What's Happening

January 29, 2020, Adrian, Michigan – Sister Magdalena Ezoe, OP, Professor Emerita of Music at Siena Heights University, will perform her next First Sunday Concert at 1:30 p.m. on February 2, 2020, in St. Catherine Chapel. 

The program consists of waltzes by Fryderyk Chopin (1810-1849), including the popular compositions, Puppy’s Waltz and Kitten’s Waltz. “I knew them by their popular nickname in Japan, but I was surprised to find out that they were also called the same in English,” Sister Magdalena explained. “They both have encircling passages for the right hand.” 

Sister Magdalena will also play a waltz which had been discovered in 1951, which she heard performed in Poland in 1991 during the "In Search of Chopin" tour in Chopin's birth place, Zelazowa Wola, Poland.

Born in Tokyo, Sister Magdalena came to the United States to study at Barry College (now University) in Miami, Florida, where she met and later joined the Adrian Dominican Sisters. She taught music for 37 years at Siena Heights University and has composed parts for the Catholic Mass, hymns, chamber music, and music for the organ and the piano. 

All are welcome to this free concert. St. Catherine Chapel is on the campus of the Adrian Dominican Sisters, 1257 E. Siena Heights Drive, Adrian. Enter the Eastern-most driveway of the complex and follow the signs to the Dominican Life Center.

The next bi-monthly First Sunday Concert – featuring nocturnes by four composers – is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. on April 5, 2020. 

January 3, 2020, Adrian, Michigan – Sister Susan Van Baalen, OP, PhD, offers “Understanding Islam,” a series of talks aimed at helping participants understand Muslims in the United States and around the world. The talks are at Weber Retreat and Conference Center from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Tuesdays, January 21, 2020, through February 11, 2020.

The schedule for the series is as follows:

• January 21, 2020: Introduction to Sunni and Shia Muslims and Ethnic Kurds. Sister Susan reviews the pillars of Islam and the differences in beliefs and practices of the Sunni and Shia Muslims throughout the world.
  
  
• January 28, 2020: Geo-Political Islam. Sister Susan describes the ways that geography, economics, and politics shape the Islamic world.
  
  
• February 4, 2020: Exactly Who Are American Muslims? This session identifies the common characteristics of U.S. Muslims and the richness of their diverse beliefs and practices.
  
  
• February 11, 2020: Islamic Extremism. Sister Susan explores how Islamic extremism is more closely tied to geopolitics than to religion and discusses Shia extremism identified as Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard.

Sister Susan developed an interest in world religions while creating and implementing policies and procedures to accommodate the religious beliefs and practices of more than 100,000 prisoners throughout the United States.

The cost is $30 for the series or $10 for individual sessions. Registration is required and is available at www.webercenter.org; click on “programs.” Registration is also available by calling 517-266-4000 or emailing [email protected]. Limited scholarships are available.

Weber Center is on the campus of the Adrian Dominican Sisters’ Motherhouse, 1257 E. Siena Heights Drive, Adrian. Enter the Eastern-most driveway of the complex and follow the signs to Weber Center. For information, call the Weber Center at 517-266-4000.