COLOMBO, Sri Lanka: In an effort to promote peace through the medium of music, musicians from Sri Lanka and India will play in unison at Music Beyond Borders. The event, organised by the Symphony Orchestra of Sri Lanka (SOSL) will take place at 7:30 pm at the Ladies’ College Hall on
8 Indian String players will join the SOSL for this special concert—in a joint celebration of 70 years of independence. Tickets are available at the Lionel Wendt Theatre box office.
The concert will begin with the overture to La Cenerentola by Gioachino Rossini, a 19th-century Italian composer credited with 39 operas. Later on, Vienna-based concert pianist Marialena Fernandes will perform Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 27 under the baton of Viswa Subbaraman, an accomplished conductor and notable artistic director based in the United States. Subbaraman will also conduct a joint orchestra in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7.
Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 27 combines the simple elegance one has come to expect of Mozart with a sense of sadness; the music is at turn luminous and tragic. On the other hand, the exuberant seventh symphony reflects a fleeting but happy stage in Beethoven’s otherwise turbulent life.
“I am thrilled that our dream of creating a South Asian Symphony Orchestra is being launched with this first step of bringing young Indian and Sri Lankan musicians together,” said Srimati Nirupama Rao, former Indian Foreign Secretary and Ambassador. “This is an inspirational example for our region as a whole. We need to build architectures for peace, and music is a great harmoniser.”
Rao introduced the idea of a South Asian Symphony Orchestra to bring together musical talent from the eight countries in the region, in an effort to unite people and promote peace.
“As we join hands in celebrating our 70th year of independence, we at SOSL are honoured to have this opportunity to host the first of many collaborative concerts between regional musicians. It has indeed been a truly fulfilling experience working with Ms Rao, the initiator of this project and the guest Indian musicians and we look forward to many more opportunities to work with other talented musicians from the region,” said Sharmini Wettimuny, SOSL Chairperson.
The event is sponsored by the ICCR Delhi and ICC Colombo, with co-sponsors: Morison PLC, Brandix Inspired Solutions, East India Holdings, Yes FM, TV1 & Legends 96.6, and Hospitality Partner, Fairway Colombo.