Dinuk Wijeratne (born 1978) is a conductor,

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

and

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

, living and working in

Ottawa, Ontario Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

, Canada. His work ''Two Pop Songs on Antique Poems'' won both the 2016 Juno Award for Classical Composition of the Year and the 2016 East Coast Music Award for Classical Composition of the Year. His boundary-crossing musical collaborations include ground-breaking combinations of symphony orchestra and tabla, and string quartet and DJ.

Early life and education

Wijeratne was born in

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

, and grew up in

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...

UAE The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...

. He studied at the

Royal Northern College of Music The Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) is a conservatoire located in Manchester, England. It is one of four conservatoires associated with the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music. In addition to being a centre of music education ...

in the UK, and with

John Corigliano John Paul Corigliano Jr. (born February 16, 1938) is an American composer of contemporary classical music. His scores, now numbering over one hundred, have won him the Pulitzer Prize, five Grammy Awards, Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition, an ...

Juilliard The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most elit ...

in New York City. In 2005 his family moved to Nova Scotia."Symphony NS composer in residence Dinuk Wijeratne nets Juno Award"
''THE CHRONICLE HERALD'', April 10, 2016

Career

Wijeratne made his

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...

debut in 2004 as a conductor, composer and pianist, performing with

Yo Yo Ma Yo-Yo Ma (''Chinese language, Chinese'': 馬友友 ''Ma Yo Yo''; born October 7, 1955) is an American cellist. Born in Paris to Chinese parents and educated in New York City, he was a child prodigy, performing from the age of four and a half. ...

and the

Silk Road Ensemble Silkroad, formerly the Silk Road Project, Inc., is a not-for-profit organization, initiated by the cellist Yo-Yo Ma in 1998, promoting collaboration among artists and institutions, promoting multicultural artistic exchange, and studying the ebb and ...

. He became the Music Director for the Nova Scotia Youth Orchestra in 2006, and held a 3-year appointment as Conductor-in-Residence with

Symphony Nova Scotia Symphony Nova Scotia is a Canadian orchestra based in Halifax Regional Municipality, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Their primary recital space is at the Dalhousie Arts Centre's Rebecca Cohn Auditorium. History Symphony Nova Scotia began in 19 ...

. In 2013 Wijeratne conducted the Elizabeth Bishop Players as they recorded music accompanying soprano

Suzie LeBlanc Suzie LeBlanc (born 27 October 1961) is a Canadian soprano and early music specialist. She is also active as a professor, currently working at Mcgill University. She was named a member of the Order of Canada in 2014 for her contributions to musi ...

for the album ''I Am In Need of Music''. In 2016 Wijeratne's composition "Two Pop Songs on Antique Poems", from the Afriara Quartet's album ''Spin Cycle'', won a Juno Award as Classical Composition of the Year. He was commissioned by the Calgary Philharmonic to compose "First Winter", a movement for its 2017 ''True North: Symphonic Ballet''. The piece combines the work of five composers, and was premiered at the True North Festival in celebration of Canada's 150th birthday. "First Winter" was also performed by the Toronto Symphony Orchestra at the 21C Festival in 2019.

Selected works

* Tsimo! (2012) * Tabla Concerto (2011) The first full length Tabla Concerto for tabla and full Western classical Symphony Orchestra * 'Brazil, January 1, 1502' (2011) * Solea di Diomira (2010) * Colour Study in Rupaktaal (2007) *Two Pop Songs on Antique Poems (2015) Winner of both the 2016 Juno Award and the 2016 East Coast Music Award for Classical Composition of the Year *Polyphonic Lively (2016) Winner of the 2017 Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia Masterworks Arts Award *Clarinet Concerto (2018)

References

External links

Official web page
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wijeratne, Dinuk Canadian male classical composers Canadian classical composers Male conductors (music) Canadian classical pianists Male classical pianists Canadian male pianists Alumni of the Royal Northern College of Music Juilliard School alumni Sri Lankan emigrants to Canada Living people Juno Award for Classical Composition of the Year winners 21st-century Canadian conductors (music) 21st-century classical pianists 21st-century Canadian male musicians 1978 births