'You raised me up...'

by Aditha Dissanayake

Visitors to the Asiri Hospital late in the evening last month, would have been surprised to hear the sound of choir music coming from the 10th floor.

Gathered on the corridor and the stairs of the room where their teacher Ruwani Seimon lay unconscious, this was the way her students paid respect to an exceptional teacher and mentor.

Tears glistened in the eyes of those who had just returned from the 1st Asian Choir games, having bagged two winning Gold Diplomas for the mixed youth and folklore categories. Hand picked by Ruwani the twenty-four choristers remembered their teacher's last words before they left for Jakarta.

"I won't be disappointed if you fail to win an award but if you do win, that'll be fabulous". Here they were now, with not one, but two awards, standing near the door of her hospital room, trying to reach her, not through words but through the music she herself had taught them. As the choir began to sing "You raised me up..." Ruwani breathed her last.

Every once in a great while someone crosses your path, walks a part of life's journey with you, befriends, influences and invests in you, leaving you forever changed.

This was so with Ruwani Seimon. Romali Steven who had travelled to Jakarta on behalf of Ruwani with the "Voices in Harmony" recalls how she became friends with Ruwani way back in the year 2000, when she helped her as a make up artiste in one of Ruwani's concert performances.

"We shared the ups and downs of our lives; the laughter and the tears". Our bond became stronger when my children became her students. And she gave so much of herself to her students".

During her career as a music teacher Ruwani taught her students many songs from Sing low sweet chariot to Danno Budunge challenging them to perform at their highest level.

Yet, beyond teaching them how to sing the right notes she also mingled lessons of life with her music instructions. She was so close to her students she was like a second mother to them. She was their confidante. They shared their secrets with her and willingly listened to her advice.

Ruwani was also a brilliant artist, she painted especially kurthas that were beyond one's imagination. Her colour balancing was just perfect" says Romali.

She concludes in a shaky voice "To the sweet strains of her choir singing "you raised me up, so I can stand on mountains" Ruwani was called to her eternal home".

Come to the edge she told her students. They said we are afraid. Come to the edge. She repeated. They came. She pushed them, and they flew (To slightly misquote the French writer, Apollinaire).

The world has lost a wonderful person. Not just the musical world but the whole world.

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About Voices in Harmony

* Voices in Harmony is a choral group of more than 90 students of Ruwani Seimon.

* Established in 1996, Voices in Harmony performed for Sri Lankan audiences every two years. Having used their talent to serve the community, together with her students, Ruwani has donated 1.8 million to many charity organizations during the past ten years.

* Competing in an international pageant has been one of Ruwani's many dreams, to participate in the 1st Asian Choir Games 2007 held in Jakarta Indonesia, the choir needed approximately Rs. 2 million.

The Voices in Harmony had a fund raising performance at the Waters Edge, which was highly successful as 1200 tickets were sold to a full house with sponsorship from leading private sector firms. The voices in Harmony made it for the Asian choir games.

For this Ruwani hand picked 24 of her choristers.

* The voices in Harmony were selected to the Asian open category winning two Gold Diplomas for the mixed youth and folklore categories.