Diversity Day: Versatile county employee masters a Middle Eastern instrument

The plaza at Tenth Street Place in downtown Modesto was filled Wednesday with the sounds of bagpipes, ukuleles – and the Turkish oboe.

Stanislaus County employee Peter Ishaya came down from the sixth floor of the government building to play the zurna, or Turkish oboe, for a young dance group from the Assyrian Church of the East. They were among the performers for Cultural Diversity Day, an annual activity hosted by Stanislaus County and the city of Modesto.

Ishaya wore business attire while playing the Middle Eastern instrument, accompanied by a drummer, Emil Haghverdi.

“I stay connected to my culture through music,” said Ishaya, a management intern in the county’s chief executive office.

Ishaya, 26, is one of the few people in the Assyrian community in the Northern San Joaquin Valley who can play the zurna. For that reason, he is sought after to perform for weddings, cultural events and religious services.

The wind instrument, often made from plum wood, produces a sharp, distinctive Middle Eastern sound – that is, once the musician has mastered the technique.

Ishaya said he started playing the zurna when he was 17 years old after a friend gave him one as a gift. He taught himself to play by watching YouTube videos and listening to Assyrian songs, he said.

The music of the zurna is based on microtonal scales. It has quarter notes, sounding sharp or flat, that lie between the major notes of the Western musical scale – C, D, E, F, G, A and B.

Ishaya said the fingering is about the same as the recorder, but a zurna musician needs strong lungs and a circular breathing method. By puffing out his cheeks, Ishaya said, he creates an air chamber that enables him to take a new breath without missing any notes. While performing, he inhales through his nose to replenish his lungs with oxygen.

Ishaya said he is the owner of four Turkish oboes, including one from Armenia that is 300 years old. The zurna is used in the folk music of Armenia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Turkey, Greece, Croatia and Iran.

The county employee was born in Baghdad in June 1990 and his parents left Iraq during the peak of the Persian Gulf War in 1993. Canada accepted the family as refugees, and they lived in Toronto for two years before moving to Turlock.

A musician since he was 10 years old, Ishaya also plays the concert flute and recorder. He earned a master’s degree in public administration this year from California State University, Stanislaus.

Ishaya said he does not list himself as a zurna musician on his professional résumé but does mention it during job interviews.

The city and county are hosting several events this week to celebrate diversity. The activities at Tenth Street Place on Wednesday included dance and music from different cultures; food; and information booths on Greece, Laos, Belize and Afghanistan.

This story was originally published October 5, 2016 at 8:05 PM with the headline "Diversity Day: Versatile county employee masters a Middle Eastern instrument."