background music during the cocktail hour; Lynn Gramzow’s Readers’ Theater troupe performed two funny skits between the entrée and dessert; and Joyce DeVoll’s Singing for Fun chorus serenaded us with seasonal songs after dinner.  A special thanks goes to Kathie West, who was the director and playwright of the Santa skit and provided most of the costumes for the Readers' Theater actors (photo below by Kathie West).

OLLI VIDEO NEWS Our new occasional feature is OLLI Video News, where you can watch short videos created exclusively for OLLI members.      This first installment is a 3-minute video of the OLLI Holiday Party.      WATCH NOW

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THE EDITORIAL STAFF WILL PUBLISH your brief letters commenting on OLLI activities and will try to include follow-up information from the relevant committee or staff member, in the same or a subsequent issue. Submit your letters via email to Rod Zumbro, OLLI E-News editor or to me, or submit them (please indicate that it is a 'letter to the editor') via the online suggestion box or the suggestion box in the Tallwood Social Room.
-- Gordon Canyock, OLLI News editor

Publish the proposed budget so members can see where the money goes Since the Board is considering an increase in the dues, it seems to me that publishing the proposed budget in OLLI E-News would be a good idea. Then the membership could see just where the money goes--in conjunction with last year's budget, of course. Other organizations to which I belong do this routinely. -- Mary Coyne, OLLI member