Arts
After ‘Arsikland’ young musician awaits ‘Grease’
Colombo audiences filled the Wendt for eight nights when ‘Arsikland the Musical’– Feroze Kamardeen’s political satire hit the stage recently. For the key role of music director, Feroze picked a talented young musician, also giving him an interesting spot on stage.
Nishantha Warnakulasuriya: Multi-talented musician cum music director
NishanthaWarnakulasuriya is the versatile musician, violinist/ pianist and member of the Symphony Orchestra of Sri Lanka and the Menaka Singers Opera ensemble, also one of the Choral Directors of the renowned Old Joes Choir (OJC), the De Mazenod College (Primary Choir) and the choir of Springfield College.
“Music is like painting a picture and how well that picture looks, depends on how you paint it,” is how he describes his passiion.
‘Arsikland’ was the first musical Nishantha had directed.He was not only the music director, but also took on the role of the Speaker who was interestingly portrayed as the conductor of the live orchestra. This was a whole new experience for him, because he had never acted in a play before. Being involved in Freddy 4 [A New Hope] last year, was the catalyst. “Ever since Freddy, I realized that there was a whole other side to music and what I could do.”
At the time, Nishantha got the chance to assist Geethika Cooray, who was the Musical Director for Freddy and was introduced to Feroze Kamardeen.
After Freddy, Nishantha got a call from Feroze, asking him if would like to come onboard as the Musical Director for ‘Arsikland’. The task before him was to complete a project that should ideally take four to six months, in three.
“It was a bit ambitious at the time. But we were in a good place,” he recalls. The moment he stepped in, Nishantha knew this was going to be a lot of work, because you can’t teach a person to sing in two weeks. However, the cast worked incredibly hard and that played a major role in tying everything together.
When practices began, Nishantha would advise the actors to start thinking about their characterization. Being able to perform is not something that would come just before the show. “You need to live in it and know your character. How you interpret it and deliver it is of prime importance,” he explains adding that when a message is given across through music it’s much stronger.
His musical journey began with learning the piano at a young age under the guidance of Shamini Patrick, who was quick to observe that he had a good ear and asked him to also play the violin. Soon proficient with both instruments, Nishantha always found himself connecting more to choral music.
“When it came to choral music there was something that spoke to me from within,” he says.
Back at St Joseph’s College, though he was a primary student, he would always try to sing with St Cecilia’s Choir, the senior choir of the school. “What’s funny is that I actually started off with the senior choir, before the Primary. But then I had to stick with the Primary choir,” he tells us with a mischievous grin.
Finally old enough to join the senior ensemble, Nishantha recalls looking forward to the Saturday morning practices. Chuckling, he adds his family would struggle to wake him up during the rest of the week for school but he’d always be up on his own accord on Saturday.
“We worked on so many challenging pieces at college and I have to tip my hat to Francis De Almeida for guiding me along the way,” he says. The foundation that the choir laid in him, led him to think of a career in music.
He joined the OJC immediately after leaving school. The experience and values he gained here have taken him a long way. Realising personal voice training was essential for a musician looking for a serious career in the field, he started training under Menaka Sahabandu and Barbara Segal.
Nishantha the singer: On stage with Barbara Segal in “After all it’s Opera”, at the Russian Centre in November last year
Soon, Nishantha was conducting the OJC and eventually started directing it. A scholarship for a week-long summer programme for Musical Directors, organized by the Barbershop Harmony Society saw him in the United States back in 2015.
Directing and collaborating with other artists, he has also worked with choirs like ‘Contempo’ and ‘Camerati’.
Every choir has its strength and it is the Choral Director’s responsibility to identify those strengths. “In terms of picking songs for the choir, you need to look at it and see how the voices work with it.” It’s a process just like anything else, he says.
In a challenging field, Nishantha hopes to keep following his heart, and pursue a career in music. “Times are changing now, especially when it comes to the arts and there is a lot of potential for music,” he says.
Next on line for this exciting young musician is directing the music for ‘Grease the Musical’. Look out for it in a few months.
Our cover picture shows Nishantha Warnakulasuriya as the Speaker with the ‘Arsikland Symphony Orchestra’ in ‘Arsikland the Musical’