Joel Howell and Linda Samuelson have lived in Ann Arbor since the early 1980s and are avid arts supporters in our community and beyond. A former UMS Board member, Joel is an emeritus professor of Medical History and Internal Medicine at the U-M Medical School and College of LSA. He is the founder of the Medical Arts Program, which uses the arts as a pathway to enhance medical students’ and house officers’ ability to provide high quality, humanistic clinical care by emphasizing essential but often overlooked skills such as empathy, awareness of social context, and comfort with ambiguity. Linda is a professor of Molecular and Integrative Physiology and Internal Medicine at U-M, researching the role of stem cells in the gastrointestinal tract.

Joel and Linda are supporting the upcoming concert of Philip Glass’s Complete Piano Etudes — a concert that has a personal connection for the couple. UMS Vice President of Marketing & Communications Sara Billmann sat down with Joel and Linda in March to talk about their connection to the arts, to UMS, and to Philip Glass.

UMS: Tell us a bit about how your interest in the arts began.

Joel: I grew up in Mississippi and started playing piano in sixth grade, but only after I promised my father that I would practice an hour each day. My father’s sister attended the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, so he had a good sense of what was required to be serious. I stopped taking lessons when I went to college. About 10 years ago Linda and I went to the piano sale at the Music School and bought a beautiful 1937 Steinway Grand. Shortly after, I began taking lessons again, with Joel Schoenhals, a professor of piano at EMU. It’s become a major part of my life.

Linda: I’m more of a listener than a player…I used to sing in the choir in high school, in East Lansing, but it was through Joel more than anything else that I became more seriously involved with the arts.

Joel, you grew up in Mississippi and Linda, you grew up in East Lansing. How did you meet?

Linda: We met each other when I was a freshman and he was a sophomore at Michigan State University and started seeing each other a couple of years later. Then Joel went off to the University of Chicago to go to medical school, and I joined him there and completed my PhD in microbiology.

We’ve been married a long time…50 years this year.

Congratulations! And you still seem to really like each other. I know how many concerts you go to each year, both here in Ann Arbor and in other cities. 50 years of marriage equals a lot of performances together.

Joel: When I was in medical school, my Great-Aunt Rose had season tickets to all three series of the Chicago Symphony. If it was raining, or snowing, or if Brahms was on the program, she gave us her tickets. Fifth row center, right there. Later, when I was in medical residency at the University of Chicago, we were able to use tickets donated by a grateful family member of a patient. He donated tickets for residents to attend Lyric Opera of Chicago and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Because Linda and I already had symphony tickets, we tended to go more for the opera.

Linda: That was when Joel and I first saw opera and fell in love with it.
That also at least partially explains what must have influenced you in developing the Medical Arts program.

Joel: Music can help learners become better doctors. One way is through careful listening. We have concerts for students at our house. Sometimes a soloist plays a piece for the students without telling them anything at all about the composition. We discuss their feelings, thoughts, reactions. And then, after telling them who wrote the piece, the context of the composition, perhaps what the composer intended, we listen to it again. Students always hear things differently the second time around.

Most students notice the wide dynamic range of live performances … so many of them spend their whole lives listening to MP3 files with dynamic compression and they just don’t appreciate the differences between loud and soft music — the sort of experience one gets listing to live music at a UMS concert.

Another goal of using the arts is to help student physicians learn to be more attuned to the nuances of a specific patient, not only to be more attentive to details but also to appreciate the importance of social context as well as to be more tolerant of ambiguity.

And how was it that you ended up back in Michigan?

Linda: I was living in Chicago finishing my PhD and Joel was living in Philadelphia finishing a fellowship. This was around 1981.

Joel: And we thought we would try a traditional marriage and live in the same city just to see how it would go. I was coming from hearing the Philadelphia Orchestra all the time, and Linda had the Chicago Symphony. We wondered if we would be able to hear great music in a small Midwestern college town. But when we saw the UMS calendar, we realized we didn’t have anything to worry about.

Ok, my favorite question, especially of people who have been attending our concerts for so many years: what are some of your strongest memories / favorite concerts?

Joel: Murray Perahia doing the Goldberg Variations … you start off with this incredibly simple melody that a halfway decent amateur pianist could easily play. And then you go on this wild trip, this elegant adventure, through all sorts of mind-boggling variations, and after more than an hour you come back to the same place you started, the same simple, elegant music. The silence in the house after that concert was just profound. I don’t know why, but I thank goodness nobody felt the urge to leap up and applaud instantly when it was over.

Linda: There was also the woman who substituted for Cecilia Bartoli – Ewa Podleś. What an amazing concert that was! [Editor’s note: Cecilia Bartoli had to cancel a long-awaited recital appearance in 1997, when she developed a respiratory infection two days before the concert. Polish contralto Ewa Podleś was a last-minute substitute.]

Joel: All of the Takács Quartet concerts…the elegance and beauty of their performances. And the first Royal Shakespeare series.

Linda: Oh my gosh, that was amazing. Wasn’t that amazing?

Joel: Another one was [Philip Glass’s] Einstein on the Beach…we saw it in both Ann Arbor and New York.

Which brings us back to Philip Glass…

Joel: Which brings us back to Philip Glass. Joel [Schoenfels] has studio recitals for his students. The next one is going to be the same day as the performance of the complete Philip Glass piano etudes. So I figured, what the hell? I’m going to play two or three of them for the studio recital that day, though certainly not anywhere near the level that we’re going to hear in Hill. Actually playing the pieces gives a whole new insight into Glass’s music. It can be somewhat hypnotic and transfixing, somewhat inspirational and always intense and immersive…playing that kind of repetitive motion over and over again with subtle changes, it’s not trivial. I’ll play numbers 1, 4, and 5, or possibly 1, 5, and 6. Not 100% sure.

That’s such an incredibly personal and meaningful connection to this concert. I always knew that you did a lot of preparation before attending concerts, but this is a pretty high bar!

Joel: I try to listen at least once to everything that’s going to be performed. I’ve always said that my ideal concert includes at least one piece that I know from beginning to end and at least one that I’ve never heard before. And very often that’s often what we get at UMS. UMS gives us the best chamber music and symphonic music in the world. We love getting series tickets because that gets us to concerts we wouldn’t choose otherwise.

Linda: Last year we went to Santa Fe Opera and loved it. The outside setting and the quality of the productions are inspirational. While we continue to hold season tickets to Lyric Opera, we’re also hoping to explore and go to Central City Opera in Colorado. This year Joel flew to New York to see Tristan and to San Francisco for Parsifal.

You travel for opera, but all of your other needs are met in Ann Arbor.

Joel: Exactly. I also think if you don’t go to a concert every now and then and hate it, then you’re not being open-minded, you’re not being aggressive enough, you’re missing some good stuff.

Linda: I think there’s a big gap between hating something and not really appreciating it.

Joel: Ok, yeah. I’ll go with not really appreciating.

“Giving back is fundamental to Golden Limousine’s mission and my personal values… It’s about creating a new bottom line that’s not focused solely on profit, but also about lifting the community as a whole.”

Sean Duval is the president and CEO of Golden Limousine International, an Ann Arbor-based private luxury and executive-level transportation service, and one of UMS’s generous corporate supporters. We asked Sean about his background in the arts, favorite UMS moments, and what makes giving back to the community such an important part of his company’s values.

Tell us a little about your background with the arts: First performing arts experience? Did you grow up with the arts or come to them as an adult?

I’ve always appreciated the arts, though my exposure to them grew as an adult. Moving around as an Army brat from community to community and attending various schools in different states allowed me to experience diverse cultural expressions, usually in church or school experiences. However, the exposure gave me an early respect for art in its many forms. It wasn’t until I became more involved in the Ann Arbor community, however, that I fully embraced the performing arts, especially through organizations like the Ann Arbor Symphony, Young People’s Theatre and UMS and later, the Detroit Opera House and Fisher Theatre. Over time, the arts have become an essential part of my life and my family’s life, enhancing our connection to the community.

We see Golden Limousine everywhere in our community. Tell us why is it important for you to give back?

Giving back is fundamental to Golden Limousine’s mission and my personal values. I believe that a strong business community should actively support the environment it operates in. By contributing time, resources, and services, we strive to make the Ann Arbor region vibrant and thriving. My involvement with organizations like the Shelter Association of Washtenaw County, Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation or Washtenaw Community College has shown me firsthand the positive impact businesses can have on the lives of our residents. It’s about creating a new bottom line that’s not focused solely on profit, but also about lifting the community as a whole.

What are your favorite UMS performance memories?

Trevor Noah’s Back to Abnormal tour was hands-down one of my favorite UMS moments. His humor was spot-on, and he tackled tough topics in a way that had everyone laughing while thinking. Nothing felt off-limits, and it was refreshing to hear someone just lay it all out there with such sharp humor. I also really enjoyed Fight Night — getting to be part of the action made it a fun and thought-provoking experience. It’s great that UMS brings these kinds of performances to Ann Arbor, in addition to all the great musical selections.

What role do you see the arts playing in the Ann Arbor community?

The arts bring people together, serving as a bridge across different backgrounds and experiences. In Ann Arbor, UMS and similar organizations enrich our cultural landscape, making the community more inclusive and more vibrant. Bringing UMS to Ypsilanti and the Ypsi Freighthouse was a stroke of genius. The arts also foster creativity and innovation — qualities that make Ann Arbor a unique and attractive place to live and work. Golden Limousine is proud to support these cultural efforts. It helps to fuel our local economy with visitors while enhancing the quality of life for all of us.

Golden Limo is a new corporate donor to UMS. What makes you most excited about this new partnership?

I’m thrilled to join UMS as a corporate donor, as it aligns perfectly with our commitment to enhancing the Ann Arbor community. Partnering with UMS allows us to connect with audiences who appreciate quality, sophistication, and community — a perfect match with Golden Limousine’s values. Beyond financial support, this partnership provides an opportunity for Golden Limousine to serve the community directly, offering comfortable, reliable transportation for events, potentially making the arts more accessible to a broader audience.

How does your support of UMS complement your relationships with other areas of the greater U-M community?

Supporting UMS enhances our commitment to the University of Michigan community, where Golden Limousine has long provided safe, reliable transportation services. We work with U-M athletics, academic departments, and various university events, and now, our relationship with UMS deepens that bond. It’s rewarding to know that we’re not only supporting the logistical needs of the university but also contributing to the broader cultural and artistic life on campus.

Finally, how is it working with your spouse?!

Working with Alina is both a joy and a challenge! She has an incredible eye for detail and a dedication that matches my own, which means we often push each other to be our best. Of course, we have our moments, like any couple working together, but we make it work by respecting each other’s strengths and knowing when to turn off “work mode” and just be a couple. It’s a unique partnership, and I’m grateful to have her by my side in both life and business. Having her support and insight has been invaluable, both personally and professionally. Plus, she’s not afraid to keep me grounded when needed.

Faith and Stephen Brown

Stephen Brown is an alumnus of the University of Michigan (B.A., English, ’66; J.D. ’69), and practiced labor and employment law in Washington, DC and Chicago for 30 years. He and his wife, Faith (B.A. English, ‘69), retired to the San Francisco area in 2001. We spoke with Stephen about his UMS memories, his chance meeting with UMS president emeritus Ken Fischer, and what inspired their gifts to the Forward Fund this past year.

Tell us your fun story of first meeting Ken Fischer, UMS president emeritus.

I was walking down the street in San Gemingano, in Tuscany, and spotted a guy wearing a familiar ‘block M’ cap. I was wearing a similar cap. Naturally, this led to a discussion of our mutual interests. The guy was Ken Fischer, former president of the UMS. It was one of many great encounters I’ve experienced all over the world as a result of wearing a Michigan cap. People have greeted me with “Go Blue” everywhere — from Sydney to Buenos Aires!

Stephen Brown in Tuscany, 2019

When did you start attending UMS events?

I began attending UMS events as a Michigan undergraduate in the ‘60s. It was amazing to have world-class artists so accessible and such a short walk away. I was just discovering classical music back then and the opportunity to attend live UMS concerts really broadened my appreciation and knowledge.

Do you have a favorite or most memorable UMS moment?

I remember paying $1 for a standing room ticket to hear Igor Stravinsky conduct the Philadelphia Orchestra in Persephone at the annual May Festival. I also recall other amazing May Festival concerts, such as hearing E. Power Biggs with Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra perform the Saint-Saëns organ symphony at Hill Auditorium and artists such as Joan Sutherland and Rudolf Serkin. And I always looked forward to Ormandy conducting the Philadelphia Orchestra in “The Victors” at the last May Festival concert of the season.

What inspired your gifts to the Forward Fund?

This was our first donation to UMS, and an opportunity to give back after all our wonderful concert experiences. The Bank of Ann Arbor offered a one-for-one match, which was a nice incentive for us. We wanted to help UMS take full advantage of the match!

Why are the arts so important to our Ann Arbor community?

Ann Arbor may be a relatively small city but it has cultural resources that rival or exceed many major cities. Ann Arbor is often selected as the best college town in the country and one of the best places to live. I believe the arts play an important role in many ways, including attracting top students and faculty and in the ranking and reputation of the University. We hope to play a small part in keeping Michigan on top.

Why should more UM alumni give back to the arts on our campus?

It’s important for Michigan to remain a vibrant and premier University. When I meet other Michigan alumni, the mention of the University and Ann Arbor generally brings a smile and leads to reminiscences about all the great experiences they enjoyed as students. UMS concerts are often a big part of those experiences.

Make a gift to the Forward Fund and support UMS as we safely return to live events. Contributions made before the end of 2021 will help offset projected operational deficits for the next two years that are a direct result of the pandemic.