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Temple Trees reception for David Whelton

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and his wife hosted a tea party at Temple Trees in honour of David Whelton, the Managing Director of the London based Philharmonia Orchestra who visited Sri Lanka last week in order to sign a three year recording contract with Conductor Rohan Joseph.

The CD recording contract involves the complete Bruckner symphony cycle. Concerts with the Philharmonia Orchestra at the Royal Festival Hall and other major British cities have also been offered to the Sri Lankan conductor.

Rohan Joseph, in keeping with the Prime Minister's vision to transform Sri Lanka into an international entertainment hub for this region and to utilize the performing arts to enhance the country's global image, has requested that all non-performance areas of the vast Royal Festival Hall be converted into exhibition space on the days of his concerts to allow Sri Lanka and its business community to showcase themselves with a view to attracting more up market tourists. Furthermore, such a gesture will enable selected Sri Lankan businesses such as Sri Lankan Airlines, The Lanka Oberoi, The Sri Lanka Tea Board, The Sri Lanka Tourist Board and Ministry of Tourism to promote their services and products in the highly competitive UK market in a unique manner at far less economic cost than conventional methods.

The Philharmonia Orchestra has agreed to this request, which was made by the conductor 'for the greater good of Sri Lanka' and are making the needed arrangements in time for the first Royal Festival Hall concert which is scheduled for Monday, December 9th 2002 when the Bruckner 9th Symphony and Te Deum with the London Symphony Chorus are performed.

Members of the Philharmonic Society of Sri Lanka's Board of Regents and other notables were invited and present at this "Temple Trees" reception. Sir Arthur C Clarke, Mohan Tissanayagam, Mr and Mrs Sarath Wickremanayake, Mr and Mrs Thilanga Sumapthipala, Mr and Mrs Vivendra Lintotawela, Mr and Mrs Dhammika Perera Mrs Srima Dissanayake, Italian Ambassador Salvatore Zotta, Mr and Mrs Steffen Pfeifer, Mr and Mrs Ramal Jayasinghe and Mr and Mrs Victor Abesekera were among the selected crowed.

The Prime Minister who addressed the gathering and said that the arts are to the development of a country's future and David Whelton agreed. In his brief remark to those present, Mr. Whelton emphasised that the development of a vibrant and vital arts programme such as that envisaged by the Philharmonic Society of Sri Lanka needed the Government and the private sector to work in tandem and the resultant benefits of such an exercise would have positive global repercussions for Sri Lanka.

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