Sara Diamond

Photo by Rob Taussig, The Suburban

Sara Diamond and her band Sam I Am performing at last weekend’s Israeli Street Festival.



The wet weather never got a chance to dampen the spirits at the Israeli Street Festival (celebrating Israel’s’ 60th anniversary) this past Sunday afternoon.

It didn’t matter that 13-year-old Sara Diamond and her band Sam I Am performed inside the YM-YWHA instead of outside on the street. The talented ensemble still captivated the crowd and it was obvious from the start that the young singer was comfortable on stage.

Accompanied by 13-year-old Matt Aisen on electric guitar, 15-year-old Jeffrey Kirman on electric guitar, 13-year-old Jesse Kirman on keyboard and 13-year-old Aaron Dolman on drums, Diamond’s love for performing shone through from the moment she began singing I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll. She followed it up with Superstition by Stevie Wonder and Possible, a song she co-wrote with Aisen and Dolman. Diamond explained to the audience that the song is about all the things happening in the world.

“Together we can make a difference,” she said.

The crowd was cheering as she continued with other favorites like Obvious by P.J. Bianco, Hit Me With Your Best Shot by Pat Benatar, Day Tripper by the Beatles and Walking on Sunshine — all the while encouraging the audience to dance and clap along. She also did her own rock ‘n’ roll version of the Hebrew folk song Hava Nagila, displaying an impressive vocal range. She started the day singing the national anthem for the March to Jerusalem event.

Diamond has been singing since the age of five and has recorded albums for the Kidzup Foundation, an educational media publisher for children based in Montreal. She also has her own CD, self-titled Sara Diamond, and writes and co-writes her own songs.

She sang at Place des Arts, at numerous charity events as well as last year’s Israeli Street Festival. When Robert Miller from Future Electronics rented the Bell Centre this past December for a private Christmas concert, Diamond sang in front of 10,000 people.

Diamond is passionate about what she does. “I love it so much,” she says. “I like to express myself through my songs... Because when you write and when you sing in front of an audience, you get the chance to show others how you feel. I want people to feel the emotions along with me.”

Originally, Diamond, Aisen and Dolman planned to try out for “Battle of the Bands” at their school, St. George’s High School.

“It got cancelled,” says Dolman. “So my dad contacted the Segal Centre for Performing Arts. We found a teacher ... Jean Sebastien Williams. He organizes us... We get together every Sunday and sometimes even on Thursdays.”

The band played at the Shaare Zedek Purim Party and will be playing at the June 17 Beth-El- Annual Fund Raiser as well as the Starlight Foundation event in September.

“I’m proud to say that the kids want to form a charity as a group, hold events and raise money for different causes,” says Howard Dolman, Aaron’s father. “They want to continue doing this for as long as they can while having fun at the same time.”


By Linda Zlatkin, The Suburban
2008-06-04 12:22:01

- The Suburban