It has been a pleasure to welcome so many new members to Osher this fall quarter. We hope our program has met your expectations and we look forward to your many contributions in the classroom, speaker recommendations, or as committee volunteers. Our winter quarter begins on January 6, 2020, and with it the return of our many loyal “snowbirds.” Welcome back! Come join us at our Open House and winter quarter preview at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, January 4.

We are conducting multiple classes on Japan this quarter, from geopolitics, history and culture, to Japanese art and ceramics. Master Class I on Wednesday mornings will be four-lectures on Japan featuring scholars from UC San Diego and UC Berkeley. Professor Yale Strom from SDSU will present Master Class II on the creation and development of Jewish Klezmer music.

Other multi-lecture series are scheduled: Osher’s own Eddie Goldberg, a Massachusetts snowbird, presents a reprise of his Brandeis University Osher class on FDR, the U.S., and the Holocaust. Always popular Professor Robert Cancel returns for a four-lecture series on the Musical Cultures of the African Diaspora, which can be clearly linked to Gospel Music, Rock and Roll, Hip Hop, and others. Three lectures will explore music in the context of World Wars I and II and the recent conflicts in Ukraine. Our regular lecture series in Law and Society, International Relations, Medicine, Science, Humanities, and the Social Sciences feature a wide range of preeminent speakers. Notable this quarter are Judge Lisa Rodrigues discussing Judicial Reform in California, and Professor Justin Brooks updating us on Exonerating the Innocent; retired Metropolitan Opera violinist Erica Miner reflecting on famous opera stars; Professor Leah Levi discussing Headaches and Eye Aches: Which Ones Matter; and Astrophysics Professor Brian Keating exploring the Stardust in Your Pocket. Our small-classroom seminars will again entertain and stimulate their loyal participants, and we will hear from some of our accomplished colleagues as Osher Presenters.

Three exciting field trips, Theater World performances, including a winter musical, and a variety of social events will help build our Osher community. The highlights above are just a sample from our winter catalog of the marvelous program your hard-working Curriculum Committee of volunteer Osher members has assembled. Take a moment to thank them for their efforts. If you would like to volunteer to become a member of the Curriculum Committee, or have speaker recommendations, please send me an email: ssclarey62@gmail.com. Steve Clarey, Chair, Curriculum Committee