State Music Advisory Board is established for the purpose of advising and assisting the Arts council on the general advancement of the Sri Lankan Music and to support a vibrant community of composers, musicians and singers, music groups and organizations so that the public can experience the highest standard of Music in Sri Lanka. Arts Council and Music Panel support all kinds of musical genres to meet the needs of artists and to make music accessible to everyone.
Objectives
The main objective is to carryout activities for the advancement of the field of music of Sinhala and Tamil. To give due accolade and appreciation of creations of high caliber is another objective. It is envisaged to conduct a number of programmes to achieve the above objectives.
State Music Awards Festival
Best creations will be selected from among the creations produced annually and they will be given due accolade. Skills will also be evaluated to present them with awards. One of the characteristics of this festival is to confer life time awards on 10 senior professionals in this field to give honor to them. Concurrently with this festival the academic volume named “sangeethanjalee” will be launched every year.
Conducting programmes on appreciation of songs
Programmes on appreciation of songs are conducted throughout the island with the assistance of State Music Ensemble. Some prorammes are accompanied by the veterans in the field. “Sanda Nudutu Sanda”, the programme conducted with the assistance of visually handicapped singers is one of the most popular among them. As per the requests made by state and private sector institutions musical programmes are conducted throughout the island with the assistance of State Music Ensemble.
Mahanama Wickramasinghe
Chairman
Senior Lecturer
Mr. Mahanama Wickramasinghe has been appointed the Chairman of State Music Advisory Board of Arts Council of Sri Lanka.
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S. Samantha Perera
Vice-Chairman
Music Composer/Singer
Jananath Warakagoda
Member
Professional Drummer/Singer
Ranjith Balasuriya
Member
Anthony Surendra
Member
Musician
Karunarathna Wijewardhana
Member
Musician/Music Director/Lecturer
Karunarathna Wijewardhana is a Professional Musician, Music Director & Senior Lecturer (Music & Positive Thinking).
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Nilar N. Cassim
Member
Lecturer, Announcer, Lyricist, Author, Translator, Poet
Nilar N. Cassim is a reputed and prominent Sinhala announcer, media personality, lyricist, author, translator, poet and lecturer, who has immensely contributed towards the arts and culture of Sri Lanka throughout a 25 years of time. Well-known as the one and only Sri Lankan Muslim who holds a Sinhala Special Degree (From the University of Sri Jayawardenepura) and a Masters in Sinhala (from the University of Kelaniya), his role in the sphere of literature and lyric writing is significant and widely acclaimed by both local and foreign scholars and masses. He wrote his first song Samanalun Rodak for Malini Bulathsinghala and to date he has written around 700 lyrics to many senior as well as modern vocalists such as Bhathiya and Santhush, Centigrades and Ravi Hansz. Nilar has written lyrics for many recent Sinhala films and his latest is Ahasin Eha for the film Adaraniya Kathawak. He has contributed to the Sri Lankan literature by producing three books on lyrics, two classical books and t
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R. Sumathipala Perera
Member
Shiran Rathnayake
Member
Wasantha Kumara Kobawaka
Member
Musical Artist
Ravindra Alagiyawanna
Member
Singer
Priyanath Rathnayaka
Member
Musician/Singer
Ananda Weerasiri
Member
Music Director/Composer
Mr. Ananda Weerasiri is one of the most experienced and talented resource persons in oriental music in Sri Lanka today. In addition to being a beloved teacher of many students he is also respected as an affectionate mentor, having shared his wisdom to shape the career of many young musicians.
After studying music at the Institute of Performing Arts, Mr. Ananda Weerasiri started his musical career as a school teacher in 1972.
He was also a singer of exceptional aptitude and a gifted musician both of which were put to good use by many music directors. Mr. Ananda Weerasiri himself is a creative music director and composer. He has directed music for stage dramas and teledramas.
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Jayampathi Algama
Member
Lyricist
Indika Wijewardena
Secretary
Cultural Development Assistant
I.M.A.R. Rathnayake
Assistant Secretary
Development Officer