For three young performers who will come together to use their talents for charity, music is not just entertainment. Rather, it is interactive and social- it needs to touch the hearts and minds of those who experience it. “People need to feel that the music is a part of them; inside them,” they say.
Mandhira and Radhika de Saram and Eshantha Peiris are playing for 25 marginalized children in Sambalthivu, Trincomalee. The children are all from poor families who can barely afford to scrape together one substantial meal.
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| Mandhira |
Radhika |
“What started off as a small dream under the banner of the Sunshine Charity has now turned into a permanent day care centre which was established in 2006 and has flourished due to the generosity of many donors including the supermodel Petra Nemcova in the aftermath of the tsunami.
“The centre is still in need of help to sustain the service it renders to society. “As of now, one of the biggest needs is money for food,” said Annika Singh, one of the trustees of the Sunshine Charity. “There are times when we have no choice but to pay for those needs out of our pockets because the children cannot be deprived of their basic needs.”
With this in mind, the charity has put together a rare opportunity to experience young Sri Lankan talent in classical music. Mandhira and Radhika join with Eshantha Peiris to present The Sunshine Recital, to be held today, August 3 at the Lighthouse Hotel, Galle, and on August 11 and 14 at the British Council Auditorium.
Mandhira de Saram grew up in a musical environment, completed her primary education at Ladies' College, and went on to study in the UK where she completed five years of training in music in Oxford. She graduated with first class honours in 2006 and was the winner of the Worcester College Arts Prize for the highest result in an arts subject. She holds a full award from the Arts and Humanities Research Council in order to read for an M. Phil in Musicology and Performance, also at the Faculty of Music, Oxford. She is also a regular member of several university orchestras and was leader of Ensemble Isis, the contemporary music group at the Faculty of Music, Oxford, as well as working as a freelance violinist around the UK.
Born in Sri Lanka, Radhika de Saram commenced her violin studies at the age of six at the primary department of the Royal Academy of Music with Alla Sharova, and then with Igor Petrushevsky in the junior department where she was also leader of the Sinfonia and Chamber Orchestra. She was holder of the Helmore Music Scholarship and is now a sixth form student at Wells Cathedral School where she is a specialist music scholar. She currently studies the violin with Richard Ireland and plays regularly with the 'Willow' string quartet, formed with fellow musicians at the London music colleges.
Eshantha J. Peiris studied at St. Joseph's College, Maradana. Having received a generous sponsorship from Prima Ceylon Ltd. Eshantha spent five years at New York University, where he earned Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Music Performance and Composition, and served as an adjunct piano instructor and as assistant conductor of the NYU orchestra.
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| Eshantha |
He plays keyboards in the jazz/rock/fusion band ‘Thriloka’, serving as assistant director of the Old Joes Choir and the Past Bridgeteens Choir. He is also founder and editor of the e-publication ‘Sri Lankan Artists for Social Change’ <www.slasc.org> Eshantha will conduct the Symphony Orchestra of Sri Lanka concert on August 9, which will include one of his compositions on the programme.
The Sunshine recital will feature works by Beethoven, Boulanger, Debussy, Hyde Grieg, Bartok, Pritchard and Tchaikovsky, a treat for any classical music fan.
Eshantha, Mandhira and Radhika are looking forward to performing and more importantly popularising classical music. “Classical music has to be relevant to Sri Lankan culture and society,” explained Eshantha. “People need to understand that it is music for us. It should be something that touches society without merely entertaining it.”
“Music has become a very compartmentalized form of entertainment,” reflected Mandhira. “People seem to think that it would be rude to clap loudly at a classical music recital; what they don’t realize is that we like to have people applaud enthusiastically.”
“Actually,” smiles Eshantha, “I would go as far as appreciating applause even if it is in the middle of an act! It would show that the audience has been paying attention and that the applause is heartfelt rather than obligatory. I mean if in the time of musicians like Mozart, it was accepted, why not now?”
Tickets for the Galle recital (August 3 at 6 p.m.) are priced at Rs. 5,000 inclusive of a three course dinner and are available at The Lighthouse Hotel, Galle.
Tickets for the Colombo recital (August 11 and 14 at 7 p.m.) priced at Rs. 1000 are available at The British Council and The Gallery Café.
Puppetry workshop in Kandy
From the funds raised at the recital, the Sunshine trustees have planned to conduct a one day puppetry workshop in Kandy on August 19, 20 and 21 in partnership with the American Centre, Colombo.
Twenty five children from the Sunshine Day Care Centre and the Grace Home for Girls and Boys in Sambalthivu, Trincomalee will come to Kandy for the workshop which will be facilitated by the Concrete Temple Theatre of the USA.
The Theatre's Artistic Directors, Carlo Adinolfi and Renee Philippi have led workshops and taught skills to children, college students, community groups, as well as senior citizens. | 
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