| Karoshee Vijayasekere is a talented young singer who has sung for Prince Albert of Monaco and besides the likes of Andrea Boccelli in choirs around the world. Now she is set to wow Colombo audiences with a concert on July 8 at the Lionel Wendt theatre to raise funds for a charity she herself has founded.
All this at just 19. But Karoshee is not just any teenager. The daughter of a UN diplomat Karoshee has been travelling from a young age, living in Canada, USA, France, Germany, Italy, Greece and Cuba. Her training began at age seven with the famous Francis Bandot and under his tutelage she became a member of the Children’s European Choir and sang at leading churches all over Paris, including the famous Notre Dame de Paris and Opera de Paris (Bastille). She also sang with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, USA and the choir of the Opera de Paris at the renowned Parisian Hall of Music, the La Salle Pleyel.
In 1999 she was in the choir when the Paris Symphony Orchestra and the Opera de Paris came together to create a CD conducted by the American, John Nelson.
The new millennium began with a bang for Karoshee when she sang with the choir for “France 2000” at the foot of the Eiffel Tower alongside the famous Andrea Boccelli – a rare experience for a girl of her age.
After a brief stay in Sri Lanka, Karoshee went to Cuba, where she recorded her first demo, singing ‘Ave Maria’ and ‘ Don’t cry for me Argentina’. She performed for visiting dignitaries - Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez, Chinese president Jin Tao and the American head of mission in Cuba James Casan. She has also, on many occasions performed for Cuban President Fidel Castro himself.
Karoshee became a familiar face at the French national day celebrations each year while in Cuba. The ambassadors of France in Cuba tended to rotate each year but she was constantly the vocalist requested for the performance of the French national anthem.
Making her way to Ridley College in Canada as a scholarship student her singing star continued to shine and she also blossomed as an actress, taking lead roles in college productions, playing Titania in ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’, Rapunzel in the musical written by Stephen Sondheim and also starring in ‘The Phantom of the Opera’ and ‘Grease’. She was bestowed with the ‘Richard Naylor award for acting’ for her performance in ‘Le Malade Imaginaire’.
However, the pinnacle of this promising young star’s career was on March 21, 2006, when aged just 15 she sang for Prince Albert II at a Sri Lankan gala held at the ‘Café de Paris’ in Monaco.
Her musical prowess apart, Karoshee has set up ‘The Karoshee Trust Children Fund’ a scholarship programme to provide an education for needy children. After the tsunami she put into action a plan that had been brewing at the back of her mind. She performed at three separate concerts both here and abroad and Hope One, Two and Three saw her project grow in leaps and bounds. Fully involved in the work of her trust, Karoshee takes the stage on July 8 to sing her heart out for them.
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