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The Symphony Orchestra of Sri Lanka
(SOSL) is one of the oldest orchestras in South Asia.
Its first concert was on 13th September 1958 under
the baton of Hussein Mohamed, with the Sri Lankan pianist Malini Jayasinghe-Peiris as soloist in Beethoven's
Fourth
Piano Concerto.
Kalakeerthi Prof. Earle de Fonseka took over as conductor in
1960, a position he held with dedication and distinction until
his demise in 2000. Lalanath de Silva was the conductor from
2000 to 2002. The present principal
conductors are Ajit
Abeysekera, Ananda Dabare, Manilal Weerakoon and Eshantha J.
Peiris.
Soloists who have performed with the orchestra
include
Gervase de Peyer (clarinet),
Barry Tuckwell (horn), Thomas Brandis and Leon
Spierer (violin, then concertmasters of the Berlin
Philharmonic),
Paul Olefsky
and Rohan de Saram (cello),
Rodney Slatford (double bass),
(cello); Druvi de Saram, Peter Cooper,
Ian Lake,
Robin Zebaida,
Anthony Peebles
and
Rohan de Silva (piano).
The SOSL performs four subscription concerts
annually. In addition, there are many other performances on special
occasions. The SOSL is resident at the Ladies
College Hall (MAP), Colombo 07, which is famous for its
sympathetic acoustic, and most of its concerts are held
there. Sri Lankan and Foreign soloists and conductors
perform regularly with the orchestra on invitation.
The SOSL takes special interest
in fostering young Sri Lankan talent, and dedicates one of
its annual subscription concerts to feature Young Soloists.
The SOSL is a not for profit organisation which depends on public support and corporate sector sponsorship
for its activities.
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