Carl K. Naluai Jr., the longest-serving cantor in the Sacramento region and a respected figure at Congregation B'nai Israel in Sacramento, has died at age 60.
He died Wednesday after being taken by ambulance from the temple on Riverside Boulevard to UC Davis Medical Center. The cause was probably complications related to diabetes or heart problems, said his cousin, Jason Lindo.
During more than 30 years with B'nai Israel, Mr. Naluai served as both cantor and music director, taught in religious school and devoted time to adult education. He was an important part of B'nai Israel holidays and celebrations.
"He has touched our lives, and it will be a difficult parting," Rabbi Mona Alfi wrote in a message to the congregation.
Mr. Naluai shared his prodigious talents as a composer, conductor, musician and arranger with diverse communities in the Sacramento region. He served as organ accompanist at Greek Orthodox Church of the Annunciation, composed music for Trinity Episcopal Cathedral and directed a Jewish community choir.
"Religiously, he was a Reformed Jewish cantor," Lindo said, "but for anybody who was interested in music and needed his assistance, he was there."
Mr. Naluai ventured into secular music as conductor for Davis Comic Opera Company's production of "Die Fledermaus." He wrote choral pieces based on children's books by Dr. Seuss. He composed works and spent more than a decade as artistic director for the Sacramento Gay Men's Chorus.
"Carl's influence on the members of the Sacramento Gay Men's Chorus and the community at large is immeasurable," board President Mike Tentis said. "His musical inspiration and leadership took us in new directions. We are all richer in spirit for having known him."
Born in 1948 in Hawaii, reared in Los Angeles and trained in Europe, Carl Kahekili Naluai Jr. drew inspiration from a rich blend of traditions. The son of a long line of Hawaiian musicians, he attended seminary in Austria, apprenticed under two Russian cantors and was ordained in Vienna in 1965.
He studied music at University of Vienna and Mozarteum University in Austria. He earned doctorates in practical music with an emphasis in theatrical conducting and in ethnomusicology, specializing in Near and Middle Eastern chant. He served congregations in Europe and the United States before joining B'nai Israel in 1978.
He also held degrees in theology, pre-med biology, linguistics and musical composition, according to his biography on the B'nai Israel Web site. He wrote poetry, short stories and a book of prayer. He earned a license in physical and massage therapy.
Mr. Naluai was a private man, friends and colleagues said, with a quiet manner and gruff demeanor that belied a warm heart and dry wit. He had a beautiful singing voice and a deep devotion to religion that inspired him to forgo plans for a career in opera to sing in a synagogue.
"My voice is a gift from (God)," he wrote on B'nai Israel's Web site, "and I think it only fitting to use it in praise of the One who gave it to me."
Call The Bee's Bill Lindelof, (916) 321-1079.
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