(New York, NY - March 28, 2005) Conductor David Hayes will lead The Mannes Orchestra on Thursday, May 5, 2005 at 8:00 p.m., at Columbia University’s Miller Theater, located at Broadway and 116th Street in Manhattan. (By subway: Take the #1 or #9 to 116th Street.) The program features Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite (L’Oiseau de feu) conducted by graduating Master of Music conducting student, Dinuk Wijeratne, and Mozart’s Symphony No. 41 in C Major “Jupiter” conducted by David Hayes. To obtain tickets to this free concert, call the Miller Theater Box Office at (212) 854-7799.
Sri Lankan-born Dinuk Wijeratne is active as a composer, conductor, and pianist, both in the United States and abroad. He is currently completing his training in orchestral conducting at Mannes College of Music. Wijeratne grew up in Dubai before taking up undergraduate study at the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) in Manchester, England. While at the RNCM, Wijeratne was recognized for the diversity of his musical talents and interests, not only winning prizes for contemporary classical composition and conducting, but also major prizes for jazz improvisation and his collaborations with visiting artists, including Victor Mendoza, Tim Garland, and John Dankworth. Upon graduating, he was awarded the RCNM’s highest honor for contribution to its musical life: the “Sir John Manduell Prize.” In 2001, he was invited by noted American composer John Corigliano to join, under full scholarship, his studio at Juilliard, from which Wijeratne recently received his Master’s degree. His Chamber Concerto About Sankhara, written for the Juilliard Ensemble, was the first work by a Sri Lankan composer to be performed at Lincoln Center. His works have also been performed across the United States and in Europe at major international venues.
Wijeratne was appointed Artist-in-Residence by the Performing Arts Foundation at International House for the 2003-04 season. This season, Wijeratne made his Carnegie Hall debut as conductor, composer and pianist, performing with Yo Yo Ma and the Silk Road Project. His recent dance commission Power Play, in collaboration with choreographer Janaki Patrik and the New York Kathak Ensemble, culminated in a highly successful week’s run of performances last November. Wijeratne’s music and collaborative work embrace the great diversity of his international background and influences.
The Mannes Orchestra’s final appearance of series will be on Saturday, May 7 and Sunday, May 8, 2005 with the Mannes Opera in a fully-staged performance of Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte at the Kaye Playhouse at Hunter College.
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Mannes College of Music, founded in 1916, is one of the world’s major conservatories of music. A division of New School University, Mannes offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs, as well as a Professional Studies Diploma program. Notable alumni from Mannes include soprano Frederica von Stade, pianists Murray Perahia and Richard Goode, and conductors Semyon Bychkov, Myung-Whun Chung, JoAnn Falletta and Julius Rudel. Joel Lester is Dean of Mannes. For further information on Mannes College of Music, call (212) 580-0210 or go to the Web site at www.mannes.edu.