A different tune
View(s):The second concert of the Colombo Wind Orchestra will be held on March 24
By: Shaveen Jeewandara
It was back in 1974, when Professor Ajith Abeysekera had his first experience with a wind orchestra.
The glow in his eyes as he speaks of this experience in Belfast is proof of the admiration he draws from
it. “There were sixteen clarinets playing at the same time and it create the most harmonious melody”,
Prof. Ajith recalls.
Ever since this first encounter, he has been trying to glue together a wind orchestra that would allow Sri
Lankans to divulge into the classical repertoire. The concept of a wind orchestra is quite modern, dating
back to the 20th Century. “The closest you got to the wind instruments been used in Sri Lanka was the
armed forces band, but that too is not in its purest form”, Prof. Ajith mentions.
The main problem that lay ahead was getting the nucleus of the players interested, but that is
something Prof. Ajith and Navin Fernando, the chief co-ordinator of the Colombo Wind Orchestra
(CWO) overcome by virtue of the Symphony Orchestra. Hence the CWO took it’s first flight last year at a
concert that saw classical wind instrumental pieces been gifted to Sri Lankan audiences.
Navin, explains the reasoning behind the delay in bringing wind orchestras in to the Sri Lankan
repertoire. “We’ve had quite a good background but the only factor we lacked was an expert coming in
to train the orchestra”, he mentions. This is where Keiko Kobayashi comes into the play, with her vast
experiences backing her role as the conductor of the Colombo Wind Orchestra. The initial boost came
from Keiko, and the CWO capitalized on it.
Keiko as been in touch with the Symphony Orchestra over the last 5 years, and she is a gifted player of
the acclaimed ‘Tokyo Cosei’ wind band. Keiko is highly dynamic, a few minutes into our chat she starts
miming an air clarinet as she goes on to explain the intricate difficulties in playing a wind instrument.
The difference in arrangements is the pauses and breaks that allow for the wind players to breathe.
“Players need to have these breaks to breathe, but at the same time it cannot compromise on the
flow of the arrangement. Keeping to it is the real difficulty.” Another problem is the array of different
tonal colours that come into play. “Usually in a string orchestra, the different instruments blend quite
beautifully, but when it comes to wind instruments they have individually denotable tones”. Professor.
Ajith equates this to a landscape with a red sun gleaming in the distance, usually there will be hues of
orange and yellow that blending in beautifully, but try visualizing a thunderstorm in it’s midst and it’s
chaotic brilliance! “That’s what a wind orchestra has to offer because there are so many different tonal
colours that come into play”.
Wind orchestras are plentiful in Japan but this is a completely new experience to Keiko. “The students
are more accustomed to playing the part that they are given, but I want them to play by ear. I encourage
all the time to go ahead and use their instincts.”
“It’s important to listen to the others and work as a team when you’re in an ensemble. No amount of
self practice can let you achieve greatness without team work”, Keiko says that this is the case in any
orchestra, but it is more prevalent in a wind orchestra since there are so many tones and variations thrown around.
“Youngsters are avidly taking up the art of string instruments and piano in Sri Lanka, but there is a lack
of interest towards wind instruments”, Navin adds, “What our idea objective would be to bring the CWO
to a stage that could inspire youngsters to take up the art of playing a wind instrument”. Professor. Ajith
believes that it will take a good couple of years for wind instruments to hold strong in Sri Lanka, but the
track has been laid down courtesy of the orchestra and things have looked promising so far.
“Usually the players in a school band have no objective in following music after their school years, but
we hope that the introduction of contemporary wind music will provide them with an objective to
become a part of the Colombo Wind Orchestra and follow music along with whatever career they take”,
Navin states.
What will take stage on the 24th is a concert that will deliver ‘serious’ music. “Our theme this time is
the ‘Sea’ and our arrangements will be quite melancholic and serious”, Navin adds, “Trust us, it’s not the
kind of serious that would bore you, but it’s music with a grander purpose”. Different effects are used in
tandem with unique arrangements to deliver powerful performances perusing the qualities possessed
by great wind players. Many of the arrangements are originals while ‘Moonriver’ and arrangements by
Johann Sebastien Bach will ring memories true. The CWO aims at dishing out a truly different experience
in a classical nutshell.
The second concert of the Colombo Wind Orchestra will be held on Sunday the 24 th of March, at the
Ladies College Auditorium from 7.00 pm onwards. Tickets are priced at Rs. 1000, Rs. 750, Rs. 500 and Rs.
300 and will be available at the Symphony Music Bookshop 438/2, Havelock Road, Colombo 6.
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