Naseer Shamma: It is impossible to cancel my concert, and this is what I will present
Cairo: Hany Kamal El Din
The famous Iraqi artist and oud player, Naseer Shamma, announced the impossibility of canceling or postponing his concert, which will be held tomorrow night, Thursday, in Houston, Texas, USA.
Shamma, in a video he posted on his official page on “Instagram”, expressed his great shock at the news of the devastating earthquake that struck large parts of Syria and Turkey, and said that he was very distressed by those scenes, but despite all that, it is impossible to cancel the Houston concert, due to the sale of all tickets.
He added that for this reason, he would at least devote one of the paragraphs to the lives of the victims, and he would allocate part of the proceeds from the ceremony to support the families of the victims affected by the disaster.
In the video, Shamma called on everyone to contribute and donate each according to the appropriate method, describing it as a duty to our humanity first and foremost.
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Previously, the Iraqi artist announced that, as an ambassador of the International Red Cross and Crescent, he puts all his energy at the disposal of any effort that seeks to save what can be saved with this tragedy, directing an open call for popular solidarity that makes everyone celebrate humanity, no matter how difficult the circumstances, expressing his hope that there will be a popular movement. Kabir is in solidarity with the families of the victims and the afflicted.
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Returning to the Houston concert, it is part of a tour by Shamma, during which he will perform a number of concerts for Arab communities in the United States, sponsored directly by the Abu Dhabi Festival.
The first concerts of this tour were held on January 20 in New York, followed by a concert in Philadelphia, another in Oriana, Chicago and St. Louis, and then a concert earlier this month in Ohio, Milwaukee and Madison.
All these concerts were attended by a large public, not limited to Arab communities only, and a number of members of other communities in the United States were among the attendees.
Shamma had previously announced that he aims with this tour to deepen the relationship between jazz art and oud music, through a number of musical works that will be presented for the first time to the audience and explain to them the importance of the partnership between jazz and oud, and the great artistic value resulting from it.
On the other hand, the Iraqi artist is preparing to open the “House of Oud” in the Diriyah region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, after signing an agreement in this regard with the Saudi Music Authority.
The Iraqi musician described this agreement as coming to fulfill the dreams of young men and women in Saudi Arabia, and that the opportunity is now available for them to pursue their dreams strongly.
He also invited Saudis who dream of music and the oud when he said: “Bring yourself to the House of Oud, record and try, there is nothing easy and difficult, come and learn and fulfill your dream. Whoever wants to protect his children from everything negative that exists around us must teach them something from music and drawing.”
