"Lanweela Ekweela Eka Pawlak Lankawe" - people from all ages from different walks of life gathered at Ananda College's Kularatne Hall were direct and indirect contributors to a single cause - contributing for a better tomorrow for children in need.
The concert, 'Symphony for a Child', organized by the founder of Educate a Child Trust (EACT) Dr. Pramilla Senanayake together with the AIDS Foundation of Lanka (AFL) was a fundraiser for the Trust's efforts to provide the poorest a path to opportunity, help tsunami victims rebuild their lives, and provide education, health and enterprise for all.
US Ambassador Patricia A. Butenis was the chief guest at the event.
'Symphony for a Child' was the brainchild of former Sri Lankan concert pianist and music teacher, Srima Jayasekera who lives in the UK who had held the concert for 13 consecutive years in London-this was the first time it was being held in Sri Lanka.
The evening began with the national anthem sung by the choir of the University of Visual & Performing Arts. Well-known performers including violinist Ananda Dabare and Eshantha Peiris followed with their soothing classical performances, before Voice Print - made up of Old Bens took the stage to provide an entertaining round of songs.
The action song of the three young singers- Kimberly, Camilla and Melyssa along with their friend on the piano touched the audience while Minusha Edirimanasinghe's impressive performance of Bharatha Natyam brought appreciation of another genre.
Ricky Bahar and Shyanne, the De Lanerolle Brothers dedicated their songs for the cause performing with their customary flair. Sureka Amerasinghe presented a piano solo and Suleetha Nanayakkara who was very well received by the audience gave a tenor solo.
Thilanka Jayamanne with his flute and finally the lead Soprano of the Merry-An Singers, soprano Dinali David brought the pleasant evening to a finish.
Awards day of English Speaking Union
The English Speaking Union of Sri Lanka held its Awards Day on May 11 at the 80 Club. Minoli Wijetunge, a student of Viharamahadevi Ballika Vidyalaya, Kiribathgoda was the winner, and Imran Mohamed from Alethea International School, Dehiwala was the runner-up. Over 30 schools took part .
Here Minoli and Imran are seen with officials of the English Speaking Union of Sri Lanka. (Left to right) Mrs. Dhammika Amerasinghe (General Secretary), T.S Randiligama (Ex. Co. Member), Imran Mohamed (Runner-up) Minoli Wijetunge (Winner), Kamal Muthukuda (Vice President), Tilak Amerasinghe (Vice President) and Upali Ratnayake (President.)
Lankan wins American chemical society award
Sri Lanka's Jasmin Athas won the American Chemical Society's Award for "for displaying the highest overall performance in Chemistry."
The award was made when she graduated with honours as a BSc from the State University of New York (SUNY) last week.
At the Honours Programme Medallion Ceremony that preceded the graduation, she won a Gold Medal.
 |
| Jasmin Athas |
Launch of Decade of Action
The UN General Assembly has proclaimed 2011-2020 the "Decade of Action" for road safety with a global vision of stabilizing and then reducing the forecasted level of global road fatalities by increasing activities conducted at national and regional and global levels.
The Ministry of Transport and Allied ministries with the support of the World Health Organisation (Country office for Sri Lanka) launched the Decade of Action at Cinnamon Grand on May 11.
On May 10, the Automobile Association of Ceylon which is affiliated to the FIA( Federation International de L' Automobile, the world's largest motoring body) formally launched the programme with a special seminar and demonstration on the use of highway and duties and obligation of the school traffic warden conducted by DIG T.Perinpanayagam (Rtd).
Picture shows (L-R) A.H.T. Weerakoon VP AAC, Nihal Gamage VP AAC, Dhammika Attygalle President AAC, Dig Traffic Asoka Wijetilleke and DIG Traffic and SSP Arasaratnam.
Sithawaka Children's Creative Circle holds exhibition
The Sithawaka Children's Creative Circle will show their prowess at the tri-annual art exhibition to be held on June 3 at 9 a.m. at the Seethawakapura Town Hall auditorium. Among the guests who will grace the occasion are Education Minister Bandula Gunawardena, Water and Water Resources Minister Dinesh Gunewardene, and Information and Technology Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya.The exhibition will go on till June 5.
Enjoy the Monsoon craft fair at MILK
Enter MILK at No. 12, Barnes Place, Colombo 7 and you see a garden of café tables, toy ponies and a fun child's playhouse.
MILK, for those not in the know sells everything from a comprehensive range of Avent baby and child products to popular books, handcrafted toys, kids couture and delicate one-off linens perfect for the nursery.
In keeping with their philosophy of sourcing the best products both locally and internationally MILK will play host to the Monsoon Craft Fair on June 4 with items from Shermila Batiks, handmade glass and paper bead jewellery from Marleen de Jong Rathengatter and beautifully handcrafted Beeralu Lace from Thilini Lace, just to name a few.
Tickets for the fair are priced at Rs. 200 and all proceeds will be donated to the CCC Line, an initiative of the CCC Foundation. The CCC Line is a telephone counselling service to support those who require help in the areas of emotional wellbeing and mental healthcare. www.cccfoundation.org.au/cccline/
So shop for a good cause on June 4 at MILK and help those in need.
Opening of pre-school
A pre-school built with the provincial allocation of Jayantha de Silva, founder of the Pragna Pradeepa concept at the children's playground in Dabare Mawatha, Colombo 5 was declared open recently. Picture shows Mr. de Silva lighting the oil lamp while Sarvodaya founder Dr. A.T. Ariyaratne, Chairperson of the EAP Group Mrs Soma Edirisinghe and Cinnamon Gardens organiser for Borella K.W. Ranaweera look on.
Lecture by Indian artist
Eminent Indian artist Balan Nambiar will present a slide lecture titled "Ritual Performances of Kerala" at the Indian Cultural Centre, Colombo on Monday, May 30 at 6.30 p.m.
Balan Nambiar is a painter, sculptor, enamellist, photographer and research scholar. His works are in the National Gallery of Modern Arts and four Museums in India.
Sexual medicine workshop for doctors
Many patients with sexual problems suffer in silence causing marital disharmony, divorce, alcohol addiction, depression and even suicide in some individuals.
The lack of help available from western medical practitioners has made the situation worse and many patients wanting to seek help become victims of quacks.
The reluctance of doctor to handle sexual problems is attributed to the lack of training in sexual medicine and time factors.
In view of this, the Sri Lanka Medical Association and the Family Planning Association of Sri Lanka have organized a 'Sexual medicine workshop' for doctors on June 7 at the Cinnamon Grand hotel.
Covering key areas such as male/female sexual dysfunction, psychosexual medicine and sexuality, among the eminent foreign speakers will be Dr. Jonathan Levy, Medical Director at the Oxford Centre for Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism, University of Oxford; Drs. Jill and David Edwards, Specialists in Sexual Medicine; Prof. Michael Kirby, Visiting Professor, Faculty of Health and Human Sciences, University of Hertfordshire; and Dr. Sudhakar Krishnamurti, Andrologist and Microsurgeon, Lucknow University.
The local speakers will include Dr. Lasantha Malavige, Specialist in Sexual Medicine, Dr. Ajith Malalasekara, Consultant Urological Surgeon, Dr. Athula Kaluarachchi, Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist, Dr. Kapila Ranasinghe, Consultant Psychiatrist, Dr. Thiloma Munasinghe, Consultant Community Physician, Dr. Piyanjali De Soyza, Psychologist, Prof. Diyanath Samarasinghe, Professor of Psychiatry and Dr. S.A.S Gonawardena, Consultant Urological Surgeon.
The registration for the workshop is Rs. 1,000. For more information and to reserve your place call Dr. Dilhara on 077 2649583.
SOSL takes on German masters
On June 4 at the Ladies' College hall, the Symphony Orchestra of Sri Lanka will present its German Masterworks concert, performing some of the best-loved works of three of Germany's foremost composers-Schubert, Beethoven and Wagner. Conducting this concert is German guest conductor Dr. Hans Jurgen Nagel, and performing Beethoven's one and only violin concerto is Professor Gottfried Schneider of the Munich Academy for Music and Theatre.
The first work on the programme is Franz Schubert's Overture to Rosamunde. Also on the programme is an orchestral piece by a veritable giant of the late-romantic era-Richard Wagner's Siegfried Idyll. The Siegfried Idyll was written for Cosima, daughter of Franz Liszt. Cosima was married to Wagner's friend and fellow musician Hans von Bulow and after a fairly conspicuous and well-documented affair, Wagner married her in 1870, after the birth of their third child, Seigfried.
Originally entitled Tribschen Idyll, the Siegfried Idyll was composed in Tribschen in 1870 as a birthday present for Cosima. In Siegfried Idyll Wagner wove together a set of musical references to his love for Cosima and their newborn son Siegfried, a rare glimpse of the personal and private side of this icon of Romantic music.
Beethoven's Concerto for Violin (Opus 61) was composed in a number of weeks between November and December 1806, an unusually short time for Beethoven. The Violin Concerto reflects the lyrical side of Beethoven's musical personality. The work was not well received by critics at its premiere-but today, is one of the most performed and recorded in the violin repertoire.
The German Masterworks Concert is sponsored by the Embassy of Germany supported by Mohan Tissanayagam. Tickets and box plan are available at Titus Stores, Liberty Plaza.
Reaching out to flood affected in Kinniya
The Ceylon Baithulmal Fund distributed boats, fishing gear, goats, sewing machines, school books and bags among the people of Kinniya where more than 10,000 people were affected by the floods early this year. Fund President M.Y.M. Faiz and the committee members are seen with some of the fishing boats before they were handed over to the affected people.
|
E-mail
