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Arts Feast of song
from Thomians The show, dreamed
up by two famous old boys of S. Thomas College, theatre personality
Jith Peiris and the veteran choirmaster and organ wizard Russel
Bartholomeusz will see Thomians from the Lower, Middle and Upper
Schools on stage along with some recent old boys in a feast of song. Opening the
show, which goes on the boards at the Bishop's Collge auditorium
on May 29, 30 and 31, will be the Thomian orchestra, followed by
the College Choir in a presentation of traditional spiritual numbers. Other highlights
of the show will be The Middle School with 'Songs that won the war'
and little Thomians on a Teddy Bears' Picnic. No production
by Jith is complete without a touch of Broadway and so the audience
can look forward to extracts from the musicals and a 'Salute to
King Tut' or the best of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat
rendered in distinctive Thomian style. The college
Hewisi band will also be on stage with a 'Tribute to Sigiriya'-
the eighth wonder of the world. Niranjan de Silva directs the music for this production which will also see the versatile Soundari David at the keyboard. Jumbo issue The Sri Lankan
elephant is the focus of this small but compelling exhibition which
highlights the tragic plight this magnificent animal faces in the
country today. Presented by
the Wildlife and Nature Protection Society as a travelling exhibition
to Through a series
of telling images, first of elephants in all their majesty in the
wild and then in conflict with humans, the message is brought home.
Some images are graphic and shocking, of elephants brutally chained,
wounded and dying, but this is the reality as are the bodies of
villagers killed by elephants. A must for all animal lovers for as President of the WNPS Ashley de Vos points out ‘extinct is forever’. The stars sing
Gospel Proceeds of
the concert will go towards the St. Vincent's Home for Girls in
Ratnapura. Established
in 1974, the home is run by the Sisters of Charity of the Convent
of the Child Jesus and today houses 72 children. The Probation
Department, Police and other organisations admit underprivileged
children between ages 5 and 18 into this unit where they are assured
of care and protection. All children
are sent to school so that their educational needs are secured. During the
Children's Week celebrations of the past two years, the children
from St. Vincent's Home, Ratnapura had outshone others both at District
and National levels in music and dancing. With an aim
to provide exposure to their talents, the Past Pupils Association
of the Convent of Child Jesus, Colombo has taken on this project
that provides an opportunity for them to perform with other students. The concert
will also feature leading professional musicians such as Mariazelle
Goonethileke, Dalreen, Maxi Rozairo, Corrine Almeida, Aubrey Weinman,
Ishan, Ricky Bahar, Malik and Dilip Seneviratne and Serela Athulathmudali,
all of who will present Christian Music for this cause. The College
of World Education that endeavours to provide Sri Lankan students
an English medium education using the latest techniques of learning
at a reasonable cost sponsors the programme. Tickets will be available at the College of World Education, Rajagiriya, Torana Music Centre - Bambalapitiya and Liberty Plaza and MCD Centre. A sunny collection The exhibition
appropriately called "The Sunshine Smiles", has been inspired
by the way the children seemed to draw the sun in their paintings,
says Rhuani, herself a talented artist. Dedicated to
the belief that the creative process involved in the making of art
is healing and life enhancing, she said the objective of the exhibition
is to encourage and build the confidence of each student by displaying
their works of art. Some proceeds from the sale of paintings will be donated to ESCAPE (Eradicating Sexual Child Abuse, Prostitution and Exploitation). Kala
Korner By Dee Cee The rendering
of maestro Amaradeva's ever-popular patriotic numbers - 'Nidahas
Sithuvili' and 'Patu Adahas' - by the Phoenix chorus, set the tone
for the evening. They moved on to the 'Saravita' favourite 'Sarai
Saraiya' and turned it into a poetic invitation to the exhibition.
Amaradeva himself enjoyed listening to his numbers being sung and
when Phoenix's creative director Upali Herath approached him cautiously
to find out what the maestro felt, he was told that he (Amaradeva)
himself did not realize that he had created such great numbers. 'The Other
Side' was a fine depiction of the immense talent that the Agency
possesses. Each person had tried his/her hand at something different
from what they usually do. Copywriter
Wipula Samarasekera, for example, was proud of the photographs he
had captured at Galle Face one evening through the lens of his camera.
Paintings dominated the show (obviously done by those not involved
in that aspect of creativity at the Agency). The collection of over
200 paintings and photographs certainly did the Agency proud. Phoenix 'boss'
Irvin Weerackody displayed his talent for taking good photographs
even though we haven't heard of his pictures being used for any
ads done by the Agency. Irvin loves travel and the five photographs
he displayed depicted a majestic tree at Buttala, dawn at Arugam
Bay, a face from Seenimodera, a lone animal in a Matale walauwa
and 'an ornament' from Ranna. Irvin was quite
happy with the response to the show. The ad created for the exhibition
had raised a few eyebrows but then admen do like to create a sensation! Kindness
to animals Manju believes
in the need for an educational system that stresses on religion
and culture, which will help in building values. She feels showing
kindness towards animals will help in the process and is keen to
point children in that direction. She tries to convey to children
the need to respect elders. Incidentally,
Manju is the daughter of well-known writer Leel Gunasekera who has
written a number of popular novels based on his experiences as a
senior provincial administrator. News on
visual arts The monthly
bulletin mainly discusses activities at the VAFA Gallery at Etul
Kotte but carries a calendar of events as well. Looking at
future exhibitions, the bulletin profiles the artists and provides
comments on their approach in their relevant fields. Featured in
the May issue are photographer Anuruddha Lokuhapuarachchi, who is
planning his exhibition 'Land of the Unknown' at the Lionel Wendt
and Gayan Karunaratne whose studio pottery exhibition is being held
from June 7-16 at the VAFA Gallery. Details of courses on ceramic art conducted by the Vibhavi Academy are also given in the bulletin. |
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Copyright © 2001 Wijeya Newspapers
Ltd. All rights reserved. |
The
title says it all. ‘Can you imagine Sri Lanka without the elephant?’
take
the message of elephant conservation to all parts of the country,
the display of photos by well-known wildlife photographers is now
on at the Harold Peiris Gallery of the Lionel Wendt and will continue
till May 31.
