Mirror Magazine

Mirror Magazine

Pleasure in performing
‘Adlib’ means at the performers’ pleasure. These guys seem to have taken that to heart.
By Marisa de Silva
These guys get together just to sing. ‘Adlib’ is a group of eight young ex-Peterites, all in their early twenties, studying or working in fields ranging from medicine to law to advertising and banking. Although diverse in both profession and personality, they share one passion: music.

Ahimsa Silva, Anuruddha Lihinikaduwa, Chanaka Fernando, Mahesh Senaratne, Mario de Soyza, Ryan De Sylva, Sandhun Mendis and Sanjeev Dabare are the guys responsible for creating some amazing sounds. Having started off singing in their college choir under the guidance of Ms. Priyanthi Seniviratne, they continue to sing for the Peterite Chorale which celebrated its 10th anniversary this year.

Mostly singing in four-part harmony, their repertoire ranges from sacred to pop, all-time classics like ‘Moonlight Bay’ and ‘Mr. Sandman’ to original arrangements of popular Sinhala and English songs, including baila numbers. One such arrangement taught to them by their school oriental music master is a medley of Sinhala songs such as ‘Ukulata Navath’, ‘Ganga Addhara’, ‘Siri Sangabodhi Maligawe’, ‘Aney Mehema Thanhavak’ and others.

In their spare time, they experiment mixing English songs with Sinhala songs, which has turned out quite well, for instance when they blended ‘Ran Kurahan Mala’ with ‘Tears in Heaven’.

However, their many public appearances in concerts and competitions have revolved mostly around famous pop songs like, ‘In the still of the night’ and ‘I still believe in you’, and gospel music like ‘Majesty’ and ‘Shout to the Lord’.

They all agree that they sing because they enjoy it. ‘Adlib’ means at the performers’ pleasure, and they too sing for the pleasure it brings them and those around them, they say.

Most often, the musical maestro amongst them, Sanjeev, accompanies them on the piano, whilst Chanaka joins in occasionally on guitar. A multi-talented lot you could say because Sandhun and Chanaka play the piano too but prefer to let Sanjeev lead the way in that department. Sanjeev, the perfectionist, enjoys creating various arrangements for the guys.

‘Adlib’ has a knack for ‘Acappella’ (unaccompanied) numbers, which brings out their crystal clear harmonies and modulation. They are currently working on some originals, which will be included in the CD that they hope to release in the future.

And come Christmas their collection of both catchy and all-time favourite Christmas carols and songs are popular at leading hotels. This year too, they hope to follow their tradition of singing through the season. They also hope to hold a concert in the near future, featuring their entire repertoire of songs covering various genres.

Their website www.commsoft.lk/adlib.html was launched recently and can be accessed by anyone interested in contacting the group. They are grateful to their parents and families for tolerating their musical madness and for supporting and encouraging them throughout the years.

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