"Harmonizing Two Worlds: Music of the Jewish Italian Renaissance"

A Collaboration between The Portland Bach Experience, the Osher Map Library and Smith Center for Cartographic Education, and OLLI

On June 13, the Portland Bach Experience will perform the work of Salomone Rossi (1570-1630), a prolific Jewish composer whose work included an adaptation of Hebrew prayers into Western music forms. Working in Mantua and Venice during the Renaissance, Rossi’s work in both secular and sacred music is well known and ground breaking. OLLI is planning a three-part workshop with its partners to help you to fully explore and appreciate the concert experience. Best of all, the workshops are free and open to members and friends.

On June 6 there will be a morning and afternoon seminar. In the morning, you will meet at OLLI to learn about the Renaissance “power couple” Isabella d’Este of Ferrara and Francesco Gonzaga of Mantua. Their court in Mantua was a center for art, music, and politics; despite religious segregation, Jewish artists thrived there. In the afternoon, we will move to the Osher Map Library and Smith Center for Cartographic Education where we will explore maps, artwork, and Judaica to understand the society and artistic contributions of this vibrant period in history.

On June 13 in the afternoon, we will have a deep dive into the music of Rossi, in preparation for the salon in the evening (participants must purchase tickets separately to attend the salon). Dr. Vivian Montgomery will take you into the logistical and artistic complexities of “Songs of Solomon” by Rossi, the earliest known published collection of liturgical music in Hebrew.

Participants may choose to attend the Portland Bach Experience salon at 7PM in the Etz Chaim Synagogue for a performance featuring Eudaimonia, a period-instrument ensemble that uses its musical work to uplift social and humanitarian causes. Participants will receive a discount code to purchase salon tickets.

To register, call the OLLI office at 207-780-4406. Attendance is limited to 50 participants for the three-part workshops (you must register for all three). 

SIG Corner

May 2024

…JUST SO YOU KNOW…what a myriad of choices you have…what opportunities for…fun, entertainment, or expanding your knowledge! Here is a list of all our SIGs, free to OLLI members, to widen your horizons.

Arts & Crafts, Bicycle & Nosh, Book Club, Bridge Club, Downhill Ski Club,Eclectic Dialogue Junction: A Tapestry of Conversations, History Book Club, Let’s Knit, OLLI Singers, Outdoor/Walking Club, Photography Club, Pictionary Game Night, Science Reading Club, Senior Players, Trail Steppers, Trivia Game Night, Virtual Book Exchange, Wine Tasting Club, and Women’s Lunch Gathering (meeting only during spring and fall sessions).

…NOW YOU KNOW…. You may register any time for a SIG. OLLI’s fiscal year is July 1 to June 30, and your registration is for the year. If you are registered now, beginning July 1, 2024, you would re-register for the year July 1 to June 30, 2025. As a member of a SIG, you will then receive information from the SIG facilitator of upcoming meetings and topics of discussion. Your yearly OLLI membership fee is also up for renewal beginning on July 1^st.



…THE MORE YOU KNOW…. The office is always there willing to help you register, and you may also contact the SIG facilitator for more information.

—Paula Johnson, OLLI Advisory Board SIG Coordinator

1. Which US President was the first person to receive a government-issued Medicare card?

Answer: Harry Truman. Lyndon Johnson chose Harry Truman to be the first beneficiary of Medicare, in recognition of his efforts during the late 1940s to establish a national health insurance program. LBJ had the bill-signing ceremony at Truman’s Presidential library. Truman sat at LBJ’s left and completed his Medicare application as part of the ceremony; LBJ signed the document as a witness.

Here’s an image of the first Medicare application. Pretty simple:

2. How many golf balls are there on the moon?

Answer: Two. Even with the powerful telescopes available during the solar eclipse on April 8, I’m sure we couldn’t see the golf balls from earth! According to The USGA (US Golf Association) website and museum, Alan Shepard brought the head of a six-iron golf club and two golf balls on the Apollo 14 mission. He attached the six-iron head to a pole that was used to collect soil samples on the moon. On February 6, 1971, he did his best to hit the golf balls while wearing his very bulky space suit and walking on the moon. (Did you remember that Shepard was the oldest astronaut to walk on the moon? He was 48 years old during the Apollo 14 mission.) He duffed the first ball, but calculations estimate that the second ball went about 200 yards! Because there is no air resistance on the moon and gravity is about one-sixth that of earth, the balls went farther than they would have on Earth. (That would be a terrific asset for those of us who have struggled to learn to drive a golf ball!) Shepard did not pick up the golf balls. Both are still on the moon, but he did bring the makeshift club back from the moon, and he donated and it to the USGA Golf Museum in 1974. If you are intrigued and/or want to see photos of the golf club or the golf balls on the moon, check out this link: https://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/articles/2021/02/shepard-moon-club-50th-anniversary-usga-museum.html

3. What song is hypothesized by many to refer to Norse King Olaf’s destructive stop in London?

Answer: London Bridge is Falling Down. According to Wikipedia, one hypothesis for the origin of the song is that Olaf II destroyed London in 1014 (or maybe it was 1009). The original Norse saga detailing the attack was written only about 100 years after the event, and it happened in a heavily populated city, which leads the majority of historians to conclude that the description is at least relatively accurate. The 1844 translation into English of the saga includes the following verse:

           London Bridge is broken down. –

           Gold is won, and bright renown.

           Shields resounding,

           War-horns sounding,

           Hild is shouting in the din!

           Arrows singing,

           Mail-coats ringing –

           Odin makes our Olaf win!

Sound familiar?

4. Which U.S. state was the last to leave the Union and the first to be readmitted after the Civil War?

Answer: Tennessee. South Carolina was the first state to secede (12/20/1860). Others followed in this order: Missouri (1/9/1861), Florida (1/10/1861), Georgia (1/19/1861), Louisiana (1/26/1861), Texas (2/1/1861), [Civil War began on 4/12/1861], Virginia (4/17/1861), Arkansas (5/6/1861), North Carolina (5/20/1861), and Tennessee (6/8/1861).

Tennessee was readmitted to the Union on 7/24/1866. It had ratified the 14th Amendment about a week prior, being the only seceded state to do so. Thus it was the only seceded state that did not have a military governor during Reconstruction. 

5. Can you name a town in Maine that is halfway between the North Pole and the Equator?

Answer: Bingham, ME. Bingham is 3107 miles from both the North Pole and the Equator, on the 45th parallel. There are markers in a number of towns across the U.S. that share this same attribute—perhaps it would be an interesting road trip! The first such marker, made in 1896, is made of granite and located in Perry, Maine (also a correct answer). Some towns, like Rangeley, claim to be on the 45th parallel but are not quite there. Many of the towns have fun photo opportunities, like the sign below on Route 201 soon after you cross into Bingham. Bingham was in the Zone of Totality for the April 8 eclipse—and on the way to The Forks, where I was headed.