A stage for little big artistes

[Jaffna music Festival 2013]

Anuradha Abeysekera

Little did we know that the kid who stood next to big double bass beside the stage is going to surprise all with a stunning performance in a little while. With the introduction by their ‘guru’ Dr. Samuni Suraweera, a group of kids appeared on stage carrying some little too big Western music instruments.

Featuring double bass, saxophone, jazz drum, bass guitar, trumpets, keyboard, melodicas and cow bells along with 10-year-old vocalist Ama Jayasinghe from Visakha Vidyalaya, Colombo, Musicmatters Kids fascinated the audience making their debut public performance on children’s stage at the Jaffna Music Festival 2013 which was held recently.

Pleasant memories

Crowning as the youngest double bassist of the country, 11-year old Tharish Rajakarier of Asian International School, Colombo learned his first music notes from his mother. “My mother and grandmother are pianists. My grand pa plays the harmonica. They inspired me a lot. My brothers Venuk, Aken and my sister Akesha too are music lovers. I was introduced to the double bass two-three years ago and feel great to perform in Jaffna. We are very happy to take part in this big event and taking home loads of pleasant memories of Jaffna,”said Rajakarier.

The group has more surprises in store to feature with 10-year old alto saxophonist from Colombo British School, Akeel Vitharana adding jazz and blues essence to the tunes.

Ama’s singing, instrumentals of popular Desmond and Moley song and cowboy tunes brought the little musicians to stardom in Jaffna.

A Norwegian dance lesson to Jaffna kids

Little maestros ‘Musicmatters Kids’

Ananda College drum ensemble

Hat-trick and Fiddle performing Norwegian folk tunes

The audience cheering with ‘Peace’ flags

The day time musical programme on four sub stages dedicated to classical, folk, contemporary music and children’s performances has been a good school to those who strive to dig into the roots of these music traditions. Hundreds of school children from Jaffna and suburbs were thrilled to be entertained by foreign groups and their distant brothers and sisters who came all the way to Jaffna from schools across the country.

Variety of entertainment

The morning music sessions have been very informative and interactive where the audience were educated on music instruments and performances. Crowd cheered with rounds of applause when some Jaffna school girls and boys were taught a traditional Norwegian dance by Ulf-Arne Johannessen of Hat-trick and Fiddle group.

Acclaimed chorographer and percussionist Ravibandu Vidyapathi introduced a spectrum of drums and their backgrounds while Shasthrapathi Sarath Kumara Liyanage explained on Karnatic and Hindustan music instruments before they entertain the audience.

The Music Project members brought a variety of entertainment with their English, Sinhala, Tamil and Scottish folk tunes. The choir and instrumentalists are belonging to schools from various parts of the country including Kurunegala Lakdas, Mankulam Mullavi and Jaffna Yohapuram colleges. They were trained by a young group of Performing Art graduates from Colombo guided by Hashana Sampath.

“We are teaching Western music voluntarily in remote schools and hope to form an orchestra and a choir comprising rural talented students,”Sampath explained.

An energetic performance

Chudikuli Girls School singers and Jaffna St. John’s College boys got together to show their urge for peace and unity. They sang the songs titled ‘won’t you stand up’ and ‘ghetto,’ a song by famous singer Acon which tells the sad story of a poor African community who fell victim to adverse circumstances. Audience joined with them weaving peace flags and clapping when they sing their last song ‘we need peace.’

The students of Baticaloa Shivananda Vidyalaya performed the unique Tamil instrument ‘villupattu’ while giving a musical depiction to Ramayana story. Little boys of Vavunia Muslim Maha Vidyalaya beatified the stage with their stick dance performance which the Muslim community dance during weddings and joyful occasions.

Colombo boys of Ananda College drum ensemble treated Jaffna with an energetic percussion performance featuring a mixture of local and foreign drums. The ‘drum storm’ brought the tapping thrill to audience where children continued clapping and cheering till the end.

The main stakeholders of the Jaffna Music Festival Sewalanka Foundation, Concerts Norway, Aru Sri Art Theatre and USAID should be commended for dedicating a stage to school performances during this two-day international music festival recognizing the need of cultivate understanding, respect, tolerance and acknowledgment of other cultures in the minds of Sri Lanka’s future generation.