An immensely popular female singer in Sri Lanka today, Nanda Malini has maintained a high profile ever since she stepped into the world of music as a little girl in the late 1950s. Her very first song, Budu Sadu, was a number one hit that played on radio back then. Soon she won the hearts of the entire island when the film Ranmuthu Duwa was released, with music direction by Amaradeva, featuring her song Galana Gangaki Jeevithe.

The singer became a national phenomenon as her music captured audiences through radio, film, theater and television over the last four decades. She showed little hesitation to use her powerful voice to express her views on injustice, sometimes even stirring the sensitive political arena.

Nanda Malini’s Sravana Aradhana was the first female solo concert held in Sri Lanka, which was followed by her other concerts, Satyaye Geethaya and Pavana. Her songs are based on timely themes put into lyrics by creative songwriters such as Prof. Sunil Ariyaratne. They are not only mellow, but also intellectual, blending literature, art and culture.

She gifted children with collections of songs such as Handa Hami, Sindu Hodiya and Punchi Sindu. She presented albums on religion (Sadhu Nada) and Sinhala-Tamil culture (Kunkuma Pottu). Her noble deeds include extending a helping hand to emerging songwriters by creating albums such as Araliya Landata. To help upcoming music directors, she created the album Malata Renu.

Nanda is not only a singer, but also a songwriter and a music director. The album Sari Podittak was released with a collection of her own songs and she directed the music in the film Bamba Ketu Heti.

Nanda has won more awards than any other artist in Sri Lanka – more than 50 so far. They include Sarasaviya, Swarna Sankha, OCIC, Presidential, Sumathi Tele and Rasa. The Tamil Cultural Community (is this a name of an organization? If not, it should be Tamil cultural community) honored her with the Tamil Mini award for her album Kunkuma Pottu.

Nanda is now over 60 years old. Despite the age, her strong voice and presence are youthful as ever. We are fortunate and honored to spend an evening with our national treasure, Nanda Malini.

Instrumentalist, singer and composer Rohana Weerasinghe is one of the best musicians in Sri Lanka today. He started his career in the early 1970s as a sitar player after completing his music education in Sri Lanka and India.

Rohana, who has contributed much to the Sri Lankan music industry ever since, is highly regarded for his dedication as many singers gained their popularity through his heart-warming melodies. So far, he has composed music for over 5,000 songs, which were performed by prominent singers such as Amaradewa, Nanda Malini, Sunil Edirisinghe, Deepika Priyadarshani, Edward Jayakodi and T.M. Jayaratne. More recently, Rohana composed the music in Nanda Malini’s new album, Andaheraya.

Rohana entered the film industry in 1981 with two films, Wadula and Aradhana, and received the award for “The Best Film Music Direction” for Aradhana. He has directed music for about 35 films and has been honored with more than 10 prestigious awards including Sarasavi, Swarna Sankha, OCIC and the Presidential.

Rohana has created music for over 200 tele-dramas, which garnered him six awards. In 1998, he won “The Most Popular Musician” title in the Popular Award Ceremony organized by Rasa Puwath. In 2003, he was again crowned with the title in a Popular Award Ceremony organized by the Independent Television Network (ITN).

This is Rohana’s second visit to Phoenix. His first was in December 2003 with Sunil Edirisinghe. We welcome him back warmly.

Thissasiri Perera is a prominent musician and a leading violinist in Sri Lanka. He debuted as a violinist in the 1970s and soon became a leading member of many music groups headed by the top Sri Lankan music directors of the day. Later, he gained popularity as an accomplished keyboard player.

Thissa’s talent and experience in both eastern and western music enabled him to create music that elevated many professional and amateur singers to their highest popularity. After performing Thissa’s theme song for the tele-drama Ek Murkanganaviyak, Nirosha Virajini won the Best Singer award. Many artists include Thissa in their overseas concerts because, according to them, he represents “a collection of musicians in a single person.”

We are glad to have him play in the Srawana Aradana concert today.

Karunaratne Jayasinghe is an outstanding performer among the handful of tabla players in Sri Lanka today. He became a professional tabla player while still in school, when he began performing at Nanda Malini’s Srawana Aradhana concerts. After mastering tabla performance in the classical tradition, he joined the orchestra of the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation. He has held the lead musician position in Nanda Malini’s concerts, Satyaye Geethaya and Pawana, and performed in all her concerts held abroad. He was also the lead musician in Gunadasa Kapuge’s concert, Kampana.

Karu has been a shining star in our music arena for over three decades. Sri Lankans in Arizona are honored to see him at this summer concert.

Kalani is an outstanding violin player in Sri Lanka today, well versed in both eastern and western music. Few recordings or concerts are held there without his able participation. He is a fine composer, and the popular song Kerakena Rode, performed by Edward Jayakodi, is one of his creations. Singers Neela Wickramasinghe and Amarasiri Peiris have benefited from his melodies.

Kalani is also known for his music direction of tele-dramas including Piyambana Aswaya, Kumarayaneni, Adbhuta Lampuwa and Samudra Chaya.

Sanda Tharu Nihandai, sung by Amaradewa, Wasantaye Aga, sung by Edward Jayakodi, Kwiya Oba, sung by Deepika Priyadarshni and Suwanda Deni, sung by Rukanta Gunatilake, have something in common: They were performed with an orchestra of one – Kalani Perera.

Mahendra Pasqual, nicknamed Mahee, has been playing the guitar since he was 9 years old. His father, Padmasiri Ruparatne, who is a saxophone and guitar player, gave him a small guitar that he learned to play by himself. From his young days, he was surrounded by well-known artists such as his uncle, Keerthi Pasqual, Rukantha and Mahinda Bandara, who regularly practiced with his father, thus providing an invaluable opportunity for little Mahee to watch and learn.

Mahee, who started his professional career at Nanda Malini’s concert, Pawana, has become a highly rated guitar player. Soon after, he joined the popular bands, Shakti and Siha Shakti, and began recording music in no time.

The young performer plays the rhythm guitar with confidence, often introducing new segments at concerts. We are delighted to welcome him to Phoenix.