By Hanin Abu Alrub
Iraqi singer Kathem Saher denied on Wednesday rumors of a spat with the Music Channel at the Arab Radio and Television (ART) satellite network.
“There is no dispute between me and ART’s Music Channel, which manages my video clips through Rotana record company,” declared Kathem to Albawaba.com following a press conference in Amman.
ART owns the exclusive rights to air Jerash performances. They also provide the sound system of the South Theater, where Saher will perform.
Saher also denied Arab tabloid rumors of an upcoming performance in Palestine saying, “I have not received an invitation to perform there.”
The Iraqi singer held a press conference at the Jerusalem Hotel on the occasion of his participation in the Jerash Festival of Culture and Arts, where he will be singing from Thursday to Saturday.
This year will mark Saher’s “third participation in the Jerash Festival,” he said, explaining that he “held concerts here in 1995 and 1998.”
This year, Saher said that he would sing “for love and humanity” at the concert.
He emphasized his love for live performances saying that Jerash and other Arab festivals provide the artist with a gateway to the people.
Moreover, he described Jerash’s South Theater as a place where an artist “finds pleasure in singing and a place for cultural expression.”
“A real artist finds that connecting with people through live performances is the ideal place to convey a true message of music,” he explained.
Saher told Albawaba.com that he is now getting ready to shoot his newest video clip, ‘Mustaqeel,’with multi-award winning Jordanian director Hussein Deibis.
Currently, Saher is composing music for various Arab singers including Egyptian Hani Shaker, whom he says he “admires for his great voice.”
Future plans include a performance as Greek mythological character Gilgamesh in an opera written by Karim El Iraqi and Abdul Razaq Wahad.
Saher studied the ‘Oud’ at the National Music Centre in Baghdad under the supervision of the late music master Munir Bashir.
He depends on lyrics by famous late love-poet Nizar Qabani, who died in 1998 of heart failure.
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
