Chanan Elias
As a child, Chanan remembers being mesmerized by music. He would become truly transported to a different time or space; he was naturally drawn to it. He found it was a great way to express feelings without having to verbalize them. And even better, when true feelings were not coming clear, music would give him clarity. This extra-verbal way of experiencing the world led Chanan to start thinking about the root of it all, where the song began... the Source... the Creator.
And then he heard the song "Al Eileh Ani Bochia"( for those I cry), a Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach melody based on a verse from the Book of Lamentations. A new world was opened up for him... so much depth pouring out of one soul. At the time, he was a recent graduate of the Los Angeles Theatre Academy, living in Los Angeles and looking for his first job as a professional actor. It was a time of trying to fit in, but Chanan was not quite sure where he belonged. He was on the cusp of a journey, but not quite ready. He hung out a little bit with the "Shlomo crowd" in LA and started to get really turned on by the music, the prayer, meditation. After a short stop over in NYC, playing keyboards with Neshama Carlebach (Shlomo's daughter) Chanan soon realized there was only one place for him: Israel.
His first day in Israel he landed on the "Moshav." There was a wedding and he was invited up to play. There he met some musicians who asked him to join their band, "Ein Safek" and suddenly, he was playing music and traveling all over Israel. Not long after he met his wife and found his place in Israel- working in the theatre as a director, doing voice-overs for cartoons, producing and playing music, and most of all as a father and husband. He has continued to develop these aspects of his life in Israel. For example, in addition to studying music at the Jerusalem Rubin Academy of Music and Rimon School of Jazz and producing several albums, Chanan has directed a number of shows in Israel including "Little Shop of Horrors," and has acted in "Guys and Dolls" as well as two feature films.
Chanan joined Reva L'Sheva about six years ago and loves playing music all over the world. Music, says Chanan, has this power to make people smile... Just let go for a while and dance!
