24 | JUNE 6 • 2024
J
N

L

ongtime Jewish
musician Michael
Krieger never
anticipated playing music for
older adults with memory
loss, but the opportunity
came his way and he never
looked back.

Krieger, 62, of Southfield,
has played music
professionally since 1992.
While he always intended
to become a professional
musician, the lifelong singer,
songwriter, guitar player and
piano player says his career

“really found” him on its
own terms.
Today, Krieger has made
a name for himself in the
local Jewish community and
beyond by playing music
for older adults, particularly
those with Alzheimer’s
disease, dementia and other
forms of memory loss.
He offers private in-home
music sessions, as well
as group sessions for
Fleischman residents in West
Bloomfield and Brown Adult
Day Program participants,
the latter of which provides
programming for people
with dementia and their
families and caregivers.

A CHANCE ENCOUNTER
Krieger’s rewarding and
impactful career, which has
touched countless lives over
his three-plus decades of

playing music, all began with
a chance encounter when he
was playing a gig early in his
career at the now-defunct
Envoy Cafe.
He was approached by
Myrna Katz, activity director
at Fleischman Residence,
which offers assisted living
for Jewish older adults, to see
if he would sing and play for
residents.
Krieger agreed although
he’d never done anything like
that in his career before.
Now, it’s his longest-
running job, and Krieger
plays music at Fleischman
Residence nearly every
week. Yet a second chance
encounter, one influenced
by his mother, who saw an
ad in Detroit Jewish News
seeking a music therapist for
Brown Adult Day Program,
connected Krieger with yet

How musician Michael Krieger
helps people with memory loss
find connection.

Sparking
Memories
with Music

ASHLEY ZLATOPOLSKY CONTRIBUTING WRITER

OUR COMMUNITY

Music has the power
to reactivate areas of
the brain associated
with memory.

ABOVE AND BELOW:Michael Krieger and
a Brown Adult Day Program participant
make beautiful music together.