Noa's concert in Thousand Oaks (CA) - USA

Date: Sunday, November 28, 2004
Time: 7:30PM
Place: Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza - 818-991-7111
Venue: Fred Kavli Theatre - Temple Beth Haverim
Tickets: 203$, 103$, 57$, 48$, 39$
Tickets are available at the Civic Arts Plaza Box Office 

And no, it’s not a new album. 

It’s her daughter, Enéa. “It means ‘her eyes’ in Hebrew,” says Noa, who has written a song with the same title. 

“My wish for her is that she sees the world always through her own eyes, and that they be eyes of love and beauty.”

Born on Aug. 12, Enéa is Noa’s second child. Her son, Ayehli, is now 3. This latest birth, says Noa, was “natural, short and painful, but that’s the way it goes.”

“My daughter is healthy and beautiful,” she says. “But I’m far from objective. And she doesn’t look anything like me. In fact, she looks like something new ... not anybody’s photocopy, as well she should.”

Noa has had a busy year. She performed up until her eighth month, but admits, “Pregnancy is bound to slow you down at some point. I did not do much songwriting because creating life took up all my energy.”

Nevertheless, having children clearly agrees with her. Noa says her last album was “deeply inspired by my first child. His arrival changed my life.”

Noa considers that album, “Now,” to be her best. Her latest European tour was met with great success, particularly in Spain and Italy.

“The highlights for me were a performance in the Euro-League basketball championships, broadcast to millions throughout Europe,” she says. “That, and a live event performed in front of 400,000 people in Rome titled, ‘We Are the Future,’ organized by Quincy Jones as a follow up to ‘We Are the World.’”

The event was designed to raise funds for children who are victims of war. It was also broadcast on MTV and VHI to millions of viewers worldwide. 

“I did both those performances in my seventh month of pregnancy with a big belly,” she states proudly.

And although her children have clearly inspired a great deal of her work, Noa says she’s not too keen with the idea of them following in her footsteps.

“I hope my children will love and enjoy music,” she says. “But I would not wish them a musician’s life, especially not the way the world and the music business look today. They both stink,” she states matter-of-factly. 

“But,” she adds, “if they want it badly, nothing’s going to stop them, and I will always encourage them to follow their heart. I can only wish them happiness.”

In the meantime, barely a month after her daughter’s birth, Noa is back writing songs again. 

“I’m really looking forward to the challenges of a new project, a new album and a tour with my newly expanded family,” she says, adding that she plans to take her kids on the road as much as possible.

Together with Gil Dor, she is currently working on songs for a new album, with several tours planned later this year. “However, we’ll mostly be writing and recording,” she says. “The year 2006 will be more of a touring year.”

But American fans won’t have to wait till then to see Noa perform. From Nov. 25 to Dec. 8, Noa will be touring the United States. She will perform at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza’s Fred Kavli Theatre on Nov. 28, presented by Temple Beth Haverim and Jewish Family of Conejo Simi and West Valley.

“I want to warmly invite all my American fans to come and see us live, to listen to the songs and really enjoy themselves,” she says. “We invest our souls into the music and the lyrics, which,” she is quick to point out, “are mostly in English.”

“I hope [our songs] will resonate with and possibly even bring hope and light to as many people as possible.”

Writing, recording, touring. It’s a punishing schedule for a mother with two small children. But her response to the inevitable question of how she manages to juggle her career with motherhood is simple. 

“It’s the hardest thing in the world,” she admits. “I do it with very little sleep and with more love than you can imagine.”

The concert by Noa will be on Nov. 28, 7:30 p.m. $39-$203. Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza, 2100 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd., Thousand Oaks. Tickets can be purchased at the Civic Arts Plaza box office in person or by calling Ticketmaster at (213) 480-3232. For more information about Noa, visit www.noasmusic.com.
© 2004 The Jewish Journal 

International singer coming to town By Sophia Fischer sfischer@theacorn.com 

International singing star Noa, who has sung for the Pope, for presidents, and with some of the world’s leading musicians, will bring her spiritual, mystical style to the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza for a performance at 7:30 p.m. on Sun., Nov. 28. 

Sponsored by Temple Beth Haverim in Agoura Hills, the concert will mark Noa’s only Southern California appearance on her current North American tour. 

"We’ve been trying to get Noa to come here for years," said Beth Haverim cantor Kenny Ellis, who first heard Noa sing in Israel in 1990. "I sat in the studio listening to her and couldn’t believe what I was hearing and seeing. I just melted."

Ellis performed in a New York band during the 1970s with Noa’s longtime partner and collaborator, Gil Dor. When Dor returned to Israel, he taught music. Noa was one of his students. Noa and Dor teamed up in 1990, performing at the Red Sea Jazz Festival in Eilat, where they made their Israeli television debut in front of a live audience.

"They were awesome, and the next day the country was buzzing with accolades for this new discovery," Ellis said.

Since then, Noa and Gil have performed in hundreds of concerts throughout the world. Noa has become Israel’s leading international recording artist, releasing four highly successful Israeli albums and four international albums.

Noa sang the theme song in the Oscar-winning film "Life Is Beautiful." She performed at the Vatican before the Pope and toured and sang with rock superstar Sting, who names her one of the world’s top musicians in the current issue of Vanity Fair magazine. She also sang for Bill Clinton at the White House in 1999 in memory of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. 

Noa was on stage performing at the fateful Tel Aviv peace rally just minutes before Rabin was assassinated in 1995.

During her worldwide performances, Noa also has appeared onstage with such artists as Stevie Wonder, Carlos Santana, Sheryl Crow and Quincy Jones. 

Noa’s only hope is that her music can bring peace to a troubled world.

"My wish is that every listener takes what he or she needs from my songs and makes them their own," she said. "I just lay out my heart again and again and wait and see what happens," Noa said.

Ellis describes her music as synthesized folk with a mystical, spiritual quality.

"She is the Sarah McLaughlin of Israel," Ellis said. "She has her own unique style. She touches you in a way you’ve never been touched before."

Born in Tel Aviv in 1969, Noa moved to New York City at the age of 2 and returned to Israel 15 years later. After serving the mandatory two years in the Israeli army in a military entertainment unit, Noa studied music at the Rimon School, where she met Dor.

"Noa and Gil are an incredible team with a natural ability to write music," Ellis said. "We are thrilled that they are coming to perform here."

For tickets, which range from $36 to $100, please call Ticketmaster at (805) 583-8700 or Temple Beth Haverim at (818) 991-7111