On 15th June, 04 years ago, the Gustav Mahler Society of Colombo was established by 04 young classical musicians from Colombo, Sri Lanka. Our society, fondly known as the "GMSC", has come a long way in fulfilling her vision 'towards a professional orchestra' underpinned by the mission of 'Performance, Education and Outreach.'
Throughout our journey, we endured bomb blasts carried out by religious extremists in 2019, and the Covid-19 Pandemic in 2020, which took a heavy toll on performing arts in Sri Lanka. Many institutions had to shut down while some remained stagnant. Amid all hardships, with fervent hope, not only did we manage to stay afloat, we never stopped performing, educating and reaching out as much as possible. We kicked off the 2022 Season with a stellar concert at the Lionel Wendt Theatre, Colombo performing a wide range of music.
We are now encountering the worst economic crisis Sri Lanka has ever faced. Unresolved political instability has resulted in worsening social and economic conditions. Citizens are ruffled by all-time high inflation rates, scarcity of fuel, gas and other amenities, power cuts, and looming threats of food insecurity. We thought to ourselves, how could we possibly celebrate an anniversary while our very own people are suffering?
Children are a more vulnerable group in our community. It is our duty as a society to reach out to them and ensure their well-being. So, we decided to take a trip to St.annes Children's Home, Thummodara, Nathandiya, Sri Lanka Santhana Lama Niwasaya. Several members of the Gustav Mahler Orchestra of Colombo namely, Kasun Sanjaya (Principal Percussion), Prasanna Kumara (Principal Trombone), Nuwan Gunawardhana (Associate Principal Trombone), Shehani Fernando (First Violin), Anuja de Silva (Percussion), and our Music Director and Chief Conductor, Srimal Weerasinghe visited the Home on 14 June 2022. We sent them dry rations and gifts from Colombo. Another group of musicians namely, Thaminda Roshan, Dileepa Madushan and Nuwan Tharanga, joined hands with us to spend the evening, singing songs and playing games with the children.
We thank our Orchestra Manager Thushira Fernando and Mr Maheesh Chathuranga for coordinating the day's proceedings, and our friends for their tireless efforts in bringing a smile to those innocent children's faces.
We take this moment to thank all those who helped us in our journey. We believe this was our most memorable anniversary and we hope to continue our efforts in uplifting performing arts in Sri Lanka.
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