DR. Rohana Weerasinghe (born February 18, 1949), is a Sri Lankan musician, composer and singer.

Early life

Weerasinghe was born on 18 February 1949 in Algiriya, Matara in southern

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

. He was the youngest child to his parents Henry Weerasinghe and Sepalin Weerasinghe. In 1954, Weerasinghe started schooling from Good Shepard Family Convent in Nuwara Eliya, and later moved to Vidyachakra Buddhist School Ruwan Eliya, Welimada Maha Vidyalaya, Pannipitya Dharmapala Vidyalaya and Gamini Maha Vidyalaya Nuwara Eliya. In 1977, Weerasinghe married to Leela Beatrice De Silva, a dancing teacher in profession. They had two sons, Kalindu Gajaba and Chirath Kanishka. His cousin daughter

Priyani Jayasinghe Priyani Jayasinghe ( si, ප්‍රියානි ජයසිංහ; 10 June 1967 – 8 July 2018) was a Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ila� ...

was also a popular actress in Sri Lanka, who sang the popular hits ''Kandula Niwannam'' and ''Sundara Hadakata''. She was killed at the age of 51 by her husband using a pair of scissors on 18 July 2018.

Music

Weerasinghe learnt the basics of music from K.V.S Perera Kithsiri Aluthge. He was able to enter the Government Music School of

for further studies in Oriental Music by mastering Sitar. Later he joined maestro Premasiri Khemadasa as a Sitar player in his Orchestra. Weerasinghe became a key Sitar player for music concerts of prominent Singers in

such as Victor Ratnayake's ''Sa'', Nanda Malini's ''Shrawana Aradhana'' and Sanath Nandasiri's ''Swarna Kundala''. Weerasinghe taught music in D. S. Senanayake College, Senananda Maha Vidyalaya Meepilimanna and

Ananda Sastralaya, Kotte Ananda Sastralaya ( sinhala: ආනන්ද ශාස්ත්‍රාලය) is a public boys school located in Kotte, Sri Lanka. It was founded in 1890 as Kotte Buddhist English Mixed School. In 1952 a part of the school land was designated by ...

as a government music teacher. In 1982, he joined "Sing Lanka" studios as a Sound Engineer. At that time, he composed

T. M. Jayaratne Tennakoon Mudiyanselage Jayaratne, also known as T.M. Jayaratne ( Sinhala:ටි.එම්.ජයරත්න) (born 13 April 1944) in Dodangoda, Sri Lanka is a popular Sri Lankan vocalist and a violinist. He has received the Presidential Award ...

's ''Ekasitha dethanaka'', ''Hiruta Horen'' and Neela Wickramasinghe's ''Punchi Sithe Punchi Sina'' which became popular songs in Sri Lanka. So far he has created melodies for over 8000 songs, which includes films, teledramas, stage plays. Weerasinghe has been the Advisor to the

President of Sri Lanka The President of Sri Lanka ( si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා ජනාධිපති ''Śrī Laṃkā Janādhipathi''; ta, இலங்கை சனாதிபதி ''Ilankai janātipati'') is the head of state and head of government of t ...

in Cultural and Aesthetic Affairs since 2006.

Notable performances

* Live performances of ''Ransara Dahara'' at Arts Centre Melbourne in 2004 * ''Rohana Ransara'' performed at

Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive buildings and a masterpiece of 20th-century archit ...

in 2006 * Live performance at Millennium Dome, London in 2008

Awards

Publications

* ''Lankika Sangeethayei Rohana Lakuna – Rohana Icon in Sri Lankan Music'', Edited by Ravi Siriwardhana and Samudhra Wettasinghe, 2002 * ''Gaman Magak'' – Along a Winding Path, Biography of Rohana Weerasinghe, 2009

References

External links

"ප්‍රේමය නම්" මටත් ඕන වුණේ වෙනස් වෙන්නයිසරසවිය සම්මානයෙන් ඇරැඹි රෝහණ වීරසිංහRohana Weerasinghe Songs Listරෝහණ වීරසිංහගේ “සුදු මුතු රළ” බ්ලුරේ ගී තැටිය
{{DEFAULTSORT:Weerasinghe, Rohana 1949 births Living people Sinhalese musicians Sri Lankan Buddhists Alumni of Dharmapala Vidyalaya Kala Keerthi