Sri Lanka
Ashan Pillai was born in Colombo, Srilanka in 1969. When nine months old his family moved to the United Kingdom and hence he was educated in London thoughout his pre-school and undergraduate studies. His family lived for various short periods of time in Nigeria and Srilanka. He lived a spell of time in Srilanka where he attended Saint Thomas´ Prep School in Colombo. His musical association with his country of birth began in 1997 when he represented Srilanka as soloist in Mozart´s Sinfonia Concertante …...
… (with Clio Gould) and the BT Scottish Ensemble at the Commonwealth Conference in Edinburgh. Soon afterwards he was invited to play as soloist with the English Chamber Orchestra (he was then assistant principal) to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the island´s Independence in the presence of HRH…
… Prince Charles and other dignataries in 1998. It was his first trip to Srilanka since 1983. This tour launched a fruitful relationship with cultural organisations in Srilanka ( especially the British Council) which resulted in many subsequent tours. Performances not only been in Colombo but also in Kandy, Hikkaduwa, Galle , etc.. He was partnered several times in recital by pianists Rohan de Silva and Eshantha Pieris; the Transworld Piano Quartet ( Jagdish Mistry, Rohan de Silva and Damian Martinez); Mobius Ensemble (Philippe Honore, Lorna Mcghee and Alison Nicholls)…
… and in 2013 , with Sophia Ramhan and Robert Plane. His 2013 tour saw his debut with the Symphony Orchestra of Srilanka (SOSL) in Bruch´s Double Concerto with Robert Plane (Clarinet) ,conducted by James Ross as part of the Commonwealth Conference in Srilanka. As a passionate educator, all of his tours have been accompanied by masterclasses, workshops, charity concerts and educational programmes which have taken him to various parts of the island. In each case, the response from Srilanka´s youth has been overwhelmingly enthusiastic, especially in realising music´s unquestionable power as a common language of communication between cultures, and the desire to learn.
None of these tours would have been possible without the enormous help of the following institutions and companies: the British Council (Colombo and Kandy); Srilankan Airlines; The English Chamber Orchestra; The Sunshine Charity; The Cinnamon Grand Hotel; the Hilton Hotel, Colombo; the Mahaweli Reach Hotel, Kandy; The Symphony Orchestra of Srilanka; the Royal Overseas League (London); the Embassy of the United Kingdom; The Cinnamon Lakeside Hotel; The Galadari Hotel; The Ministry of Culture and Education of Srilanka; Emirates Airlines; Commonwealth Resounds; and last but not least, Jetwings Travel.
