Mirror Magazine

Mirror Magazine

All keyed up
By Smriti Daniel
Eshantha Peiris plays the piano with the precision of a surgeon and the flair of a flamenco dancer. His fingers trip and glide over the keys of the piano, as he coaxes out music so emotive and so beautiful that it keeps you enthralled – so much so that you feel your emotions get all tangled up with every note he plays. Anyone who has seen Eshantha performing can easily understand why many count this young man amongst the island’s foremost piano players; what’s even more impressive is that he is only 19 years old.

When you first meet Eshantha he strikes you as a friendly relaxed sort of guy, but you only have to watch him at the piano to discover what lurks within. When he sits down to play, it’s almost as if someone flipped a switch – he’s so deeply absorbed in the music that you feel like he’s forgotten you’re even there. For him this almost fierce concentration is not because he’s unsure of what comes next (because in all probability he’s already practiced it so often that he could play it with his toes), but because for him good playing is all about “trying to express the music.” And though it may look effortless, it’s anything but – Eshantha has got where he is through years of dogged perseverance.

Now for those who prefer to remain ignorant of classical music, Eshantha’s recent concert dedicated entirely to the works of Johannes Brahms may have understandably been a definite no-no. However, those who actually went for the show (kicking and screaming or merely reluctant, as the case may be), came away converted by the sheer skill of the musician himself. Despite the fact that he holds that “it’s about much more than just showmanship,” much of Eshantha’s appeal as a performer lies in his charismatic stage presence and ability to communicate his passion for the music he is playing.

Eshantha, who began learning music at the tender age of five, cannot actually pin-point the moment when it became such an important part of his life. He says that he slipped very gradually into his love affair with the piano. Born in the U.K., Eshantha and his family moved to Sri Lanka in 1993. He is also a student of the violin, laughing off any accusations of having abandoned the instrument. “I’m just on a holiday from the violin,” he says. An ex-Josephian, Eshantha was actively involved with the choir while in school. Interestingly, he was also a founding member and keyboardist for the rock band ‘Noitrotsid’.
The beginning of a new millennium brought about some dramatic changes in Eshantha’s life. The year 2000 saw him win the Prima Ceylon Ltd.

Music Development Sponsorship – not only the chance of a lifetime but the opportunity to set off in hot pursuit of his dream. New York and the Steinhardt School of Education was his destination of choice. It’s telling that Eshantha (who was still a teenager at the time), didn’t suffer in the least from culture shock upon his arrival in the big apple. “There’s a reason why it’s called ‘the melting pot,’ and you either hate it or love it. I loved it,” he says, going on to add that what with all the different nationalities in town, the Americans themselves could be considered more suitable candidates for culture shock.
This is particularly understandable in the light of the sometimes alarming, entirely amusingly quirky behaviour that Eshantha displays on occasion. Consider this statement: “There’s this saying that ‘music is the universal language’ – I’d like to prove that wrong. I would like to go to a place where they’ve never heard any western music and play for them. And if they don’t like it, then I would have proved my point and if they do… well, it’s a good thing.”

Apart from his musical activities, Eshantha leads a fairly ordinary life, devoid of any surprising hobbies or scandalous habits. For some reason (prejudiced bigot that I am) I expected a 19-year-old classical pianist to be a bit… well... dull. Eshantha proved me wrong, not just because he has a great sense of humour, but also because he is entirely easygoing and approachable. He sees himself as someone who “has a life – a regular, normal life,” and considers hanging out with his friends one of the nicest ways to spend a day. Perhaps it’s this attitude that got him recently voted ‘student of the year’ by the student body of the university’s Department of Music and Performing Arts Professions.

He is now in the process of continuing his musical studies at the New York University’s Steinhardt School where he is studying for a Bachelor of Music Degree and is in his final year (majoring in piano performance). He’s also an active member of NYU’s vocal jazz ensemble, though he says he would never stand up and sing a solo in public. His studies there have taken him in some unusual directions, in the sense that he’s not only studying subjects like Jazz, Composition and Music History but taking classes in Music Business, a subject which he fears might be of more value to someone intent on managing a rock band.

Eshantha is a composer at heart. “I’m really getting into composing and creating my own stuff,” he says, going on to add that “something that you compose lasts.” He’s only got into his stride in the last year, and he’s already got a lot to show for it. Several rock songs, a symphonic composition, arrangements for string quartets, arrangements for choirs of all sorts and little jazz concertos all number among his creations. When composing, he says he likes to begin with a firm structure in place, and shamelessly admits that the greatest stimulus to his creative impulse is when someone offers to pay him for it.

Jokes aside, Eshantha often makes references to doing something of value with his life. As this is obviously important to him, I ask him whether he actually has any fixed plans. He shrugs and says that he hasn’t figured it all out yet, but that he has a clear destination in mind – he wants to be a composer for movies. “When my friends and I go out for a movie, I tend to lose track of the plot, and get caught up in the background score,” he says ruefully. Eshantha is a fan of John Williams (the famous name behind the Star Wars’ soundtrack), and counts the background score of E.T. amongst his favourite soundtracks of all time.

He’s going to be done with his BA soon, and if you’re wondering what he’s planning on doing next, well “I plan to go straight into another degree,” he says, “and postpone facing the ‘real world’ for as long as possible,” he says. Either way, studying or not, a musician’s life is not an easy one. “A musician has to be a freelancer,” he says “once you’re done with one job, you just have to go out and find another.” Obviously this is not the most stable of professions, but Eshantha is not only supremely capable of succeeding, he’s more than content with his choice.

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