Laurel Circle is a Perfect Fit for Music-Loving Seniors
Laurel Circle offers amazing parties, performances, classes, events, and other programming for people with all sorts of tastes, talents, and interests — but music-lovers who move into the Bridgewater, NJ life plan community for seniors are really in for a treat!
“Music is an important part of our holistic 8 Dimensions of Wellness programming here at Laurel Circle,” explains Community Life Services Director Leah Jennings. “With our proximity to New York and our amazing local talent pools, we’re able to bring in top performers and lecturers throughout the year.”
Some of that talent is very local, indeed. Laurel Circle resident Arline Siegal has played 13 different instruments in her lifetime but still plays trumpet, uke, keyboard clavieta, and harmonica, and also uses the accordion to accompany herself for a monthly singalong for residents of The Arbor.
The community is also home to several other accomplished instrumentalists and singers, some of whom continue sing in their own church’s choirs.
In addition to a full schedule of on-site classical, jazz, pop, Broadway musical, opera, folk, and world music performances, Laurel Circle hosts two monthly lecture series by expert music educators.
Conductor and Drew University Lecturer Robert Butts has been giving multi-media classical music presentations at Laurel Circle since 2020. He is also a composer — his most recent opera, Vite senza tempo, premiered in Padua, Italy.
In his latest series, “The World Changed, The Music Changed: Music 1890-1970,” Butts is taking residents on a journey comparing great music across borders and genres decade by decade, showing the influence of world events on the artform. He’s also shedding light on the ways that composers of classical, jazz, and popular music influence each other.
“I love visiting Laurel Circle because many of the residents already have a familiarity with classic music,” he says. “It’s a pleasure to talk to an informed group like that. It’s more of a conversation.”
Broadway and opera professional Steve Pollack also presents in-depth and lively multi-media talks monthly. His series, “The History of Art Song” covers the tradition of classical song in the Romantic and Post-Romantic periods. Each month he focuses on songs of a specific country or language.
“We are incredibly proud of our music offerings here at Laurel Circle,” says Executive Director Brian Alexopoulos. “Between the performances, trips, and lectures, we offer something for every type of music fan.”
The community’s music programming promotes life-long learning and intellectual wellness, social wellness, emotional wellness, spiritual wellness, and even physical wellness in the case of the popular weekly cardio drumming class.
“We take a very holistic view of health and happiness here,” says Alexopoulos.
Laurel Circle’s 8 Dimensions of Wellness programming offers many clubs, meetings, events, lectures, classes, and performances for people with a variety of tastes and hobbies ways to improve their social, emotional, vocational, spiritual, environmental, and intellectual wellness. Learn more about the program at https://laurelcirclelcs.com/wellness/.
Laurel Circle is a life plan community offering independent living, assisted living, skilled nursing, memory care, and rehabilitation services in Bridgewater, NJ. For more information, visit https://laurelcirclelcs.com.
Click on the following to view videos from Recent Laurel Circle Performances 
