ROHANA SIRIWARDANA TO ENCHANT FANS ON SEPT. 28
‘Obe Athagena’ Live in Concert unspools in Maharagama
Veteran singer and multi-faceted artiste Rohana Siriwardana whose songs are eternal hits among music lovers despite the passage of time, will hold his maiden solo musical concert ‘Obe Athagena’ at the Maharagama Youth Centre on September 28 at 6.30 pm. Veteran musician Visharada Manoj Peiris will direct the music orchestration while seasoned wordsmith Vasantha Rohana will be the compere of the significant show organized by the Sandala Kala Sansadaya. Part of the proceeds from the show will be donated for worthy causes relating to performing arts and also to the Rajagiriya Sri Jay as e kara ra maya’ s Sanghawaasa building fund in addition to the children’s ward of the Maharagama Apeksha Hospital. Nirmala Ranathunga, Damayanthi Jayasuriya, Sewwandi Ranathunga, Anuradha Nandasiri and Sandhya Bulathsinhala will join Rohana in the duets. Rohana Siriwardana who has made a name for himself as a captivating singer, radio artiste, dubbing artiste, SLBC programme producer and also an artist, has been enthralling fans for more than four decades. Rohana whose songs like Obe Athagena, Lowe Koi Katath Horen, Seetha Kandurelle, Hamuwewa, Matath Horen, Dase Mal Wile, Bopath Atharin, Obema Indu, Liyu Pem Wadan and others are popular even today, studied at Ananda College, Colombo in the science stream. As a schoolboy, he also excelled in music and art especially for which he had won several all-island prizes. Recognising his passion for arts, Rohana’s parents enrolled him in Karu Ayya’s ‘Lama Pitiya’ at the SLBC which moulded him into a professional, multi-faceted artiste. At SLBC Lama Pitiya his colleagues were Rupa Indumathi, Malkanthi Nandasiri, Punsiri Soysa, Nirmala Ranathunga, Yasapala Perera, Chandrani Gunawardana, Chandrani Manel Caldera, Chitra Suraweera, Srinath D. Basnayake, Parakrama Perera, Ranjith Perera, Geetha Kanthi Jayakody, Lalith Siriwardana, Kamal Deshapriya, Saman Athauda and other talented artistes.
Nirmala Ranathunga, Damayanthi Jayasuriya, Sewwandi Ranathunga, Anuradha Nandasiri and Sandhya Bulathsinhala will join Rohana in the duets.
In 1970 he became a radio programme producer under the guidance of Karunaratne Abeysekara, Wimal Abhayasundara, Sarath Wimalaweera, Cyril Rajapakshe, H. M. Gunasekara, Chitrananda Abeysekara, Nanda Jayamanne, Prabha Ranathunga, P. Dunstan de Silva, Dayaratna Ranatunga, Thevis Guruge, Piyadasa Rathnasinghe, Asoka Thilakaratne, Sumana Jayathilaka, Ariyasena Millawithana Arachchi and other veterans. Rohana also played pivotal roles in radio plays and his main role as Nimal in Ananda Sirisena’s ‘Vajira’ and Nissanka Ayya in Kusum Peiris’ ‘Pahan Siluwa’ made him a household name. He was also the compere in Sangeeth Nipun Sanath Nandasiri’s solo musical concert ‘Swarna Kundala’ and Visharada Nanda Malini’s ‘Srawana Ramani’ in the seventies. In 1996 , the A Grade singer won the Presidential award and also the International UNDA award for the best music programme producer (radio). He also created history in 2002, when he became the first and only singer to compile a book on a fellow singer (Maurice Dahanayake). The book titled ‘Onna Olu Malak’ was co edited by Yapa Bandara Seneviratne.
At the Maharagama Youth Centre on Sept. 28 Tickets at Sadeepa Borella, Sarasavi Bookshop Nugegoda, Maharagama. Call 0725731842