Flying the flag

ROSL prizewinning musicians tell us how their Sri Lankan heritage has shaped their careers and why their links to their home counrty are so important to them.

Kishani Jayasinghe, Soprano

Question: You come from a musical family. How did that influence your growing up?

Answer: I grew up in Colombo and was fortunate enough to be exposed to many types of music, ranging from traditional Sri Lankan to Western classical. My father and his three siblings formed their own string quartet and my grandmother was a pioneer member of the symphony orchestra. My mother's family excelled in piano and had an ongoing love affair with the voice.

I have strong memories of favourite Puccini, Verdi and Tchaikovsky arias playing in the background whenever I visited my maternal grandparents, and lots of Mozart and Strauss when I was with my paternal grandparents. These continue to be my favourite operatic composers.

One of my earliest memories is hearing Maria Callas's rendition of Vissi d'arte. I remember thinking that this kind of unadulterated vocal prowess was extraordinary, so perhaps early exposure to this type of music influenced my life. On a tiny island, such as Sri Lanka, it was certainly unusual to grow up immersed in the world of classical music. While our friends spent the evening at the cinema, my brother and I would attend an orchestral concert.

Aptitude

Q: When did your musical education begin?

A: I always loved to sing and a wonderful teacher in Sri Lanka recognised that I had a natural aptitude. However, growing up in Asia, I never considered becoming a professional artiste. I went to England and had just completed a Master's in Law when destiny placed (renowned vocal coach) Pamela Cook in my path. It was her unreserved belief in me, and the unconditional support of my parents and family, that gave me the confidence and strength to make the switch over from law to singing. I was offered a scholarship to study at the Royal Academy of Music, and was then accepted on the Jette Parker Young Artistes Program at the Royal Opera House (ROH). Pam continues to be my teacher and most cherished mentor.

Kishani Jayasinghe	Ashan Pillai

Q: Tell me about representing Sri Lanka at the ROSL centenary celebrations....

A: I was delighted; being introduced to the Queen as a pioneer in this art form in my country was one of the most memorable moments of my career. It felt as if I had come full circle, as I had previously represented Sri Lanka as the recipient of the ROSL/Sri Lanka scholarship, and first met (Director of Arts) Roderick Lakin as a teenager.

Responsibility

I feel a great responsibility when I am flying the flag, so to speak. I am fortunate to have had that privilege several times. It was such an unusual career path for a girl born and raised in Sri Lanka, and to be given that level of recognition for doing something I love is a dream come true.

Q: Is it true that you were also the first Sri Lankan to perform on the main stage at the ROH?

A: Absolutely. I was incredibly excited about making it there, not only as the first Sri Lankan, but also as the first South Asian soprano. I was so happy to have the opportunity to open that door for future singers from my region.

Ashan Pillai, viola

Q: You have studied in Britain, the United States and Canada. When did you decide to move overseas?

A: I was born in Colombo, but my parents migrated to the UK when I was nine months old. I started playing the violin at the age of seven while I was at school in England. We then returned to Sri Lanka for two years, and later switched to viola, aged 11. I have received great teaching throughout my education, firstly at the Royal Academy of Music in London, then at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, Banff in Canada and the Juilliard School in New York.

Q: When did your relationship with ROSL begin?

A: In 1995 with my participation in the Annual Music Competition; I won the Bernard Shaw Memorial Scholarship for a viola player.

Mysical ties

Q: Why is it important for you to retain musical ties with Sri Lanka?

A: I first went back to Sri Lanka to play for the 50th anniversary of independence in 1998, after an absence of 15 years. I played as a soloist with the English Chamber Orchestra in the presence of Prince Charles. Since then I have been here every two years to play recitals, chamber concerts, and do educational work and master-classes.

It has become an important part of my life - the opportunity to show that there are Sri Lankans representing all artistic fronts on an international level, especially for the younger generations. I also get the chance to see my family there and enjoy the wonderful local cuisine. I have to thank the British Council for their support in each of my trips to Sri Lanka.

Q: How has your Sri Lankan heritage influenced your musical career?

A: That's a difficult question. My visits to India and Sri Lanka are a result of this heritage, but music is an international language which surpasses boundaries of language, race and sex, and, therefore, there has been little that I consider influential when looking at my heritage - except possibly character traits and a relaxed attitude to everything.

Polish cellist

Q: When did you start to study music?

A: My father was a lawyer, but both my parents were keen amateur musicians. As children, my brothers, sister and I learned to play the piano; I also studied the Kandyan drum, one of the main classical instruments of Sri Lanka.

It was difficult to find good teachers for Western instruments, so when my parents heard that a fine Polish cellist, Martin Hohermann, had arrived they asked if he would teach one of the children. He was not interested, but after he heard me play the piano he agreed to teach me, on the condition that I made sufficient progress.

After a year, Hohermann became very insistent that my parents send me to Europe to continue my training. This was certainly not something my parents had in mind for my future, but I set off with my mother by boat, at the age of 11, to play to some of the leading cellists of the time, in London, Paris and Prades. Gaspar Cassado offered to teach me, free of charge, in Florence, Italy.

Q: How did you get involved in the ROSL Annual Music competition?

A: Studying went hand in hand with concert playing in many countries. The ROSL competition, which I won in 1955, was among the earliest of these competitions and, from what I remember, had just one round and one adjudicator: the composer Herbert Howells. Winning the competition helped me a lot during that stage of my career.

Sacred music

Q: What are the sounds you most associate with Sri Lanka?

A: The wide variety of drums, the piercing sound of the double-reed horanewa, Buddhist chanting, and the awe-inspiring sacred music of the nagasvaram in the Hindu temples are all very vivid in my mind and something from which I draw inspiration in my improvisations. In the Cello Sequenza XIV that Luciano Berio wrote for me, he incorporated the rhythms of the Kandyan drum of Sri Lanka.

Q: How important is it for you to collaborate with Sri Lankan musicians?

A: I have worked for many years with my pianist brother Druvi in programs of mainly, but not exclusively, Western music. I have also had the good fortune to work with some of the leading Kandyan drummers and dancers from Sri Lanka, among them the drummer Piyasara Silpadipathi and dancers Chitrasena and Vipuli.

Since the combined tragedies of terrorism and the tsunami in Sri Lanka, I have participated in fund-raising concerts with colleagues from Sri Lanka and other parts of the world.

Courtesy: Overseas