The Symphony Orchestra of Sri Lanka (SOSL) is based in

Colombo Colombo, ( ; , ; , ), is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. The Colombo metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of 5.6 million, and 752,993 within the municipal limits. It is the ...

, Sri Lanka, and is one of the oldest orchestras in South Asia. Its first concert was on 13 September 1956 under the baton of Hussain S. Mohamed, and the repertoire was Geminiani's Second Concerto Grosso,

Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( ; ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions ...

's Symphony no. 92 "Oxford" and

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

's Fourth Piano Concerto with Malinee Jayasinghe-Peris as soloist. Kalakeerthi Prof. Earle de Fonseka was the next principal conductor, a position he held from 1960 to 2000. Lalanath de Silva, who was for many years deputy conductor, took over the position of principal conductor from 2000 to 2002. From 2002 Ajit Abeysekera (2002–2015), Ananda Dabare (2002-2012), Manilal Weerakoon (2002-2011) and Eshantha J. Peiris (2008-2015) have jointly held the position of principal conductor. The present Principal Conductor is Dushyanthi Perera. Soloists who have performed with the orchestra include

Gervase de Peyer Gervase Alan de Peyer (11 April 1926 – 4 February 2017) was an English clarinettist and conductor. Professional career Gervase Alan de Peyer was born in London, the eldest of three children of Everard Esmé Vivian de Peyer, and his wife, Edith ...

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clarinet The clarinet is a Single-reed instrument, single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore (wind instruments), bore and a flared bell. Clarinets comprise a Family (musical instruments), family of instrume ...

Barry Tuckwell Barry Emmanuel Tuckwell, (5 March 1931 – 16 January 2020) was an Australian French horn player who spent most of his professional life in the UK and the United States. He is generally considered to have been one of the world's leading horn p ...

(horn),

Richard Adeney Richard Gilford Adeney (25 January 1920 – 16 December 2010) was a British flautist who played principal flute with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and the English Chamber Orchestra, was a soloist and a founding member of the Melos Ensemble. ...

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flute The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...

), Thomas Brandis and Leon Spierer (violin, then concertmasters of the

Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra The Berlin Philharmonic () is a German orchestra based in Berlin. It is one of the most popular, acclaimed and well-respected orchestras in the world. Throughout the 20th century, the orchestra was led by conductors Wilhelm Furtwängler (1922� ...

), Paul Olefsky and

Rohan de Saram Deshamanya Frank Rohan de Saram (9 March 1939 – 29 September 2024) was a British and Sri Lankan cellist who focused on contemporary music both as a soloist and as the cellist of the Arditti Quartet from 1979 to 2005. He learned both Western m ...

(cello),

Rodney Slatford Rodney Slatford OBE (born 18 July 1944) is an English contemporary double bass player and teacher. He was the principal bass player of the Midland Sinfonia, Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, and English Chamber Orchestra, a founder of the Na ...

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double bass The double bass (), also known as the upright bass, the acoustic bass, the bull fiddle, or simply the bass, is the largest and lowest-pitched string instrument, chordophone in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding rare additions ...

), Druvi de Saram, Peter Cooper,

Ian Lake Ian Lake (26 January 1935 in Quorn, Leicestershire – 12 August 2004 in London, England) was a pianist and composer who taught for many years at the Royal College of Music in London. The son of working-class parents, he was educated at Trent C ...

, Robin Zebaida, Anthony Peebles, Ashan Pillai and

Rohan de Silva Rohan De Silva is a Sri Lankan pianist. De Silva initially studied at Isipathana College, Colombo and later he migrated abroad to study at the Royal Academy of Music, London and The Juilliard School, New York, while working with violinist Doroth ...

(piano). In addition to subscription concerts (the number varies annually), there are other performances on special occasions. It regularly performs at the Ladies College Hall. Sri Lankan, as well as soloists and conductors of other nationalities, including James Ross and Gregory Rose, have performed regularly with the orchestra on invitation. In 2013, SOSL gave its first performance at Colombo's new Nelum Pokuna Theatre conducted by James Ross, joined by 35 musicians from the UK and India to form The Commonwealth Festival Orchestra.

Administration

The Governors and the Players' Committees are elected by the players at the Annual General Meeting. The Board of Governors establishes overall policy, raises sponsorship and controls the finances. The Panel of Regents serves in a senior advisory capacity. The Players' Committee makes decisions concerning the music, soloists and the conductors.

Sri Lankan Talent

The SOSL takes special interest in fostering young Sri Lankan talent, and dedicates one of its annual subscription concerts to feature Young Soloists. The Family Christmas Concert of SOSL is one such annual event to showcase such young talent. Its Christmas concert of December 2013 held at Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH) in

saw the orchestra conducted by Eshantha Pieris and featured vocalists Charin Mendis and Sheranga Perera. In December 2018, the Family Christmas Concert was held at the Ladies College Hall, conducted by Dushyanthi Perera and featured performances by soloists Dmitri Gunatilake and Niran De Mel and performances by the

Old Joes’ Choir Old or OLD may refer to: Places *Old, Baranya, Hungary *Old, Northamptonshire, England *Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, Mai ...

and the Menaka Singers.

SOSL Outreach

The SOSL Outreach Programme takes the form of a series of lecture concerts. Children who have never seen a symphony orchestra before are introduced to the instruments that make up the sections of an orchestra. The range, tone, and method of sound production of each instrument is demonstrated. Students, Teachers and Parents are invited, free of charge, to attend these concerts. The first of these concerts took place in

Galle Galle (, ; , ) (formerly ) is a major city on the southwestern tip of Sri Lanka, south of Colombo. Galle is the provincial capital and largest city of Southern Province, Sri Lanka and is the capital of Galle District. Galle was known as ''Gi ...

, Sri Lanka on 24 April 2010. The Second was in Kilinochchi in the north of Sri Lanka, in November 2011. The Third was at the Veerasingham Hall, Jaffna, on 17 November 2012.

Finances

The SOSL is a not for profit organisation which depends on public support as well as corporate sector and occasionally diplomatic sponsorship for its activities.Spectrum , Sundayobserver.lk – Sri Lanka
Sundayobserver.lk (25 March 2007). Retrieved 8 December 2012.

References

External links

Official Website
{{authority control Sri Lankan orchestras Musical groups established in 1958 1958 establishments in Ceylon