Under the patronage of the Jerusalem Forum, OrangeRed music and event management is organizing “Voices for Gaza” a fundraising concert and exhibition, the event will be held at Zara expo, on the 30th of January 2009, at 7:00 PM.

The concert will feature performances by Jordanian Artists; Macadi Nahhas, Ayman Tayseer, and Omar Faqir band, as well as guest appearance by Lebanese star Oumeima El Khalil and a poetry recital by Lebanese media figure and poet Zahi Wehbe.

The exhibition will feature art works by Silsal, Dar Al Anda, Abla Majaj, and Blouzaat. Tickets for this event are priced at JD30, and along with the sales of the artwork, will be wholly donated to the Jerusalem Forum, which in turn will use these funds to provide urgently needed medical and food supplies to Gaza through the Welfare Association.

Along with the public sectors’ full support, the main sponsors of this charity event are: Aramex, Optimiza, Maktoob, Ayyam FM, Jordan Music Forum, JorMall, Blouzaat and Idea Printing Press.

About the organizers:

OrangeRed:

http://www.orangered.net

OrangeRed is a music and cultural event management company that was set up in 2004 in response to a growing demand for innovative and high quality culture events. The company aims to enhance and enrich Jordan’s culture and music scene as well as supporting and developing local music talents. Cultural music is promoted and local and international musicians who are committed to excellence and unique sounds are supported.

Jerusalem Forum:

http://www.jerusalemites.org/index.htm

An NGO based Amman which focuses on presenting the humanitarian struggle of the Palestinians and their determination to preserve their culture and heritage through documenting and publishing historical facts and information to raise awareness.

Welfare Association:

http://welfare-association.org/en/

Welfare Association is a private, non-profit foundation established in Geneva in 1983 to support Palestinian society in sustainable development. It has become better known in Palestine and the Arab region by its Arabic name, Ta’awoun, meaning “cooperation. WA beneficiaries are the more than 4 million Palestinians who are served by Palestinian non-governmental organizations, community institutions and charitable organizations in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Galilee, Jaffa, Akka, Nazareth and Naqab, as well as in refugee camps in Lebanon. WA works by strengthening local organizations, and assisting them in improving their services to the community and in promoting Palestinian culture, heritage and identity.

About the guests of honor:

Oumeima el Khalil:

Born in Al Fakiha in 1966, Oumeima El Khalil started her career as a singer at twelve. She lived in an art-loving family; this is how she was discovered at an early age in the singing world.
El Khalil pursued her secondary studies in the Bekaa, and then moved to Beirut where she studied music theory and vocal techniques.
Meeting Marcel Khalifé at an early age was a good occasion for Oumeima to venture into the world of singing as it gave her the opportunity to sing as a solo in his “Al Mayadin” band where she showed a high level of professionalism in the domain.
The 12-year old girl had her own songs that she interpreted worldwide for over 27 years at high-level concerts in which Marcel Khalifé and his band participated.

Zahi Wehbe:

Born in the border town of Enata overlooking the Galilee where he lived with his mother, while his father worked in Australia. He was arrested and forcibly relocated several times in the eighties until he settled in Beirut and started working with several news papers such as Nida’a and Nahar.

He hosted several television shows through Future broadcasting network, where he interviewed hundreds of public personalities and political figures. As a poet he has so far released four books and currently has two columns in two regional magazines.

The Jordanian Musicians:

Macadi Nahhas:

is a leading light among the young Jordanian artists, has a sparkling talent, distinguished voice and an astonishing presence. With her own special style she revived music and songs from the Middle Eastern Heritage and folklore that was long forgotten. Macadi Nahhas, born in Amman 1977, obtains a Diploma in music from the Music Conservatory of Beirut. Her music career began after her first live performance at Jerash festival in 1997, Since then Macadi has been active in the music scene where she performed in various cultural festivals and events in Jordan, Lebanon, Tunisia, Dubai, Denmark. In 2004, she released her debut album “Kan Ya Ma Kan”, a project from the Iraqi Heritage. In the same year, and under the patronage of H.E Minister of Culture, she presented a joint work with the well-known Lebanese poet Zahi Wahbeh in Poetry readings accompanied by Acapella singing. She has launched her new release “khilkhal” last march 2007, the CD is a purely Levantine experience that consists of a collection of traditional Levantine songs and folk music.

Ayman Tayseer: is a Jordanian Artist that has been for long enriching the local and regional music scene with a variety of musical styles ranging from folkloric and classical Arabic Music reaching to eloquent contemporary Arabic music. Although classically trained, Ayman have been carrying out experiments to fuse classical Arabic music with elements from other musical forms and styles, his latest project “Abdul Wahab in Jazz” introduced influences from Jazz music to the classical Abdul Wahab repertoire while preserving the classical value it has retained for years.
Besides being a remarkable singer-songwriter, Ayman plays and teaches oud and qanoun and has written instrumental music for ‘takht’ ensembles. In the year 2005 Ayman earned a PhD in Musicology from Université Saint-Esprit de Kaslik and is currently an assistant Prof. of Oriental Singing at Yarmouk University and head of the Jordanian Music Forum (JMF) Album in Market. Ayman is researching Sufi music, the core of his latest project.

Omar Faqir: grew up in a family famous for its high artistic talents. He has been exposed to all genres of music when he was three years old. His father taught him music theory and then Omar carried on studying jazz by himself. He mastered piano when he was sixteen and started the first jazz band in Jordan “Faculty –X “. Then, he met the legend Charles Davis who advised Omar to apply to Berklee College of music. Omar received a scholarship for performance and composition. Later on, Omar participated in many festivals and performed with many jazz masters such as: Charles Davis, Noah Howard, Harold Mcenny and many others. Omar composed music for TV, radio, songs, along with his own originals. Now, Omar finished recording an album with the great saxophone player Noah Howard and he is working on his first album and preparing for a tour in Europe and Brazil with the great saxophone player Noah Howard.

About the Fundraising exhibition:

About the Exhibitors:

Dar Al-Anda

Since its foundation in 1998, Dar al Anda has been known to the world as a gallery of fine arts. In reality, it was not exactly that; it was rather a project that meant to bring together visual and auditory arts, and thus counted as one of the centers of culture and the arts.
Dar al Anda’s contribution to both arts appeared in the form of musical concerts, informative literary and cultural activities that took place in tandem with the many exhibitions of fine art. Dar al Anda turned its set goals into reality. It presented a great variety of works to its public, works that were subjected to scrutiny and fine selection.

SilSal Ceramics

Established in 1987, Silsal Ceramics is a ceramics workshop and gallery in Amman. Founded on a dedication to reviving the traditional pottery craft of the orient, it produces handmade recreations boasting inspiration from the Bronze Age, Byzantine Art, the many Islamic dynasties and it now offers minimalist and modern lines.  With a strong belief in social development, environmental sustainability and artistic integrity Silsal ceramics strives to preserve and expand the historical craft of pottery.

Blouzaat:

Blouzaat is a cross-cultural, cross-media project, started by a group of artists from Jordan and Germany. Exploring urban art and design through canvas, walls, silkscreen, clothing, and books. It aims not only to explore the artistic scene in the area, but also to introduce urban art by tapping into culture, music, and any other form of self expression, building a new kind of creative community.

Abla Majaj

She was born in Jerusalem and studied at Bir Zeit University. She started her work in philanthropic organizations and then decided to open an antique store that supported under-privileged women by helping sell their antique jewelry and embroidery. Her goal was both to support these women and also to increase appreciation of old Palestinian jewelry and embroidery work (dresses, headdresses, etc) and to pass on this appreciation to the next generation. In this way, she believes she can help preserve Palestinian cultural heritage.

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