Gehan Cooray to perform at ‘Music of the Heart’ in aid of Ostomy Association

Music lovers of Colombo will be treated to a variety of music from the past featuring popular genres of music and song, from Opera, Broadway, Artsong and Films on 13 January. Renowned baritone Gehan Cooray, who specialises in Bel Canto Opera, will be performing alongside some of Sri Lanka’s most accomplished singers and musicians, Menaka De Fonseka Sahabandu, Soundarie David Rodrigo, Surekha Amerasinghe, Dhanushka Seneviratne to present Music of the Heart that promises to be a memorable evening to be held at the Bishop’s College Auditorium at 7:30 p.m. 

Proceeds of the Music of the Heart event will go towards the Ostomy Association of Sri Lanka that works tirelessly towards addressing the issues faced by ostomates, or patients who are required to have a stoma which can be attached to an external (Ostomy) bag that collects bodily waste. Currently over 2,000 ostomates live in Sri Lanka, comprising of wounded soldiers, cancer survivors and those who have faced motor accidents. 

The Ostomy Association of Sri Lanka’s mandate is to relieve the burden of ostomates in the country by providing this vital procedure allowing them to lead normal, happy and healthy lives.

Gehan Cooray is an alumnus of the prestigious University of Southern California and possesses a Bachelor’s degree in Theatre, Drama and Psychology. Presently residing in Los Angeles, Gehan has produced and acted in short films which have been screened at the Los Angeles Film and Script Festival, the New Media Film Festival, the Action On Film Festival, the Palm Springs International Film Festival and Film Market to name a few. 

 A product of St Joseph’s College in Colombo, he trained under the tutelage of Menaka de Fonseka Sahabandu who first introduced him to the exhilarating world of Opera.  In collaboration with her Gehan directed and performed in a series of operas; playing Count Almaviva in The Marriage of Figaro and heroic Figaro in The Barber of Seville. 

Gehan has also made his mark in Broadway musical productions and plays both In Sri Lanka and Los Angeles, performing as Professor Friedrich Bhaerin Little Women, Gaston in Beauty and the Beast and Bernard Nightingale in Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia. He recently starred in a one man show titled Practically Perfect in LA that featured a series of well-known Broadway songs.  His repertoire encompasses diverse genres such as, opera, classical music, sacred music, musical theatre, pop, light rock and jazz. He sings in Italian, French, German, Latin, English and Sinhalese.

The special line up of guest artists at the event include Samali Liyanage, Niran De Mel and the Menaka Singers together with celebrated musicians Soundarie David Rodrigo on piano, Surekha Amerasinghe on flute, Dhanushka Seneviratne on the key board and Menaka De Fonseka Sahabandu. 

Music of the Heart will feature the performance of arias from Rossini’s The Barber of Seville, a duet from the Mozart opera Don Giovanni, La Serenata by Tosti, popular Broadway songs ‘On the street where you live’, ‘I could’ve danced all night (My Fair Lady), ‘Don’t tell mama’ (Cabaret), ‘I want the good times back’ (The Little Mermaid), ‘Smoke gets in your eyes’ (Roberta). From films, timeless songs such as ‘Over the Rainbow (Wizard of Oz), ‘New York, New York (New York, New York), ‘I say a little prayer for you, ‘I can’t help falling in love’ and ‘who’s sorry now’ will also be performed. 

The evening is set to be a musical extravaganza that celebrates heart-warming music from the past and promises to be spellbinding from beginning to curtain call. The box plan and tickets will be available at the Bishop’s College Auditorium office from 4 January onwards.