Name: Cy Musiker
Age: 62
City: Alameda
Position: KQED arts reporter
J.:
Your name is familiar to anyone who listens to public radio in the Bay Area from your work as an arts reporter at KQED. But you used to work in the wine industry. How did you go from there to radio?
Cy Musiker: I got enchanted with the wine business right after college. It’s a fascinating field, and I love the history and the lore. The mid-’70s was a fun time to be in the business. I became more and more interested in California wines, so I came out to California and worked for Robert Mondavi in Napa Valley for a while doing tours and tastings.
I started to think that, as much fun as I was having, I might have a better career path if I followed an earlier inclination. I had been a news junkie in college, so I went to the J School at Berkeley. I gradually moved into public radio. I started by interning at KPFA in Berkeley, and now I’m coming up on 20 years at KQED this fall.
Does putting together “The Do List,” where you review and recommend arts events, make you want to get out there yourself?
Oh, yes! I get out two or three nights a week. I’m at shows maybe 150 days a year. But I’m always thinking, “Oh, that show sounded amazing, I wish I’d been able to make it.” We’re so blessed in the Bay Area to have this incredible community of arts producers, bands, theater, classical music organizations. This is as rich a city in the arts as any city in the country. It fills my heart with a lot of joy. I want to be an evangelist for this to our listeners. If they have one night when they can afford a baby-sitter and get away from their job at the end of a long day, I want them to know about worthwhile events that will open their lives to something new.
What do you recommend for this weekend?
“Eurydice,” based on the Greek myth, at Shotgun Players. They’re this little scrappy theater company in the East Bay doing wonderful work with all-women playwrights. It’s always worth going to see any play by Sarah Ruhl. I’m definitely going. People should also check out this Latin funk bicycle circus, Bicicletas Por La Paz. They’re bringing their full circus act to a CD release concert at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco. There are a lot of things people should do — it’s so hard to choose.
Last year you moderated an Oakland mayoral debate at your synagogue, Temple Sinai. How did that come about?
The social justice committee is very active at Sinai. They know my work, and I’ve moderated a few other political events over the years. In Oakland, it’s a little challenging because there were so many candidates — we had something like 10 candidates — but I hope we provided the people who came with useful insights.
A lot of people, especially those outside of the Jewish community, might think a synagogue is an unlikely place for a mayoral debate.
The folks we elect to public office have the responsibility to understand the voices of everyone they represent in their community. You can’t touch every individual, so you end up touching base with different communities. There’s a long history of political campaigning in those settings. I would’ve been uncomfortable if it was a forum only for members of Temple Sinai, but it was open to all. I can’t be a part of the social justice committee because I can’t take political stands, but I’m happy to do things like this. And there were a lot of people from the Oakland community there, so it was a good thing.
Your name is a bit unusual. What’s its origin?
Though it’s not common in Jewish circles, the name Cyrus does have a solid biblical background [Cyrus the Great, a ruler of ancient Persia]. And Musiker is probably an aberration of a relatively common Polish name that was something like Usiker. There actually is a clan of Musikers in the U.S. known for their music — Lee Musiker is Tony Bennett’s musical director, but I don’t know of any relation. My family is not exactly known for its musical talents.
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