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. 

