No Registration Required
Open to members only, except for March 7th Open House
All Programs are In-Person
East Campus Forum Auditorium
12:15 pm – Cookies, tea and coffee
1:00 pm – Presentation
March 7 – Entertainers Extraordinaire Chris Coogan and Michele Grace
Open House – All are invited – Bring a friend!
Michele, a vocalist, is also known for her wit and skill as an actress. Chris is known for his prowess at the piano. Together they perform a program of favorite songs and Broadway show tunes, in their own creative style that has made them so popular.
Michele Grace is a professional singer, actor, playwright, teacher, voice-over talent, vocal coach and music entrepreneur who has performed all over the US and abroad. She played the role of Shirley with Tim Daly in the play “The Fifth of July,” opened for Bobby Short at The Carlyle in New York City, and performed at Madison Square Garden. As vocal coach, teacher and director, she served as a Musical Theatre instructor at Connecticut’s prestigious Regional Center for the Arts and taught at New York’s renowned theatrical HB Studios. Michele has written children’s musicals performed at Connecticut’s Polka Dot Playhouse and the famous Edinburgh International Festival in Scotland. She has written and directed original musical productions for Connecticut Playmakers. Currently, she performs with Chris Coogan and as a featured vocalist with the Fairfield Counts Big Band.
Chris Coogan, winner of the John Lennon Songwriting Contest, has recorded eight CD’s of his original jazz and gospel music. He has performed at Manhattan’s Blue Note and Montreaux Jazz Festival and shared the spotlight with musical legends including Bette Midler, Donna Summer, Stevie Van Zant and Mavis Staples. Chris founded and directs the Good News Gospel Choir and performs regularly at churches, festivals and fundraisers, and teaches jazz piano. “I see myself as a catalyst who uses the medium of music to bring people together.”
March 14 – The Anza-Borrego Desert and Beyond
Dave Pressler shares his visual presentation about his 2023 adventure to a mostly unknown southeastern California desert, and sites surrounding this vast natural area. This experience takes us through the scenery of eastern California, from snow covered landscapes, high mountains, lakes and the Salton Sea, to dry desert vistas and unusual lava-formed rock landscapes—some which portrayed the ‘American West’ of the western movie era. Of special note are the Borrego Badlands, a vast corrugated landscape, as far as the eye can see, of clay cliffs and channels, once filled with water and a site of animal and plant fossils. Throughout Anza-Borrego are some notable surprises, including over 130 giant sculptures of creatures that once lived in this region: dinosaurs, mammoths, giant turtles, insects and more—also colorful desert wildflowers, cacti and California Fan Palm trees. Join us for this eye-opening experience.
David Pressler holds a degree in Industrial Design from Rhode Island School of Design, where he first studied photography with the famed photographer Harry Callahan. In his late teens he was gifted two Zeiss cameras by his grandfather, and ever since then he’s been documenting what he has seen around him. His core message is to encourage people everywhere to become visually conscious of the world around them. “Learn to look, in order to see,” and keep an open mind and…don’t forget to also keep your eyes wide open! He has widely exhibited his diverse works in many media in Fairfield and Westchester Counties. He is a Guild Member and former Trustee of the Silvermine Arts Center, New Canaan and Artist Member of the Center for Contemporary Printmaking, Norwalk. His professional career as a design consultant for major corporations has included Experimental Educational Materials Development for the American Museum of Natural History, New York; Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago and others. His name appears on design patents for Kodak, Warner-Lambert, Hasbro and BASF.
March 21 – Music for Brain Health
Join us for an engaging and interactive session exploring the remarkable impact of music therapy on brain health. We highlight how the brain responds to musical stimulation and the incredible benefits of music on the aging process. Explore some group music-making activities designed to improve cognitive and emotional well-being. No musical experience necessary!
Sherrye Platt earned her bachelor’s degree from Montclair State University and a master’s degree from Berklee College of Music. She is a board-certified Music Therapist, specializing in music therapy’s evidence-based applications. She has extensive expertise in improving neurological, emotional, and physical health, and now mentors students and integrates music therapy across healthcare disciplines at RVNAhealth.
March 28 – See You at the Zoo!
Discover Connecticut’s only zoo—the Beardsley Zoo in Bridgeport. Learn about the history of the zoo, its membership in the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, upcoming events and new habitats. Learn how you can be involved whether as a guest, volunteer or supporter. This presentation features both the animals and gardens of the zoo, and will also include some fascinating artifacts.
Tracy Benham has been the Volunteer Coordinator as a member of the Education Department at the zoo for 25 years. Her primary roles are running the Adult Volunteer Program, College Intern Program and Group Service Program and assisting with our Teen Volunteer Programs. She also helps with all of the Education Department’s programs and events.
April 4 – What Good Are DNA Tests Anyway?
Multiple DNA tests—combined with Genealogy best practices, tips and other investigative techniques—enabled an LLI member to reunite with her birth mother’s and birth father’s families. Her perseverance allowed her to receive her birth mother’s name, age at the time of her birth, and occupation as well as her birth father’s age from Catholic Charities, once Massachusetts opened its birth records to adoptees. The detective work included online newspapers, cemetery records, genealogy documents from both sides of the Atlantic, contacting potential family members (who agreed to test) and DNA test analysis. Her case demonstrates that DNA test results cannot replace traditional Genealogy research, though together they work well to discover one’s roots.
Janeen Bjork Television researcher Janeen Bjork applied the detective, analytic and presentation skills she garnered in a 30-year career to her family tree and then to the trees of friends, students and clients. In addition to over 10 years teaching Genealogy throughout New England, New York and Florida, Janeen has written or co-written four family history books
April 11 – Jack Benny
The Jack Benny Radio Program was the most successful comedy program from the Golden Age of Radio. The show was a departure from the norm whereby the star became the fall guy with his cast delivering the funny lines, a cast that was arguably the finest ever assembled.
Joe Gianquinto is a 38-year veteran of the television industry having had successful stops at ABC, NBC, ESPN and Westinghouse. Retirement years include writing lyrics and producing slide presentations. Joe resides in Old Greenwich with his wife of 57 years, Margaret, and is the proud father of four daughters, thirteen grandchildren and one newly-minted great granddaughter!
April 18th – No Lunch and Learn
April 25 – Music Theatre of Connecticut
Join Kevin Connors, award-winning director and founder of Music of Theatre of CT in Norwalk, for a discussion about successful professional theatre outside New York City. The steps and history of founding a professional company, the challenges of picking an annual season, the casting process, producing a show, and developing an audience. Hear about the positive impact of regional theatres both culturally and economically across the country and why communities with thriving cultural organizations enjoy a much richer quality of life. Kevin will have a special guest with him, so this will be an event you don’t want to miss!
Kevin Connors is an accomplished director and composer with a rich theatrical career spanning Off-Broadway and regional productions. His Off-Broadway credits include Play Like a Winner (NYMF award-winner), Prime Time Prophet, and Jukebox Saturday Night. He has directed over 150 MTC Equity MainStage productions, including acclaimed shows like Next to Normal, Ragtime, and Cabaret. Kevin is a BroadwayWorld Award winner for Best Director and a multiple Connecticut Critics’ Circle Best Director recipient. As a composer, he has created scores for notable productions such as It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play and A Christmas Carol: A Live Radio Play, published by Playscripts, Inc. Kevin has also taught at prestigious institutions including The Hartt School of Music/University of Hartford and Musical Theatre Works in NYC.
May 2 – Alternatives to Violence Project – Jackie Labatt-Simon
In 1975, the Alternatives to Violence Project was begun by men incarcerated at Green Haven Penitentiary in New York; they had witnessed the Attica riots and the “revolving door” they clearly saw in their institution, and were concerned with the increase in violence in prisons and cities. They drew on help from the Quakers and Bernard Lafayette, an associate of Martin Luther King, and the project is now in over 60 countries and 35 states. It is experiential rather than lectures, and many participants change dramatically over the course of three-day workshops. The Alternative to Violence Project celebrates its 50th anniversary this year with an international conference at Manhattanville University in Purchase, New York.
Jackie Labatt-Simon is a former marketing research executive who has been volunteering in prisons since 1998. She began by volunteering with her church, meeting with men getting their Master’s Degrees while at Sing Sing Penitentiary. She was so impressed with the men she met, she wanted to do more with them and discovered the Alternatives to Violence Project. She was coordinator at Sing Sing for over ten years, and is now the AVP coordinator at the Westchester County Jail.
May 9 – LLI Annual Meeting – Entertainment TBA