A mentalist is someone who performs feats that demonstrate extraordinary mental powers, such as mind-reading. Sidney Friedman takes that a step further as he melds music and mind together when he performs his feats of mentalism.
Why did Friedman, who will be in Kansas City Thursday, Oct. 4, for an event put on by the Jewish Federation (see box) meld music and mind together? It was a way for him combine his two loves. Friedman’s first love is music. He earned a bachelor’s degree in music composition and piano from the Eastman School of Music and attended a post graduate program in Stockholm, Sweden. All of this led him to his original career choice as a composer. But his vocation, or gift, as a mentalist eventually changed his life.
He started realizing his talents as a mentalist as a young teen on a vacation he took with his family to Estes Park, Colorado. While there, he met a Native American member of the Arapaho tribe, who told Friedman he had a gift.
“I had an intuitive gift,” Friedman said, “that I was afraid to use. This was my first influence and mentor.”
His second influence was Ludwig Von Beethoven.
“Some music seems more emotional, other more cerebral,” Friedman said. “Beethoven is between the two. It is a line between the heart and the head. That is the space of mind I have to be in to be successful in the feats I do as a mentalist.”
“I have to calculate what a person is thinking and feel it as well,” he added. “It is a balance between the two: cerebral and emotional. I mesh music in my mentalism.”
Music and composing continues to play a role in his life. He has written the underscores to PBS shows and other programs. But there came a time when his side hobby as a mentalist became his full-time career.
A native of Chicago where he continues to make his home, Friedman now travels throughout the USA presenting his talent for all to see. Each year he presents about 120 shows, of those more than 50 are for a charity. He estimates 60-70 percent of his charity shows are for Jewish Federations and Jewish organizations. In fact he has been the entertainment at more than 170 Federation events in the past nine years.
“I believe in the cause of Jewish Federations,” he said, adding his non-Jewish charity shows are for a variety of organizations such as food banks and Habitat for Humanity.
When Friedman does a charity program, he makes sure that his message comes across, “and not in just a cursory way,” he said.
“My message is connection,” he said. “Connection and the importance of giving and creating a connection between the community and the charity. The world population is now more than 7 billion. There are many different religions, different likes. But one thing everyone seeks is connection to other people in some way, and especially to connect with people of similar values.”
“In each of these communities I am helping to present that message in a light way,” he added. “There are two types of giving. One you give while in your head you expect to get something in return. But the best type of giving is to give because you believe in it. And then, ironically, you do get something in return.”
“People usually reach a little deeper when they hear my message,” he said.
Friedman said it is difficult to describe exactly what he does during his show. Coming back to music, he said during his show he is able to guess the song or melody a person is thinking of, just by feeling it intuitively.
“You have to see it, feel it and experience it to understand what I do,” he said. “There is a layer that you just don’t believe it. I present what I do in a friendly, convivial and warm way, that is non-threatening.”
During his show he admits that some people are afraid when they first come in, because they do not know what to expect.
“I am not there to embarrass anyone or to put them on the spot,” he insisted. “Soon everyone wants to be a part of it.”
Besides performing for charities, Friedman also teaches workshops for organizations, where he teaches people to use their intuition and use their minds better. He wrote a book in 2001 to go along with these seminars, “Your Mind Knows More Than You Do.” It discusses connecting with your subconscious mind so that you can do better for yourself and those around you. His book ended up helping his career as well. It became a best seller for a short time, which lead to his appearances on shows like “The View.”
Friedman said his shows are fun and explained what he does is a bit different than a magician.
“I think a magician can levitate a person,” Friedman said, “but a mentalist can elevate a person’s soul. Everyone wants to have a sense of joy. When they see something impossible made possible, they have joy.”