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| Sunday, 24 July 2005 |
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Arts Presidential Film Awards 2005 by Aditha Dissanayake Presidential Film Awards 2005, will be held at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH) on July 27 with President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga as the Chief Guest. Inaugurated on July 27, 1979 with 15 artistes receiving awards for their outstanding performances in the film industry, this year's awards will include for the first time in the history of the awards, eight artistes whose work has gained international acclaim. The National Film Corporation has also organised an International Film Festival at Cine City Cinema, Maradana from July 20 to 26. World renown films from six countries will be screened from 10.30am to 7.00pm. The films scheduled to be screened on the following days are, July 24, Dakhil, Cinderella, White Nights from Iran, July 25, Last Present,and I wish I had a wife from Korea, July 26,The Miracle of Bern, Good Bye, Lenin and Run Lola Run, from Germany. A workshop on 'Film Appreciation' will also be held from July 24 to 26 in collaboration with the Pune Film Academy of India at the BMICH. The syllabus will cover basic concepts of cinema, language, cinematic theories as well as other arts like painting, music, drama and literature. Young Sri Lankan pianist conducts orchestra
Young Sri Lankan, Dinuk Wijeratne, has recently been appointed as the Resident Conductor of the Nova Scotia Symphony Orchestra (Symphony Nova Scotia). Dinuk, aged 26, will take up the two-year appointment in August 2005. "This is such a great opportunity for someone of my age and indeed straight out of school" remarked Dinuk, a graduate of New York's famous Juilliard and Mannes Schools, as well as England's Royal Northern College of Music. In the classical music scene today, hordes of young conductors continually vie for the precious few positions available with professional orchestras worldwide. Contenders are usually fresh out of college, with Masters degrees to their name, but most spend several years competing for jobs. "As the ratio of orchestra to conductor is several-to-one, it is, understandably, highly competitive," says Dinuk. "While music-directorships are held by experienced conductors from an older generation, they themselves do need younger assistants to help them to elevate the orchestra to greater musical heights and create new vistas/ horizons and facilitate the routine rehearsal process." Dinuk's position with Symphony Nova Scotia, will be similar to that of any assistant's - i.e. covering the repertoire of their Music Director, German maestro, Bernhard Gueller - but with the added responsibilities of taking charge of the orchestra's 'Pops', Educational, and newly instigated Contemporary Music Series. These three different avenues considered essential for the ensemble's growth, present very distinct challenges, as each caters to a separate audience at the outset. Says Dinuk: "Bringing them together will prove to be the ultimate challenge." Now looking positively towards the future, Dinuk has a hectic concert schedule already planned for him by Symphony Nova Scotia in the months to come. He will lead the orchestra in several Maritime Pops concerts, educational concerts for schools, and concerts of new music about which Dinuk, a creative artist at heart, is particularly excited. There are also large collaborative projects which involve leading Canadian Theatre and Ballet companies: Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker at Christmas time with the Halifax Dance and Mermaid Theatre and, most daunting of all according to Dinuk, is Prokofiev's Cinderella. The complete ballet will be in collaboration with Toronto's Ballet Jorgen dance company. At two hours long and quite epic in scope, it will be the most taxing work the young conductor will have to face. When asked about the elusive balance between conducting, composing and playing, Dinuk remarked: "I consider all aspects of my music-making it to be inextricably linked; and interdependent. Not only do I feel enriched whenever I move amongst the three, but whenever there is little activity in one area, I start to feel like there is something missing in my life!". Sri Lankan-born Dinuk, grew up and schooled in Dubai, in the Middle East, before taking up undergraduate studies in composition in 1996, at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester UK. While his main focus was in writing contemporary classical music, he nevertheless took advantage of a great deal of what the college had to offer: learning to improvise; playing and recording Jazz with the RNCM Big Band; and learning to conduct small ensembles. Whilst at the RNCM, Dinuk was recognised for the diversity of his musical talent and interests, winning prizes not only for contemporary classical composition and conducting, but for Jazz improvisation as well. He collaborated with visiting artistes such as Victor Mendoza and Tim Garland, the celebrated British Jazz musician John Dankworth (who performed in Dinuk's composition Earth, Blues and Sunrise, featuring the RNCM Big Band), and participated in master classes with celebrated Jazz diva, Dame Cleo Laine, and Ed Thigpen, former drummer for Oscar Peterson. (Nova Scotia Canda) |
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