Haadia Galely, Arun Dias Banaranaike, budrin Musafer and Shanali Fernando

Tuned up

Ishara Jayawardane

“The road goes ever on and on

Down from the door where it began

Now far ahead the road has gone

And I must follow if I can

Pursuing it with eager feet

Until is joins some larger way

Where many paths and errands meet

And whither then?

I cannot say”

- Lord of the Rings

The Colombo Music Festival will be a mosaic of talent, both international and local. Like a moth breaking out of its cocoon the Colombo Music Festival has come to a point where it is ready to spread its wings and fly and that date is August 2012.

Arrangements being made and plans are being finalized. Last September the concept was introduced to the media and since then Haadia Galely and her team have been working like busy little bees. Now the midway mark has been reached and the excitement is building up.

The festival will hopefully prove to be a gold mine where Sri Lankan talent and potential will be unearthed. Where local performers of international standard will be discovered and Sri Lanka will be known for its music other than cricket.

“This is something akin to a National Music Festival. The whole thing is done by private enterprise. It has an international flavour and very much the first of its kind. Performers will be from a variety of countries. None of the executive committee members is profiting from all of this. It is done with the spirit of volunteerism. What we are doing is providing a platform for excellence,” said coordinator Arun Dias Bandaranaike.

“Waters Edge will be the ‘Official Festival Village’, where not only diverse forms of music will be heard, but will also host a more intense part of the festival which involves Workshop discussions and master classes which will be extended to students and professionals alike who wish to avail themselves of the opportunity that will be presented to them, setting a very high bar for such future events in this country,” said Haadia Galely.

According to Haadia, the confirmed countries include UK, India, Norway, USA, Brazil, Germany, Algeria, Japan, Maldives, Italy, Canada, New Zealand, Dubai (UAE), Hong Kong and Russia. International music labels Sony, Universal, World Wide Records, The Fridge and Dubai have also confirmed their presence.

“The final unbiased objective is to ensure that this Festival will provide entertainment, knowledge as well as opportunity amongst others.

Visitors and participants will witness Sri Lanka’s best in their element. We also hope to give due recognition to musicians who have contributed to all genres of the music industry in the country and to validate the contributions made by them.

In the sphere of knowledge, we wish to create a bridge between artists of different styles to meet and absorb information through workshops, discussions and master classes, while creating opportunities to showcase our musical diversity to the world and invite companies and individuals to support the artists and their aspirations,” explained Galely.

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