The Sunday Times Mirror - A different beat

With almost every genre of music, be it vocals, acoustic, pop, rock or choral, being explored these days, it’s refreshing to have people doing something different. Stepping out of the norm, and going all eastern, is a group of talented young people coming together to give you a night of rhythmic tunes and beats.

Organised by the hewisi band of S. Thomas’ College, Mount Lavinia, this annual event is fast becoming quite a hit amongst audiences. Catching up with the band at one of their rehearsals on their picturesque school grounds, the high standard of the band was evident.

Sure to make a serenely authentic picture, Variable Beats will be held on October 7, at 7 p.m. at the College chapel steps.

“Eight schools will perform along with us at this cultural show. This is the main project of the S. Thomas’ College hewisi band, for the year,” says Ravith Goonewardene (17), band leader and project co-ordinator of the event.

The band has quite an entertaining line-up, with the band walking along the pathway leading up to the chapel for Peradiga Muthuatayaye Me and a series of other popular Sinhala songs.

The talented musicians then go into drum solos, with the drummers playing the thammattama, yak bera and so on, taking the stage in order. A guest school is also set to perform a dance for Sanda Walawan, with another highlight of the show being a joint item done by the STC hewisi band and the school's orchestra, bringing in an interesting blend of Eastern and Western music. The masters-in-charge of the band are Nimal Karunathilaka, handling the flute component, while Shantha Premaratne handles drums. The hewisi band consists of thirty five members, ranging from year six to fourteen.

Roshayne Wanniarach-chi (18) playing the thammatama, has been a part of the band for the last five years, while being a former band leader. “Being a part of this experience has been fun, but of course the organising part has been quite tough at times.” Echoing his sentiments are Dilanka Mathew (18) and Dharshana Jayasekara (18), both of whom contribute to the band through the rhythmic beats of the yak bera. All of whom have learnt their instruments solely at school. Added to their musical input, all of them are actively involved in organising the event as well.

In an age where almost anything tinged with a Westernised touch has a slight tendency to seem more attractive to the youth, here a group of talented young people are doing something completely different. So what’s the response like to this type of performance? “Very good actually. It has become quite a popular fixture in the school’s annual calendar,” say Ravith, who is a talented flautist.

So for a pleasant evening of talent and rhythm, make your way to the S. Thomas’ College chapel and treat yourself to a refreshingly different experience. Tickets for Variable Beats could be purchased from the College Office and the main gate.