SOSL presents February concert

By Mahes Perera

After a hiatus the Symphony Orchestra of Sri Lanka returns to the stage to give classical music lovers a treat when they presents its February concert on Saturday 22. The concert conducted by Dushyanthi Perera will be held at their favourite stage at the Ladies College, Hall.

The program will comprise Beethoven's Overture to 'Egmont' Op 84, Mendelssohn's Overture Ruy Blas Op 95, the Armenian composer Khachaturian's 'Masquerade' Suite. The finale will be Dimitri Kabalevsky's Cello Concerto No 1 in G Minor Op 49 with the spotlight on Tamara Holsinger.

Ever since her debut as a conductor in 2012 Dushyanthi Perera's popularity has increased. She then directed the Symphony Orchestra's performance of Mendelssohu's 'Scottish' Symphony which resulted in many congratulatory reviews. Her keen interest in building the playing of the cello among Sri Lankan youth made her found the Cantando Cello Ensemble which had its fair share of performances in Colombo.

Her laudable technique was acknowledged by the Bombay Chamber Orchestra of which she is the principal cellist. In 2011 she was invited to perform the Dvorak Cello Concerto with the Bombay Chamber Orchestra which was conducted by the acknowledged Japanese conductor Keiko Kobayashi.

As a leading cellist in Sri Lanka, Dushyanthi Perera has presented most of the major concertos for cello and orchestra with the Symphony Orchestra of Sri Lanka. These concerts include those of Haydn (D Major), Boccherini, Elgar, Dvorak, Lalo, Kabalevsky and Victor Herbert.

She has with cellist Tamara Holsinger performed the double concerto for two cellos by Vivaldi, the double concerto for cello and violin by Brahms with Ananda Dabare, and also the Triple Conceto by Beethoven with Tanya Anandappa, violin and Shanthi Thamber, piano as well as with Ananda Dabare violin and Ramya de Livera Perera, piano.

Dushyanthi Perera's early music education has held her in good stead. "My mother, the late Mala Seneviratne taught me the piano, while I learnt all the intricacies of the cello from the late Averil Bautholomuesz. I was in London for my secondary education. I studied the cello under Alexander Bailey and I took lessons with Rohan de Saram.

As a member of the Junior London Symphony Orchestra I played under Andre Previn and Ernest Reed" said Dushyanthi Perera. The performances of the Cantando Cello Ensemble and the Dr. Earle de Fonseka Chamber Music Concert series gave her the recognition as a music director.

"I am indebted to the inspirational guidance I received from Dr. Earle de Fonseka in my development as a musician, and the profound insights he provided on the technical and expressive aspects of orchestral performance" said Dushyanthi Perera.

The soloist Tamara Holsinger was a student of Averil Bartholomeusz and according to her, she was the most influential figure in her formative years. Later on Tamara was a student of Dushyanthi Perera who was a guiding force behind her development as a cellist.

She had her formal music education at Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts, USA where she majored in music. While in the States, she was a cello student of David Gibson. A holder of the LRSM and FTCL diplomas in performance, Tamara made her debut with the Symphony Orchestra of Sri Lanka as the winner of the strings category of the Concerto competition held in 1994, performing Saint Saens' Cello Concerto No 1 in A Minor. Since then she has presented Elgar's Cello Concerto in E Minor, Boccherini's Concerto in B Flat and Vivaldi's Concerto for Two Cellos. The principal cellist of the SOSL and a member of the Cantando Cello Ensemble since its inception, Tamara acknowledges the huge role the Ensemble has played in both her technical and musical development.