Here is a budding virtuoso

Take note of her

By Madhubhashini Ratnayake

At a time when Sri Lanka desperately needs a reason to be proud of itself, it is a relief to hear fifteen-year-old Thushani Jayawardene getting ready to have her debut concert where on violin, she will bring to life great works by composers like Mozart, Dvorak, Sibelius, Kreisler and Khachaturian.

Thushani has already proved her excellent musicianship to Sri Lankan audiences by performing the Bach Violin Concerto in A Minor as soloist with the Symphony Orchestra of Sri Lanka under the baton of conductor Ananda Dabare, two years ago. The confidence and flair of the small girl on stage thrilled the hearts of many in the audience that evening.

She has consistently scored Distinctions at the Royal Schools of Music, London, right up to the final Grade Eight, which she did last year. Excluding that exam, where results are yet to be announced, Thushani has always been the All-Island Prize winner in all the examinations she has done.

And all this she has achieved before she has done even her Ordinary Level examinations at school. She entered Visakha Vidyalaya from Kolonnawa Balika Vidyalaya, after passing the scholarship examination. Though good at academic subjects as well, Thushani's hopes for the future are clear. "I want to be a musician. There is nothing else that I can think of," she says. Focused as her ambitions are, the path to that aim is anything but simple, given the conditions of her environment.

"I hope that some sort of fund could be started here to send her to England to pursue music further," says her father Asoka Jayawardene, himself a violinist in the Symphony Orchestra of Sri Lanka and the Orchestra at the SLBC. "Actually there have been offers for a Summer School course there already, and one reason that we are planning this concert is to have some money to facilitate the trip there."

Someone like Thushani deserves government sponsorship. She has it in her to reach international performer standards and carry the name of Sri Lanka abroad, with the right amount of help now. The sooner we realize that it is not only in the field of sports that help is necessary, the better it would be.

Apart from the credit Sri Lanka would have if she becomes an international performer - it stands to gain even if she doesn't, because Thushani is very firm in her conviction that she should come back here to teach others, once she becomes a fully-fledged musician. "I learnt my skill here. I want to come back and give it to others," she says. Her father adds, "I want her to come to a position of some kind of financial security. And then I want her to get all those people who cannot afford to follow a skill like this and teach them the art, even free of charge. There are so many young people with talent in Sri Lanka who do not have the chance to come forward."

Among those who helped Thushani on her way, Ananda Dabare, her violin teacher, and Meneca de Fonseka-Sahabandhu, her piano, vocal and theory teacher, stand very prominent. Both of them being dedicated teachers as well as exceptional musicians would undoubtedly inspire her to follow in their footsteps.

It is not only in violin that this gifted teenager excels. She passed the Grade Five examination in Piano with a distinction in 1998. The very next year, she scored a distinction pass again for the Grade Five Vocal examinations. In theory, she received a distinction pass in Grade Six, in 1997.

For the concert on Friday, Thushani will perform many famous and well loved works of some great composers, accompanied by Meneca de Fonseka-Sahabandhu on piano. It is an event not to be missed, not only because it will be a great show, but also because it will be a way to show this superb young artist that there are people in this country to give her the encouragement she so well deserves.

Thushani Jayawardene's debut violin concert will be held at the Lionel Wendt on June 11 at 7 p.m.

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