Congregation
Beth Shalom
r
Michael Krieger of Southfield sings along with Charles Ward and Marianne
Valan, both of Southfield, and Natalie Victor of Huntington Woods.
Join us in honoring Cantor Sam!
Shalom Detroit! Cantor Sam Greenbaum has touched thousands of you at
some point in your family's life. He may have performed a bris, officiated at a
lifecycle event, led a service or offered a kind word.
Congregation Beth Shalom is honoring Cantor Sam and his amazing wife,
Mona, for their 40 years of service to the synagogue and the Detroit Jewish
community!
Please Join Us for Our
3rd Annual Chai Life Celebration
Sunday, October 13th
5 p.m.
Please choose how you would like to honor Cantor
Sam and Mona:
• Place an ad or personal message in the ad journal
(all ads are due by September 19, 2013)
• Attend Chai Life Celebration. Tickets are $150
and includes a "Pushka" Auction/Raffle with
a fabulous strolling dinner and sweets from
Quality Kosher Catering.
*44'/ L
i‘i
• Donate an item to our "Pushka" Auction/Raffle
• Add your children's names to our "I'm perfect now" page in the ad journal
($18.00 per name). Cantor Sam gives every one of his newborn clients
a T-shirt with this slogan!
Call the Synagogue Office at 248-547-7970,
Go to our Special Web-page www.congbethshalom.org/ChaiLife,
or email us at cbs@congbethshalom.org
Todah Rabah,
Gail Elkus (gailbike@comcast.net )
Chai Life Co-chair
Lynn Lipman (lynnbtl@aol.com )
Chai Life Co-chair
Co-Sponsored by:
DETROIT
JEWISH NEWS
20 September 12 • 2013
JN
The Music Man
Michael Krieger elicits smiles
and memories at Brown Center.
Leslie Spector
JN Intern
T
hrough his music and talent,
Michael Krieger brings ener-
gy and smiles to adults suffer-
ing with Alzheimer's disease and other
memory disorders at the Peter and
Dorothy Brown Jewish Community
Adult Day Care Program sites in West
Bloomfield and Southfield.
Kreiger easily — and visibly —
alters the moods of participants who
come to this safe haven during the
week to be around other people, be
active and feel good about themselves
while being cared for by trained staff.
"All the participants have a spark
in them:' said Krieger of Southfield.
"Music helps them access this spark
and helps them remember their
essence and who they are. I play and
sing older songs to take them back to
their time and to help them remember.
They call me 'the Music Man:"
As Krieger sings and plays his gui-
tar, he encourages the participants to
sing along with him. They are joyful
and enthusiastic as they sing with him,
dancing and playing tambourines and
maracas. They play games, too, such as
the "getting to know you game" where
Krieger will say certain things about
each of the participants and everyone
has to guess who he is talking about.
"Michael does a beautiful job of
learning about the participants' back-
grounds and preferences — what
forms their identities:' said Julie
Verriest, Brown Center recreation
coordinator/site supervisor at JVS in
Southfield.
"His program really supports our
person-centered philosophy here at the
Brown Center. With live music, he can
reach anyone at any stage of disease
and at any level of ability. The par-
ticipants can get something out of his
music no matter how much or in what
way they participate:'
Another game the participants enjoy
is when Krieger plays a chord on the
piano and the members have to guess
what he is playing. They also do a tal-
ent show where Krieger will choose
one participant at a time, ask them
which song they want to sing and then
they sing it together. Participants have
music books of all the songs Krieger
sings, including the lyrics, so they have
an easier time singing along.
"Michael's a wonderful person:'
said Brown Center participant Natalie
Victor of Huntington Woods. "He
comes and performs no matter how
tired he is. We all love him. He is just
fantastic:'
The entire two hours Krieger is at
the Brown Center site, there is not
one bit of silence in the room. When
Krieger isn't playing his music, he is
interacting with all of the participants,
telling jokes or talking about old stores
in Detroit.
"When Michael is with the partici-
pants, we see improvements in verbal
skills, general mood improvements and
a decrease in anxiety:' said Verriest of
Oak Park "Michael and the participants
have an amazing connection:'
Krieger is at the Brown Center
four to five times a week. Aside from
his work there, he also does pri-
vate parties, writes personal songs
for celebrations and plays at Unity
Church in Livonia, where he has
performed every Sunday for more
than 10 years. Krieger has recorded
three albums, one of which can be
purchased through his website, www.
michaelkrieger.com .
"I have been given so much in my
life by my community, family and
friends:' Kreiger said. "I just love the
opportunity to give back. It's reward-
ing to know I can make a difference
for those who are suffering with this
disease:'
❑