Multi award winning Canadian pianist plays for The Music Project fundraiser on Sunday

Deepani de Alwis, Canadian born Sri Lankan pianist made her professional debut as soloist with the Glasgow Chamber Orchestra, playing Schumann’s popular Piano Concerto. Since then she has given numerous public concerts in Rome and other Italian cities, including a live concert and interview on RAI Radio Televisione Italiana. 

Deepani has attended Public Master Classes with many eminent pianists including; John Lill,

Pascal Roge, Fou T’song, Steven Smith, Ekatarina Miruna, Roger Vignoles, Dominique Merlet, David Lively, Geoffrey Parsons, Pierce Lane, and Madame Shishkow. Deepani was born to Sri Lankan parents in Edmonton, Alberta and accompanied them when they returned to Sri Lanka. She received her primary and secondary education at Ladies College, Colombo, the Colombo International School, and St. George’s English School in Rome, Italy.

Deepani’s concerts included performances of the classical and romantic composers (Bach, Vivaldi, Handel, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Chopin, Schumann, Tchaikovsky, Brahms, Liszt, et al.) and modern composers (Debussy, Rachmaninoff, Messian, Ravel, Gershwin, et al.). She has live Video Recordings of two concerts in Rome, Italy. She gave frequent recitals at the Rome Baptist Church in Italy to raise money for various church projects.

In the course of her career, Deepani has received several awards and prizes, including the TG More Scholarship for post-graduate studies, the Bach Prize for Harpsichord, Piano and Organ (Class A)(Glasgow), John D. Miles Lieder Prize Piano-Voice Duo, the Bach Prize for Harpsichord, Piano and Organ (Class B)(Glasgow), Second Prize in the Sixth Tchaikovsky Piano Competition of Sri Lanka. She has also participated and received favourable mention in competitions for the Laurence Glover Memorial Prize, Ramsey Calder Debussy Prize, and the Wayne Marshall Jazz Workshop. 

In addition to playing classical pieces Deepani also enjoys playing modern jazz and does oil painting as a hobby. She received the Canadian National Gold Medal for Licenciate Piano for 2015 from the Royal Conservatory of Music at a convocation ceremony in Toronto’s Koerner Hall. The award was based on the results of the Licentiate exam of the Royal Conservatory of Music (LRCM) held last June in which she obtained First Class Honours with Distinction, getting a stunning 95% of the marks and coming first in the country. The Licentiate of The Royal Conservatory (LRCM) in Piano Performance is the zenith of the Royal Conservatory program and is open to all candidates from North America. Deepani commenced her musical studies at the tender age of four under the tutelage of her mother, Ranjani de Alwis, who was a piano teacher in Sri Lanka, Canada, and Italy. Deepani subsequently studied piano under the late Erin Abeysundera and Leon Harshenin Deepani obtained her B.A. in Musical Studies from the University of Glasgow and completed the Post-graduate Diploma in the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow both under the tutelage of Prof. Graeme McNaught. 

She also had Public Master Classes with the renowned pianists Pascal Roge, Fou Tsong, John Lill, Steven Smith, Ekatarina Murina, Roger Vignoles, Dominique Merlet, David Lively, Geoffrey Parsons and Madame Shishkow (Head of keyboard studies at Moscow conservatory, Russia) at RCS. She attended a Wayne Marshall Jazz workshop at RCS and had private lessons with Piers Lane in London, UK. Deepani’s professional qualifications include the LRSM (London); LTCL (London) and FTCL (London). Deepani has performed in Italy, in Scotland as soloist playing Schumann’s Piano concerto with the Glasgow Chamber Orchestra, London, and Sri Lanka. She has also been singing at many special events.

Deepani has returned to Sri Lanka on a short stint to perform a Bach Partita No 6, Beethoven – Appasionata Op.57, Schumann – Kreisleriana Op.16 and Debussy Image II at the Lionel Wendt Theatre on 18 September. Tickets are available at the Lionel Wendt.

All proceeds from the concert will be donated towards The Music Project: one of the most transformational cultural interventions in Sri Lanka, using the power of music to empower children as agents of change and to build bridges across the communities in the north and the south through orchestral communities.

The projects embrace the El Sistema principles of excellence and immersive music-making. www.musicprojectsl.com.