In 1998, when her husband’s high-tech job brought the family to Silicon Valley, Vered Ravid found next to nothing in the way of live entertainment for the area’s growing Israeli community.
The mother of three got involved with the local chapter of Yad B’Yad (Hand in Hand), which serves at-risk children and families in Israel. Working strictly as a volunteer for 10 years, Ravid blossomed as a producer-organizer, bringing Israeli rock stars, theatrical troupes, comedians and even a magician to Bay Area venues. The shows became more and more successful, raising nearly $500,000 for the Israeli nonprofit.
Two years ago, Ravid turned her avocation into a vocation and established SVProductions, which books Israeli performers in venues throughout North America. She brings in popular singers, bands and, occasionally, theatrical productions.
Ravid’s upcoming event, on Nov. 12 at the Jewish Community Center of San Francisco, features Israeli pop star Miri Mesika. A winner of several Israeli female singer-of-the-year awards, the singer-actress also has appeared in films and musical productions and has been a judge on “Kochav Nolad,” Israel’s “American Idol.” A five-piece band will accompany her.
“Music can really unite all of us, touch our hearts,” Ravid, 51, says during a Skype interview from her Sunnyvale home, where SVProductions took root. “I wanted to do something I’m connected to.”
Born in Tel Aviv, Ravid is the daughter of a native Israeli mother. Her father, a social worker, survived the Holocaust by escaping to Switzerland as a young teen, but his parents and a brother died in the camps.
Long drawn to humanitarian causes as well as music, Ravid studied piano for 10 years and received a bachelor’s degree in music therapy, working with children with behavioral and emotional problems for Israel’s Ministry of Education.
That interest led to her efforts on behalf of Yad B’Yad, which, in turn, sparked a new career.
Producing fundraising concerts, she has learned the ins and outs of booking performers and the difficulties of negotiating a 10-hour time difference and 7,400-mile distance.
For one, her phone may ring at 5 a.m., causing palpitations for someone with family in Israel. For another, transporting Israeli performers, particularly bands, is incredibly expensive. In 2008, folk singer Shlomo Artzi came to Cupertino’s Flint Center with a contingent of 30 people, 11 of whom were onstage. Accommodations, venue rentals, sound and lighting add to the costs. That’s why Vered focuses on bringing in artists who can draw large audiences and also tries to book performers into more than one city.
“The logistics are a big headache,” says Ravid, who is exhausted the day after a show — but not too exhausted to take thank-you calls from concertgoers.
Although SVProductions is a commercial operation, Ravid is also eager to assist nonprofits — Israeli, Jewish and otherwise — by donating premium seats or a share of the revenue to good causes.
Ravid keeps abreast of happenings in her homeland by watching an Israeli TV channel. “I watch every day — the news, the documentaries. I live in America, feeling Israeli.”
While husband David’s work brought the family to the Bay Area, Ravid says it is not economics that keeps them here. After living in Belgium from 1990 to 1994, they returned to Israel with their three young children, hoping for a time of peace, only to experience the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin and the threat of bombings.
Ravid’s daughter, now living in San Diego, served in the Israeli military and hopes to return to the Jewish state, even though “she can earn more money here.” Nonetheless, life in Israel is “really tough,” Ravid says. “Every family in Israel has [experienced] a loss,” and the emotional costs are “too much. … We wish all of us could go back to our homeland. We feel much more comfortable there than here.”
Bringing Israel to America — in the form of entertainment and culture — eases the pain of separation, says Ravid, who also books performances for the Peatot, an S.F.-based Israeli party band featured at local and national Israeli Independence Day celebrations.
Right now, she’s gearing up for the concert of Mesika, whom she describes as “a superstar — a little bit Israeli, a little bit Oriental,” plus pop. “It’s very emotional music. She sings from her soul.”
Miri Mesika performs at 8:30 p.m. Nov. 12 at the JCC of San Francisco, 3200 California St., S.F. $35-$65. (408) 530-8243 or www.baysvp.com.