Magida El Roumi
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| Magida El Roumi | |
|---|---|
 Itazalt el Gharam (I Gave up Love) Album cover. |
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| Country | Lebanon/Middle east |
| Years active | 1970's–present |
| Genres | Arabic music |
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Magida El Roumi (Arabic: ماجدة الرومي, also transliterated as Magida Al Roumi) was born in Kfarshima, Lebanon on December 13, 1956. She is a Lebanese singer who started her musical career in the early 1970s when she participated in the talent show, Studio el fan on Télé Liban and won the gold medal for best female singer. Since her appearance on television at the tender age of 16, she has become one of the most successful and respected singers of the Arab world as well as a UN Goodwill Ambassador.
- Place of Birth: Kfarshima, Lebanon
- Father Name: Halim El Roumi
- Mother Name: Marie Loutfi
- Siblings: the late Maha, Mouna and Awad
- Children: Hala and Nour
- Place of Residence: Jounieh, Lebanon
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[edit] Biography
Magida El Roumi was born to Halim El Roumi and Marie Loutfi who were a Greek Catholic couple from Tyre, a city in South Lebanon. Her grandfather owned business in Palestine where he lived and built strong relations and friendships with the people of Haifa. After the creation of the State of Israel in 1948, Majida's grandfather lost all his business in Haifa and returned to his birthplace of Tyre. Wanting his son to be an educated man, her grandfather sent her father to Kfarshima, a small town southeast of Beirut, to pursue his musical education at the Conservatoire Libanais in Beirut.
Halim el Roumi became a renowned musician and continued to live in Kfarshima, which was home to many Lebanese singers, musicians, poets and writers, like the late Philemon Wehbi. The residence of Halim el Roumi in Kfarshima was a meeting place for many cultural figures. Growing up in such an artistic environment, Majida's interest in music started to show at an early age when she used to listen to the works of the prominent figures of that time, such as Fairuz, Umm Kulthoum, Abdel Wahab, and Asmahan. Her singing and beautiful voice attracted the attention of her family and neighbors. One of the early songs she used to sing (and which was actually saved on record) was a religious song called "Your Birth" or Miladak in reference to the birth of Jesus Christ.
Raymond Safadi, Majida's cousin, was fascinated with her voice and thought that she could be very successful if she pursued singing as a profession. However, the big obstacle was her father who knew more than anyone else how difficult it was to work in the music industry. Although the father refused his daughter's participation in Télé Liban's Studio el fan, Majida, with the help of her cousin, Raymond, entered the talent show, singing songs for Asmahan and Leila Mourad, like Ya Toyour, Ana Albi Dalili, and Layali El Ouns Fi Vienna. The jury was impressed with her performance and her beautiful voice and awarded her the gold medal.
Halim El Roumi gave Majida his blessings to pursue singing as a profession as long as she continued her higher education. Desipte the war in Lebanon in 1975, Majida obtained her BA in Arabic Literature from the Lebanese University.
On September 17, 1977, Majida got engaged to a businessman from Byblos, Lebanon. Antoine Dfouni became not only her husband but also her manager. They were blessed with two daughters: Hala and Nour. Majida and Antoine divorced in 2000.
Majida lost her sister, Maha, to cancer. Before her death, she flew to her sister who was hospitalized in the United States and stayed with her for days. When she had to come back for a concert in Cairo, Majida dedicated a song to Maha, wishing a miracle would take place to heal her. When Maha died, Majida recited a poem she wrote at her funeral in a church in Kfarshima. Her sister's death lead her to produce several religious albums and held several religious concerts. She would later release a special song dedicated to Maha.
[edit] Career
Her first song, "I Dream of You, O' Lebanon" (3am I7lamak Ya 7ilm Ya Libnan), where Majida addresses a country which was under fire and destruction, would become a recurring theme in her body of work, which is rich in songs about Lebanon and its struggle to be free, democratic and independent. After the Israeli attack on the Biblical village of Qana in South Lebanon, Mrs. El Roumi released the song, "Qana" as a form of protest against the massacre that the Israelis committed. The song was so powerful in its meanings that Israeli ambassadors in Amman and Cairo requested that Arab televisions stop broadcasting it.
She has also sang for Palestine on numerous occasions. During her successful concert at Beirut's Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium on April 15, 2002, Majida said, "What is going now in Palestine is a crime against humanity, and I am here to say a final 'No!' to the Israeli occupation. To the Palestinians, I say, our hearts are with you; our souls are with you; justice is with you, and the land will always be yours."
In 1976, El Roumi acted in Youssef Chahine's film, "Awdet el ebn el dal" (Return of The Prodigal Son).
Mrs. El Roumi has performed at the Festival de Beiteddine 16 times. She has performed at numerous festivals in the region, such as Jerash and Carthage as well as the Cairo Opera House.
Majida El Roumi performed "Light The Way," a duet with the the international opera star, José Carreras, on December 9, 2006 during the opening ceremony of the 15th Asian Games Doha 2006.[1]
In more than three decades, Majida El Roumi has become a symbol and an idol for global audiences, reflecting in her life and songs an image of a nation and its people.[2]
Majida El Roumi will perform in a big concert at Place-des-arts in Montreal, Canada in May 2007. This is suppose to be a very successful event.
Montreal concert is finally confirmed. Majida will perform some her old and new masterpieces.
Tickets for Montreal concert will be sold very soon. The arab community in Montreal is waiting for the extra-ordinary event.
Concert in Montreal will follow three concerts in united states(detroit, new jersey and las vegas). The lebanese and the arab community in Montreal are waiting for the scheduled event.
Tickets of Montreal concert will be sold starting next week. Tickets could be purchased through the internet at www.admission.com.
[edit] UN Ambassador
Magida El Roumi was appointed an ambassador for the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) on World Food Day, October 16, 2001 in an official ceremony in Rome, Italy.[3] Mrs. El Roumi has participated in numerous round-table discussion on the role of FAO ambassadors in helping the Organization combat world hunger. As FAO ambassador, Mrs. El Roumi inaugurated the First Annual Agricultural Week in Lebanon and dedicated the book prepared by FAO Sanabel El Kheir on 8 November 2005 during an official ceremony to celebrate World Food Day 60th Anniversary at the UNESCO Palace in Beirut.[4]
[edit] Charity
Throughout her career, she has used her fame and fortune to help others, especially in Lebanon and other Arab countries. In 2005, she held a free concert in the Forum De Beyrouth in support of the American University of Beirut Students Scholarship Fund.[5]
Mrs. El Roumi held a free, open air concert in Place des Martyrs in Centre Ville, downtown Beirut on April 13, 2005 to honor the Cedar Revolution and to celebrate the withdrawal of the Syrian army from Lebanon.
Mrs. El Roumi held a musical concert under the patronage of the Sheikha, Jawaher Bint Mohammed Al-Qassimi, wife of the Ruler of Sharjah on November 9, 2006 at the University City Hall, Sharjah in support of the restitution of Lebanon's environment after the Israeli attack on Lebanon in July, 2006.[6] An Israeli air strike had hit a power plant in Jieh, dumping 15,000 tons of oil into the Mediterranean and damaging hundreds of kilometers of the prestine Lebanese coast.[7]Sheikha Jawaher Bint Mohammad Al Qassimi announced in a press conference on December 18 that Magida El Roumi's charity concert generated AED 1,037,155.36 in donations.[8] The donations were made to Greenpeace Mediterranean, which was one of the first organisation on the ground in the aftermath of the attack.[9]
[edit] Tributes and Awards
National Order of the Cedar (Knight), 1994
[edit] Discography
- Majida El Roumi
- El Asfoura
- Majida El Roumi, Live '82
- Ya Saken Afkari
- Dawee Ya Amar
- Kalimat
- Ibhath Anni
- Rassael
- Cithare du Ciel
- Irhamni Ya Allah
- Itazalt El Gharam
