Levy's muse makes nine

The two-day Muses festival offers a range of entertainment and activities for consumers of all ilk and ages.

By BARRY DAVIS
Music good 88 (photo credit: )
Music good 88
(photo credit: )
Eldad Levy is a classic artist to book for a 'muses' festival. The 36-year-old multi-instrumentalist from Beit Meir takes a spiritual approach in showcasing his roots-inspired route at the ninth annual Muses on Succot. "Of course the spirit is important, especially in music," says Levy just a few hours before jetting off to Uman, Ukraine to gain some inspiration from a visit to the gravesite of Rabbi Nachman of Breslav. Levy is one of the bill-toppers in an impressive lineup including Yehudit Ravitz and the Israel Chamber Orchestra. The two-day program offers a range of entertainment and activities for consumers of all ilk and ages. There are dance shows, opera, community singing, theater and interactive workshops. Green issues are always a perennial theme of the Muses festival. Recycling artist Bridget Cartier will design a compound with a room kitted out with accessories made entirely from recycled household waste. There will be five paths leading to various workshops that will teach patrons how to use the recycled items. Levy, meanwhile, feels music is a good way to aspire to loftier matters, without necessarily adopting a conventional religious ethos. "Through music you can bring people, regardless of their religious standing, closer to that aspiration. I'd like secular Jews to see that the messiah is theirs too, and not the private domain of dossim [ultra-orthodox Jews]." Levy says his own musical and spiritual epiphany happened when he was in the army. "I realized I was a Levite and they had a special musical role in the temples. There was no escaping that." Levy's parents are Bulgarian, so he gravitated towards high-energy Balkan rhythms. He has also learned to play Persian santur and various eastern percussion instruments and often uses a shofar in his shows. His spiritual approach notwithstanding, Levy also plays material from eminently commercial musical avenues. "I play a lot at weddings. We do a version of the Beatles' "Hey Jude" - gypsy, Irish, Hassidic, blues and jazz. If you put your Jewish soul into the music something special will come out. We also play a version of trance music. I call it 'transtur' - santur and trance." The temple theme is omnipresent. "We play tunes we believe were used in the temple, and we wear biblical clothing." The festival is held at Shoham on October 15 and 16. For information visit shoham.muni.il.