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Rohana Weerasinghe

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Nationality  Sri Lankan
Role  Musician
Name  Rohana Weerasinghe
Religion  Theravada Buddhism
Ethnicity  Sinhalese

Rohana Weerasinghe httpsuploadwikimediaorgwikipediacommonsthu

Born  18 February 1949 (1949-02-18) Algiriya, Matara, Sri Lanka
Other names  Dickmadugodage Rohana Chithrakumara Weerasinghe
Occupation  Musician, composer, singer, teacher, advisor to the president
Website  rohanaweerasingheonline.com
Spouse  Leela Beatrice De Silva (m. 1977)
Children  Chirath Kanishka, Kalindu Gajaba
Parents  Henry Weerasinghe, Sepalin Weerasinghe
People also search for  Channa Perera, Leela Beatrice De Silva
Music director  Sooriya Arana, Kalpanthe Sihinayak, Anjalika, Asai Man Piyabanna, Me Mage Sandai

Muthukuda ihalana rohana weerasinghe


Rohana Weerasinghe is an award winning Sri Lankan musician, composer and singer.

Contents

Early life

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

Music

Weerasinghe learnt the basics of music from K.V.S Perera Kithsiri Aluthge. He was able to enter the Government Music School of Sri Lanka 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 Sri Lanka 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 as a government music teacher. In 1982, he joined "Sing Lanka" studios as a Sound Engineer. At that time, he composed T. M. Jayaratne'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 4000 songs, which includes films, teledramas, stage plays.

Weerasinghe has been the Advisor to the President of Sri Lanka 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 in 2006
  • Live performance at Millennium Dome, London in 2008
  • 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

    Rohana Weerasinghe Wikipedia