Trekking for stardom
Anuradha Abeysekera
You may have heard old stories where kings bowed to honour true
artistic talents. It was recently that the British High Commissioner
John Rankin and adjudicator Gary Sieling knelt down to pose for a
photograph with little genius Thenuri S. Wickramanayake in respect for
her exceptional performance in piano forte which made her the youngest
gold medalist in the ‘Sri Lanka Festival for Performing Arts 2011’, held
in Colombo.
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Thenuri Wickramanayake with her award ‘Youngest candidate
Obtaining a Gold Medal’ flanked by British High Commissioner
John Rankin and adjudicator Gary Sieling. |
Thenuri - just turned four - attends St. Mary’s Convent Pre-school,
Matara, must have been influenced by music since she was in mother’s
womb as her mother Thanuja Bala Manage being a piano music teacher.
Thenuri was surrounded by music from the day she could listen to any
sound as her home always filled in music with her mother’s pupils
practicing piano pieces. Soon little Thenuri began to hum the tunes
while moving her tiny fingers beneath the piano keys. With her mother’s
first lessons she could play the tunes by ear even at an age she needed
some one’s help to get on to the piano stool.
Her sharp ears and musical talents surprised her parents when she
began to play advanced music pieces by ear. Her skills were moulded from
the very early stage by her mother and Thenuri has been able to steal
the show by proving her talent in the very first competition she
participated. The Performing Art Festival has been conducted by the
Institute of Music, Speech and Speaking Skills (Pvt) Ltd., affiliated to
the British and International Federation of Festivals for Music, Dance
and Speech, UK, of which the Queen is the patron.
The annual competitive festival brought many talented students
together from far and near, considered to be one of the best talent
shows in the local Western music scene. The whole crowd applauded when
Thenuri was brought on the stage to receive her award.
Thenuri, who has shown signs of a good musician at the early stage of
her career, is also keen on dancing and painting. Her passion for arts
is a good omen and with the correct guidance provided, her talents will
bloom to stardom, making not just her parents but all Sri Lankans proud
in the future.
Thenuri is the youngest of her family who has an elder brother. Her
farther is an engineer attached to the Road Development Authority and
mother teaches at the St. Mary’s Convent, Matara. |
