When Dror Sinai takes the stage at To Life!, the Israeli-born, longtime Santa Cruz resident and supporter of the arts will bring more than just a cavalcade of rhythm instruments from around the world. The international performer, educator and instrument-dealer never travels without his very special gift: the stories of those instruments, wrapped in a vibrant message of peace and Jewish tradition.
“In this concert I will mainly stick to Middle Eastern and North African instruments,” Sinai said. Constantly working to share the magic of music, he was speaking by cell phone from a musical conference in Oregon. “I will probably sing an Israeli song in Hebrew, a Yemenite song or two, a song in Arabic, a song in Tunisian from the Jewish tradition.”
He’ll be performing at 2 p.m. on the Children’s Stage.
Teaching out of Rhythm Fusion, Inc., the store and workshop space he founded in Santa Cruz that is now a mainstay of the area’s artistically minded community, Sinai offers classes such as “Rhythms from Around the World,” “Introduction to Hand Drums,” and the playful “Idiot of the Village,” listed as a “one-of-a-kind gathering,” where participants explore “the amazing variety of body and voice expressions.”
Comfortable playing and teaching in practically every musical style, Sinai performs solo but has also worked as a guest artist and supporting musician with Omar Faruk Tekbilek, Yuval Ron, Alessandra Belloni, and many other transnational stars. He has been instrumental in organizing numerous concerts and events that bring together artists from “sensitive” regions, demonstrating that “Peace Through Music” is more than just a catchy bumper sticker and emphasizing that compassion through musical storytelling is very much in the Jewish tradition.
“I grew up in a little town in Israel, close to Haifa. My grandmother came from Syria-Turkey. I said, ‘What do you mean, Syria-Turkey?’ She said, ‘Well, we were just living there and crossing the river [back and forth].’ My father came from Yemen.”
Sinai has spent much of his adult life in Northern California. In 2002, he received a Gail Rich award for supporting the local arts, and his dedication to education and community-based arts is recognized in those circles throughout the greater Bay Area.
“I like this music that is not mainstream and not easy to come by,” he said, “so when I get a chance to bring [foreign musicians to the United States], I do! Firstly, because I really love when I get a chance to play with these kinds of people. And it’s also good entertainment and a good message for our society here.”
This will be Sinai’s first performance at the To Life! festival. He was invited after organizers heard him perform at the Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center’s Jewish Music Festival. He played there with a host of musicians, from the immensely gifted oud player, singer, violinist and peace activist Yair Dalal, to cantors such as Greek-born Alberto Mizrachi, who is often referred to as the “Jewish Pavarotti.”
Preparing for a recent peace concert at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco, Sinai admitted that world music concerts can be a financial drain. “The challenge in doing things like this ‘peace concert’ is that there’s always a cost involved and it’s hard to cover,” he said. “I’m hoping that this concert is going to bring in sponsors that will enable us to do more and pass on the message, improving on the education that many people get these days.”
Sinai often shares historical and anecdotal stories about the doumbek, frame drum, and other percussive instruments he plays.
“My grandpa was a rabbi, a cantor and a drum player. He had skins and made his own drums. It was a tradition in my family that when there was a party he would be singing and playing the drums, often a doumbek. But my grandmother used to play the frame drum. The stories were the songs.” Sometimes, he added, his grandfather made up lyrics while he played.
At To Life!, Sinai said, he’ll be playing “music from home.” It is clear that his concept of “home” is warm, expansive and inclusive.