Welcome to SILL's 54th season. We are enormously proud to bring you stimulating and engaging lectures on Global Issues and the exploration of the wide-ranging careers of musicians on Music Mondays.

Our 2025 season will include the President's potential in-box by Charles Lane. We feature Ambassadors Beyrle and Ross on Russia and Israel and the futures of our democracy by Jeremi Suri and foreign policy by Jeremy Shapiro. Jeffrey Moon and Shelley Riggers will discuss China. Immigration and global demographic trends will be addressed by Katherine Donato, Daniel Tichenor and Toshiko Kaneda. Health and wellness issues will be presented by John Bruno on the brain, and Bob Bunting on climate change. New topics this season include viewpoints on artificial intelligence from Frank Ostroff and Elliot Ackerman, and the possibility of war in space by Wendy Whitman Cobb.

Music Mondays offerings as assembled by Joseph Holt, are once again superlative. You will hear from piano/instrumental duos including the Aznavoorian sisters, singers such as the singer pianist duet of Aquila Sol and Jacob Kerzner, Matrick Thorpe, winner of the Artists Series contest in cello, and percussionists Steely Rhoden on steel drums, and our Sarasota orchestra's Hanna Kim and Marcelina Suchocka. You will be intrigued by Amir El Soffar who plays the shakuhachi (Japanese flute).

Our venues remain the same as last year. In video-on-demand we will add the Music Mondays programs as recorded in Sarasota to offerings of the Thursday Sarasota Global Issues presentations. Ticketing will be slightly different this year. For Series and Flex pass tickets delivered via mail or will call, customers will receive one time use tickets for each event. E-ticket delivery will deliver one ticket that can be used (scanned) for all the events purchased.

Your significant support of SILL this year via the Community Foundation's Giving Challenge is much appreciated. Please consider continuing your support by making an additional contribution as a "Friend of SILL" when you purchase your tickets. We are an "all-volunteer" organization, and every dollar goes to support and improve our programs.

With warm regards,

Jeff Olesen, President