sriflipflop
02-17-2008, 10:10 AM
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Pradeep Ratnayake is one of Sri Lanka’s most revered musicians and one of the very few who has gained international recognition, with performances at a series of celebrated venues like the Asia Society in New York, The Kennedy Centre at Washington DC, The Walt Disney Theatre and The Universal Studios in Los Angeles, The United Nations Headquarters in Geneva and the Vienna Musikverein in Austria.
Pradeepanjalee, a combination of elements of Eastern, Western and Sri Lankan music, is synonymous with Pradeep. The 14th concert of the series will be held on Sunday, February 24, at the Lionel Wendt Theatre, at 7 p.m. The evening will also see the official release of the Pradeepanjalee DVD, the first ever DVD of original music compositions in Sri Lanka.
As Nirupam Sen the Former High Commissioner to India said, Pradeep Ratnayake is engaged in an effort to give a new identity to his sitar – a Sri Lankan identity which can hold its own in the international world of music. His experimentation and research have given him the ability to shake his instrument out of its traditional context and give it a new soul. “Pradeepanjalee means the offering of your own self. Pradeep is offering his entre self- and not just his music to the audience. And it is when that happens that the vibrating string of the sitar, the soul of the raga and the soul of the musician are one. Then your soul, your minds are coloured by vibrant and incandescent colour. And that is the essence of the music.”
Trained at the University of Vishwa Bharati, Santiniketan, India, in classical Hindustani music, having obtained his Bachelor’s Degree with the highest ever marks given for a degree in Sitar till then, and later the Master of Music degree in 2003 with a first Division pass, Pradeep excels as a classical sitarist. Since returning to Sri Lanka with a B Music degree, he has created his own series of music concerts by the name of Pradeepanjalee. In them, he showcases his own compositions. Performing their different kinds of music with him, are some of the best musicians of Sri Lanka.
Within this framework, Pradeep has been able to expand the limits of the sitar and reach new horizons. In his compositions, as you hear melodies taken from the folk songs of his people or from the complex and rich tradition of dance in Sri Lanka you will also catch strains of other music traditions of the world, like the classical, jazz, and the rock, for in all he has managed to find a beauty that inspires and unites. His work is seeking a new sound, to take to the world a music that is both Sri Lankan and international.
Pradeep is a film music director and has composed music for four films. He has four CDs of his original compositions, Indrakeelaya, Roots, Visva and Sithijaya. He is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Languages and Cultural Studies at the University of Sri Jayawardanapura.
Pradeep Ratnayake is one of Sri Lanka’s most revered musicians and one of the very few who has gained international recognition, with performances at a series of celebrated venues like the Asia Society in New York, The Kennedy Centre at Washington DC, The Walt Disney Theatre and The Universal Studios in Los Angeles, The United Nations Headquarters in Geneva and the Vienna Musikverein in Austria.
Pradeepanjalee, a combination of elements of Eastern, Western and Sri Lankan music, is synonymous with Pradeep. The 14th concert of the series will be held on Sunday, February 24, at the Lionel Wendt Theatre, at 7 p.m. The evening will also see the official release of the Pradeepanjalee DVD, the first ever DVD of original music compositions in Sri Lanka.
As Nirupam Sen the Former High Commissioner to India said, Pradeep Ratnayake is engaged in an effort to give a new identity to his sitar – a Sri Lankan identity which can hold its own in the international world of music. His experimentation and research have given him the ability to shake his instrument out of its traditional context and give it a new soul. “Pradeepanjalee means the offering of your own self. Pradeep is offering his entre self- and not just his music to the audience. And it is when that happens that the vibrating string of the sitar, the soul of the raga and the soul of the musician are one. Then your soul, your minds are coloured by vibrant and incandescent colour. And that is the essence of the music.”
Trained at the University of Vishwa Bharati, Santiniketan, India, in classical Hindustani music, having obtained his Bachelor’s Degree with the highest ever marks given for a degree in Sitar till then, and later the Master of Music degree in 2003 with a first Division pass, Pradeep excels as a classical sitarist. Since returning to Sri Lanka with a B Music degree, he has created his own series of music concerts by the name of Pradeepanjalee. In them, he showcases his own compositions. Performing their different kinds of music with him, are some of the best musicians of Sri Lanka.
Within this framework, Pradeep has been able to expand the limits of the sitar and reach new horizons. In his compositions, as you hear melodies taken from the folk songs of his people or from the complex and rich tradition of dance in Sri Lanka you will also catch strains of other music traditions of the world, like the classical, jazz, and the rock, for in all he has managed to find a beauty that inspires and unites. His work is seeking a new sound, to take to the world a music that is both Sri Lankan and international.
Pradeep is a film music director and has composed music for four films. He has four CDs of his original compositions, Indrakeelaya, Roots, Visva and Sithijaya. He is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Languages and Cultural Studies at the University of Sri Jayawardanapura.