Rukshan’s originals to take centre stage
Rukshan at his home in Mirihana
Multi-instrumentalist, composer, singer, Rukshan Perera will be joined by a versatile set of musicians when he presents ‘Rukshan Perera Live in Concert VII’ on March 5, at the Bishops College Auditorium, Colombo from 7 p.m. onwards.
The guest artists will showcase music in different genres, including acappella and jazz. The ever-popular De Lanerolle Brothers, will sing along with a full orchestra while Clifford Richards will perform ‘Selfie’ a brand-new composition by Rukshan. The Little Sopranos will also present a new song by Rukshan. Choro Calibre, the Colombo Brass Ensemble, violins and flutes will complete the line-up.
In his beautiful home in Mirihana filled with pictures that take him down memory lane, Rukshan is excited over what will be his seventh annual concert. “The production is a lot of hard work, especially because the majority of the songs are originals and the guest performers have to learn them from scratch.”
Fans who have been to Rukshan’s previous shows know that he has a signature song he unveils written especially for the concert. “This year the song will be about cancer as the concert is in aid of the Karapitiya Cancer Hospital which TRAIL is collecting funds for. I will also be paying a tribute to Mahen Peiris who was a dear friend of mine -he used to sing with me,” said Rukshan, emotionally. A lawyer by profession, Mahen Peiris was a member of the all-male choral group, “The Revelations” and founder and choir director of ‘Asteria’ an all- female choral group along with his wife. He passed away mid-September last year.
Rukshan will be displaying his many talents at the show, playing the guitar, keyboard, harmonica and percussion. Well known for his technique of scatting, this is a part of the concert Rukshan’s fans look forward to and this time he plays tribute to the masters of scatting Ella Fitzgerald and George Benson with the guitar original ‘Cool Cats’ and a piano solo of ‘What time is it’. He will also be performing ‘Classical scat’ which he has created using well known classical pieces.
There are upbeat fun songs along with a few surprises for the audience – the second half is extremely fun and bound to keep the audience out of their seats,” says the musician with a smile.
Tickets priced at Rs.3000, Rs.2000, Rs.l000, Rs.750 and Rs.500 (Balcony) are available at the Bishops College auditorium. For more information call, 077 3057220/ 011 2391265. Rukshan has partnered with the Royal College Union to donate proceeds from the concert to TRAIL to support their fundraising effort to build a Cancer Hospital in Karapitiya.