Premasiri Khemadasa
| Premasiri Khemadasa | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Guruge Premasiri Khemadasa Perera |
| Also known as | Khemadasa Master |
| Born |
25 January 1937 Wadduwa, British Ceylon |
| Origin | Sri Lanka |
| Died | 24 October 2008 (aged 71) Colombo, Sri Lanka |
| Genres | Sri Lankan music, Classical music |
| Occupation(s) | Music director, composer |
Deshamanya Kala Keerthi Dr.Premasiri Khemadasa (Sinhala: ආචාර්ය ප්රේමසිරි කේමදාස ) (25 January 1937 – 24 October 2008) also known as "Khemadasa Master" was a Sri Lankan music composer. Exploring the various styles of music around the world Khemadasa endeavoured to develop a unique style of music. He combined Sinhala folk tunes, Hindustani music, Western music and many other streams of music in his compositions while adapting them to fit contemporary music.
Khemadasa grew up in Talpitiya, Wadduwa and attended St. John's College Panadura and then Sri Sumangala College Panadura. As a teenager, he became a gifted flautist.
Khemadasa was asked to come to the Radio Ceylon for an interview on the day he was scheduled to take his Senior School Certificate examination. He finished the examination much ahead of time and travelled to the audition. He passed the audition and became a member of Radio Ceylon.
Khemadasa's debut as a film composer came with Sirisena Wimalaweera's Roddie Kella. With his score for Bambaru Ewith he introduced a style of music unacquainted to Sri Lankan cinema. He then began collaborating with acclaimed director Lester James Peries handling the music for films like Golu Hadawatha and Nidhanaya. Critics praised his film scores and he was honorally dubbed "Khemadasa master." Khemadasa's signature in film music is moulded by the use of elements from Classical Western music and other sources to heighten the emotion suggested by the picture. Some of his compositions are influenced by Western composers of opera such as Giuseppe Verdi and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
Lately Premasiri Khemadasa has given his contribution to films such as Agnidahaya and very recently to Ammavarune, the last film by Lester James Peiris who has announced his retirement.
Other scores written by the master for films such as Hansawilak,Thunweniyamaya, Paradige, Yasa Isuru widened his acclaim in the field of cinema. He has also composed music for films produced outside Sri Lanka (Thousand Flowers).
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