Overture to Die Zauberflöte
Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen, Ging heut morgen übers feld (Sri Lankan première)
Symphony No. 2 in C minor “Resurrection”, IV satz - Urlicht (Sri Lankan première)
Variations on an Original Theme / Enigma Variations
“...greatest orchestral concert in Colombo we’ve heard for the last 50 years …”
The GMSC's inaugural concert marked a historic turning point for Orchestral Music in Sri Lanka, bringing together the 80+ strong Gustav Mahler Orchestra of Colombo, with Sri Lanka’s foremost Violinist Ananda Dabare as the Concertmaster. The audience bore witness to fresh, unique Orchestral sounds under the baton of its Chief Conductor, Srimal Weerasinghe. The Orchestra presented a veteran programme featuring works by Mozart and Elgar with its highlight being the Sri Lankan premières of Orchestral works by Gustav Mahler with Mezzo-Soprano Rachel Halliday as the soloist.
The Nutcracker (Casse-Noisette, ballet-féerie), Op. 71 (Special abridged version of the ballet)
A Christmas Festival
O Holy Night
Choirs of Bishop’s College ,Col-03 | Wesley College, Col-08 | S. Thomas’ College, Mt. Lavinia.
Let it Snow!
Choirs of Bishop’s College ,Col-03 | Wesley College, Col-08 | S. Thomas’ College, Mt. Lavinia.
Do You Hear What I Hear
Choirs of Bishop’s College ,Col-03 | Wesley College, Col-08 | S. Thomas’ College, Mt. Lavinia.
Jingle Bell rock
Following the success at our Inaugural Concert, the Gustav Mahler Orchestra of Colombo returned with yet another exciting and innovative programme, this time under the baton of its energetic Associate Chief Conductor, Vidhurinda Samaraweera. The audience was in for an exquisite treat, with a special abridged version of the immortal Christmas essential, Tchaikovsky’s ballet “The Nutcracker”. The memorable evening concluded along with traditional Christmas carols performed by the Orchestra with the and the choirs of Bishop’s College, Colombo, Wesley College, Colombo ,and S.Thomas’ College, Mount Lavinia. The concert premiered “Do You Hear What I Hear" arranged by Sri Lankan Berklee Alumna, Shannon Jacob which was well received. Members of the distinguished audience filled the concert hall that night, with shouts of praise acknowledging the bravura of the orchestra’s artist-in-residence, Rachel Halliday (Mezzo-soprano) for her well-deserved peerless rendition of ‘O Holy Night’.
Grand Mass in C major, Op. 05 “Missa Grandis” (World première)
Choir of St.Benedict’s College, Colombo - 13
As the leading Sri Lankan platform for nurturing and promoting Sri Lankan composers, the GMSC presented the World première of our second commission, Missa Grandis, composed by young, up and coming Sri Lankan composer, Lakshan Perera. The acclaimed work is also the first full Latin Mass composed by a Sri Lankan composer. The performance attended by a full church was conducted by Chief Conductor, Srimal Weerasinghe featuring Samalie Liyanage (Soprano), Rachel Halliday (Mezzo-Soprano) and Trevis De Silva (Tenor) as soloists. This was the last Classical Performance in Colombo before the country came to a standstill due to 2019 Easter Sunday attacks
Leonore Overture No. 3 in C major, Op.72b
Elegy for Strings: In memory of 2019 Easter Sunday Victims (Sri Lankan première)
Svarasanga Vannama (Première of revised composition)
Fanfare for the Gustav Mahler Orchestra of Colombo (World première)
Lieder nach Texten von Friedrich Rückert / Rückert Lieder (Sri Lankan première)
With its 2019/20 Season Opening concert, the GMSC, among all performing artists and organizations, valiantly managed to break the prolonged silence after the unfortunate atrocities of the Easter Sunday terror attacks which took place in Sri Lanka. Returning to the Nawa Rangahala, an year after the Inaugural concert, Weerasinghe and the Gustav Mahler Orchestra of Colombo brought yet another ground-breaking programme, raising the bar high each time. Heralding Beethoven’s 250th anniversary in 2020, the Orchestra kicked off the evening with his spectacular Leonore No. 3 overture. Concert saw the premières of three works by Sri Lankan composers, Lalanath de Silva’s Elegy commemorating the 2019 Easter Sunday Victims, followed by the new revision of famous Sri Lankan composer Harsha Makalande’s Svarasanga Vannama; Concert piece for Piano, Sri Lankan Drums and Large Orchestra, masterfully juxtaposing Sri Lankan traditional music with Western Orchestral Music. It was followed by the world première of Sachiththa Fernando’s magnificent Fanfare for the Gustav Mahler Orchestra of Colombo. The evening came to an end with Gustav Mahler’s heart-stirring Rückert Lieder cycle being performed for the first time in South Asia, with Sri Lanka’s leading Mahlarian singer Rachel Halliday, Mezzo-Soprano as the soloist.
Gloria, RV 589
Oktave Choir
Christmas Oratorio “The Joyous News” RA 10a
Oktave Choir
Piccolinis Children’s Choir
Messiah HWV 56 - Hallelujah Chorus
Audience and Oktave Choir
The GMSC and the Oktave choir jointly presented the 2019 Christmas Concert “Hallelujah!” quite uniquely as a morning concert. The concert was conducted by composer Lalanath De Silva, featuring his own composition 'A Christmas Oratorio - The Joyous News'. First premiered in 1977, this piece was unique in that its lyrics were from the libretto - “සුභාරංචිය” (Subharanchiya - The Joyous News) written by the well-known Sri Lankan Catholic priest Fr.Marcelline Jayakody (1902-1998). The concert was another step by the GMSC towards bringing Western Classical Orchestral music closer to local audiences. Mezzo- soprano Rachel Halliday elegantly delivered the Recitative and Aria - “කීයේය දූතයා'' of de Silva’s Oratorio transitioning to its ending. Anagi Perera (Soprano), and Peshali Yapa (Alto) featured as soloists in Antonio Vivaldi’s Gloria. Handel’s famous Hallelujah Chorus concluded the program with a few members of the audience joining the Oktave Choir on stage as per the kind and spontaneous invitation by the conductor.
Violin Sonata No. 5 in F major, Op. 24 “Spring”
Chansons de Matin et de Nuit, Op. 15
Zigeunerweisen, Op. 20
Concerto for two Violins in D minor, BWV 1043
Symphony No. 5 in C sharp minor IV. Satz Adagietto
The Lithuanian Solo Violin sensation Barbora Valiukeviciute during her visit to Sri Lanka, thrilled our audience with a recital concert held at the BMICH. She entered the hearts of the members of our audience and managed to register herself fully with her virtuosic artistry accompanied by the celebrated Sri Lankan Pianist Dilan Angunawela. Her own rendition of the Sinhala classic tune ඕලු පිපීලා (Lotuses Bloomed) for Violin and Piano, in particular, received high praise. The Concert also featured the up-and-coming Sri Lankan violin soloist duo Dharshana and Manoj who performed Bach Double Violin Concerto in D minor con fuoco. The Gustav Mahler Orchestra premiered the fourth movement from Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No.05 - Adagietto for the first time in South Asia, a performance that managed to move the audience members to tears, under the baton of our Chief Conductor, Srimal Weerasinghe.
Following the closures and restrictions due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the GMSC rose up to the challenge and introduced the first ever Orchestral virtual performances in Sri Lanka, with the #GMSCPlaysOn e-performance series in April 2020.
Miniature for Solo Violin, Op. 13/2
Miniature for Solo Cello, Op. 13/3
Grand Mass in C major, Op. 05 “Missa Grandis” (World première) (Excerpt) - Et in Spiritum [Archive Recording - 03. 03. 2019]
Choir of St.Benedict’s College, Colombo - 13
Works by the up-and-coming Sri Lankan Composer, Lakshan Perera performed by the members of the Gustav Mahler Society of Colombo were featured in this mini-concert. An archived recording from the World premiere of Lakshan's C major mass along with a couple of his chamber works never heard before.
Lo! Christ the Lord is Born
Do You Hear What I Hear
Hark! the Herald Angels Sing
O Holy Night
Christmas Oratorio “The Joyous News” RA 10a
Having introduced the art of virtual performance to the Sri Lankan orchestral community through #GMSCPlaysOn, the first ever platform of its kind, the Gustav Mahler Society of Colombo (GMSC) along with the GMSC Chorus and affiliated Choirs brings "Christmas from Home", an online celebration of Christmas, with the determination of continuing with tradition amid dangerous and uncertain conditions prevailing all over the world.
The concert programme is lined up with some of the favourite seasonal tunes also featuring arrangements and compositions by our own Sri Lankan composers making it special and unique. It is noteworthy to mention that this program features a rarely heard composition, Lo! Christ the Lord is Born by Sir Edward Elgar (1857 - 1934).
