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| Wednesday, 29 September 2004 |
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World figure in music A Sri Lankan lady presently living abroad has become an international celebrity in the realm of music and brought fame and renown on herself and her country. She is Mrs Prasanthi Mendis wife of D. L. Mendis, Sri Lanka's Ambassador in Austria. Her musical career began when she won the first prize including the ATCL from London Trinity College of Music. She had the rare experience of living in the Africa and the Caribbean when her husband was a UN Civil Servant. These countries included Sierra Leone in West Africa, St. Kitts and Nevis in the Caribbean and during this period she mastered musical instruments such as the African Xylophone, Caribbean Steel Drums and Venezuelan Quattro and did doctoral research in Ethnomusicology where she specialized in the impact of Indonesian music and African xylophone. Her view was that these instruments have led to the invention of Caribbean Steel Drums in Trinidad and Tobago. Prasanthi travelled widely with her husband and performed in many countries and international organizations. These included audiences in Africa, Caribbean, UK, USA and Sri Lanka where she distinguished herself as a Solo artist on the violin, steel drums and the piano. Her outstanding achievements were to direct the Haston Harmoletes Steel Band in Cambridge, to perform at BBC concerts and play the steel drum at the Temple of the Latter Day Saints, Salt Lake City, Utah. In Vienna where she is residing with her husband she has outstanding achievements to her credit which included being the Solo Steel Drum Artist and Violinist, at prestigious concerts and pioneering introduction of Caribbean Steel Drums in concert halls in Vienna. Her star performance was at the concert organized by the Student Foundation at the Boessendorfer Centre in Vienna where she was a soloist playing the Caribbean steel drums and western classical music in a combination of musical instruments. These included the ancient harp and the modern Caribbean steel drum when she played the works of a number of classical composers such as George Bizet and Fronz Lehar. This concert is memorable fora presentation by Prasanthi of the Waltz of Johan Strauss on "The Beautiful Blue Danube". She played this on Caribbean Steel Drums accompanied by outstanding pianists, violinists and solo cellists. What was remarkable in her performance was the use of the mallets in the manner of a violist using the bow. On this occasion she also did a special steel drum interpretation of the romantic composition "Ganga Addera" of a Sri Lankan. This record will speak for itself about the unique impact of Prasanthi on the world of music on almost a universal scale. A unique feature of her art is a combination of instruments weather strictly western violin and piano or the Caribbean steel instruments and the mallets. In the process she has developed a unique style which has given an international character to her presentations. During her stay in Vienna there is no doubt that she has made a great impact an instance being the concert at the Boessendorfer Centre which was under the distinguished patronage of Dr. Fischer, President of the Republic of Austria, the Mayor and the Governor of Vienna, the Minister of Education and the Minister of Foreign Affairs. This concert at Boessendorfer raised a record of a million rupees and the programme for the occasion was done by Prasanthi. It is clear from these achievements that Prasanthi is a world figure in music of whom Sri Lanka could be proud. She is a remarkable combination of versatility in music and mastery of special instruments like the mallet. One can look forward to even greater achievements in the future which would make her really an outstanding artist of our times. Dr. Vernon L. B. Mendis |
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