Coming back home with a song in their heart
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From Australia with love: The Conchord Choir with Maheshini Perera (centre), Rushan Hewawasam (right) and the De Lanerolle Brothers, Rohan and Ishan. Pic by Amila Gamage
It feels like coming home, says a beaming Mrs Maheshini Perera, founder of the Conchord Choir which arrived in Sri Lanka on Thursday to a warm and traditional welcome at the Cinnamon Lakeside Hotel. The choir, made of Sri Lankans of all races and faiths now living in Australia will perform a series of concerts here.
Through music we can bring everyone together, says choir director Rushan Hewawasam. Sri Lankans love three things- food, cricket and music he says and initially coming together to perform at a Sri Lankan Harmony Day event in Melbourne the choir has grown substantially – they are like one big extended family now. Rushan, former head prefect and choir director of Wesley College Colombo was training three choirs in Melbourne including the Victorian Welsh Men’s Choir and has seen Conchord grow from 10 members to over 50 spanning ages from 14 to 80, with a junior choir as well. Thirty-two of them have made this trip to Sri Lanka.
Their first performance here was ‘Abba-Father’ at the Cathedral of Christ the Living Saviour on Saturday and this Tuesday, September 24, will see them singing at the Lionel Wendt, a familiar stage for some of the members. The show ‘Let Us All Sing -Colombo’ will be at 7.30 p.m. and tickets are available priced at Rs. 5,000, 3,000, 2000 and 1,000. Then they will travel to Galle to sing at the All Saints Church on September 26 at 7.30 p.m. (entrance tokens Rs 1000 at Embark, Lighthouse St, Galle Fort) and their final performance will be in Kandy on Saturday, September 28 at 6.30 p.m. at the Trinity College Chapel ( tokens Rs 500 at Embark, No 116, Peradeniya Rd, Katukelle, Kandy).
Having performed before with the De Lanerolle Brothers in Australia, Conchord are delighted to be singing with them again. Other leading local musicians they have performed with over the years include Soundarie David, founder and director of Soul Sounds and Dushy Perera, resident conductor of the Symphony Orchestra.
Maheshini Perera, former Vice Principal of Ladies’ College is returning here after 2015. After the Easter Sunday tragedy the choir was split about whether they should come but they ended up convinced that this was the right time. The choir is celebrating its fifth anniversary and she says the passion and energy that this mix of musicians have is what makes them special. It is perhaps the only multi-religious, multi-ethnic, Sri Lankan choir outside Sri Lanka, she believes.
It is really meaningful for us to come back home and be a part of what’s happening here, she says.