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WMD Productions Present....
An Umm Kulthoum Festival
Biography & links
honoring the life & music of the greatest Arab singer who ever lived...

Sat. March 31, 2001
Jones Auditorium
(Ragsdale Center, St. Edward's University on South Congress in Austin TX)

Featuring.....

The film narrated by Omar Sherif,
Umm Kulthoum, A voice Like Egypt
&
A live performance of a selection of Umm Kulthoum's songs byZein Al-Jundi
w/ Houston's
Trans Arabian Sound Band
& guest violinist
Anwar Agha
from Dallas

A Reception will be held following the event @
Marakesh Cafe
(906 Congress Ave)

Tickets: $22 in advance, $25 at the door & $16 for students.
Available @ Phoenicia Bakery (2912 S. Lamar & 4701 Burnet RD)
Marakesh Cafe (906 Congress Ave.), & Kismet Cafe (411 W. 24th St)

If intersted in sponsoring or advertising at the Umm Kulthoum Festival please contact us @ 512-533-9227 or mailto:WMDproductions@aol.com

Press Release:
Umm Kulthoum is indisputably the greatest and incomparable singer the Arab World has ever know; she is the fairytale of of a poor peasant girl singing to help her family’s strained finances and became a phenomenon that touched every Arab's life in one way or another and a woman who would have 4 million people walk in her funeral procession. Her face and voice, 26 years after her death, are still very much present in the Arab World and beyond. He music is still played daily and more so than any other past or present female singer. She is among the top selling Arab singers and has been for more than 50 years.

Time Magazine called her "Chanteause (singer) of Dreams". France honored her by putting her face on a gold coin released in 1990.....and to this day, to Arabs, Umm Kulthoum remains the most honored and beloved singer of all times.

Umm Kulthoum, A Voice Like Egypt is the first documentary to bring the singer to an American audience. Described as "an engrossing documentary" by the LA Times, the film connects her life to the epic story of 20th Century Egypt as it shook off colonialism and confronted modernity. The movie is an emotionally engaging experience rather than just a documentary it **"grows more revealing as it proceeds, helped tremendously by the rich legacy of films and recordings" (**The New York Times) . Narrated by Omar Sherif and produced by Michael Goldman, it is based on Virginia Danielson's book, Umm Kulthoum, Arabic Song, and Egyptian Society in the 20th Century.

Zein Al-Jundi is a producer and singer of Arab Music who was born and raised in Damascus, Syria and resides currently in Austin, TX. She is the producer of the event and the vocalist of its featured live music performance. She will be accompanied by four master musicians....from Houston's Trans Arabian Sound Band, Hani Issa (oud), Ibraheem Samahi (keyboard), Muhammad Elmasry (percission) who have been playing together for 30 years and all hail from Egypt. They will be joined by violinist Anwar Agha from Syria who is considered the top rated violinist in his native country.