São Paulo – Raising funds for the oldest hospital in Beirut, the Saint George Hospital. This will be the purpose of two concerts by Lebanese singer Tania Kassis in São Paulo, on November 4th and 5th. The beneficent tour of South America will also include Argentina.
Founded in 1878, the Saint George Hospital is a philanthropic institution maintained by the Orthodox Archdiocese of Beirut. Presently, it is a general hospital and has 200 beds. The funds raised will be used to build a new building, with another 200 buildings, to cater to elderly patients and children. The Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce supports the project.
According to Leila Chamaa, the organizer of the concerts in São Paulo, the initiative of promoting the concerts came up in 2009, during the visit of Lina Moukheiber, the development director of the Lebanese hospital in Brazil. The two discussed the possibility of promoting performances of Lebanese singers in the country for the benefit of the institution, and decided to invite Tania because of her songs, which bring messages to the Lebanese living outside of Lebanon.
"She is a young person who needs to be known in Brazil," says Leila. "Her last CD stayed in the charts for eight weeks in Lebanon," says the producer. Lina highlights the work for building relations between the Saint George Hospital and the Lebanese community abroad. "The hospital has been working to build bridges with the Diaspora," claims the director.
"We want to bring Lebanese culture to the Diaspora and also promote the hospital," says Lina. According to her, Brazil, and more specifically São Paulo, has been chosen due to the large number of Lebanese descendents living in the city. "Tania is a soprano with a different repertoire than other Lebanese singers. Her songs are geared towards the Diaspora," she finishes off.
According to the director, more than raising funds, the Saint George Hospital wants to be known by the Lebanese community in Brazil. Thus, a 10-minute documentary on the organization will be shown before the singer’s concert.
In addition to the funds raised with the concerts, the Saint George Hospital also counts on funds donated by Brazilian sponsors of the singer’s shows, which will have recognition plaques in the hospital’s facilities.
The concerts will take place at the Mount Lebanon Club and tickets will cost 250 Brazilian reals (US$ 145). There will be 380 seats available for each concert. Tickets will be sold starting on September 30, by telephone at (+55 11) 8944-9464, always after 03:00 pm.
International talent
Tania Kassis started her career at age 16 and performed her first solo opera concert when she was 17. In the year after, she performed at a UNESCO concert in Beirut. In 2006, she became a member of the Chorus of the Orchestre de Paris. Presently, she is successful primarily in Europe and the Arab world, with a repertoire comprising songs in French, Arabic and English. In South America, she has performed in Venezuela and Colombia.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
