VOICE OF SRI LANKA NANDA MALIN

Mirihana Arachchige Nanda Perera (born 1953) is a Sri Lankan singer. Her traditional style of Sri Lanka music has gained her praise and popularity and won her 11 Sarasaviya Awards and 8 Presidential Awards for Best Singer and the Most Popular Singer.

Malini was born to a rural family of nine in Lewanduwa in Aluthgama. She moved to Kotahena in Colombo as an adolescent and was admitted to Sri Gunananda Vidyalaya where she came under the tutelage of T. N. Margaret Perera. After winning a poetry contest, Malini was taken to Radio Ceylon by Perera and sang "Budu Sadu" on Karunarante Abeysekera's popular programme Lama Mandapaya.

She gained more popularity dueting on the song "Galana Gangaki Jeevithe" with Narada Disasekara for RANMUTHU DUVA in 1961.For the performance she was awarded the first ever Sarasaviya Award for Female Playback Singing. Malini continued her training after achieving fame, learning under B. Victor Perera, studying for a year at Heywood and moving on to Bhathkande University at Lucknow, India in 1963. She would later return to the University to obtain a Visharada degree in 1984.

Upon her return to Sri Lanka, Malini appeared on Amaradeva's programme Madhuvanthi singing "Sannaliyane" and "Ran Dahadiya Bindu Bindu."

Malini has had a string of successful releases: Perada Maha Re, Pahan Kanda, Sathyaye Geethaya, Hemanthayedi, Tharuka Es, Pavana, Sindu Hodiya, Kinduriyakage Vilapaya, Madhu Bandun, Tharu, Malmada Bisau, Cinema Geethavalokana, Kirimadu Vel, Londonyedi Geyu Gee, Yathra, Handahami, Sanka Padma, Pembara Lanka, Kunkuma Pottu, Gramaphone Gee, Araliya Landata, Malata Renu, Nilambare, Sari Podittak and Pirith Pen.

Music as Medicine

Music therapy can help reduce anxiety and improve

y Serena Gordon

Posted 3/22/08

SATURDAY, March 22 (HealthDay News) -- Almost everyone has used music at one time or another to relax or perhaps to get energized. But the discipline of music therapy takes the use of music much further, from battling depression to combating cancer.

"Music therapy is an evidence-based practice that can affect changes in physical, psychological, social and cognitive domains through music experiences and the relationship that develops between the client and the therapist," said Cheryl Dileo, a professor of music therapy and director of the Arts and Quality of Life Research Center at Temple University in Philadelphia.

Just turning up the radio to your favorite tune to erase a blue mood doesn't qualify as music therapy, Dileo explained. "Self-help through music is not music therapy, although many people do use music for themselves, for example for relaxation to improve their moods, or to accompany exercise."

Music therapy, on the other hand, "involves an interpersonal process through which a trained therapist uses his or her knowledge and skills to address the client's assessed needs and issues," she said. "Although many people understand intuitively how to use music for themselves, when it is used within a music-therapy process by a trained therapist, it can be a powerful means to achieving positive physical, psychological, cognitive and social outcomes."

The uses of music therapy are myriad, according to Dileo. Music therapy can be used to reduce the anxiety of hospital patients undergoing difficult medical procedures. It can help lessen pain and improve mood, she said. Music therapy can also help depressed patients express their feelings.

Music therapy has been used to keep Alzheimer's patients calm and help them improve their memories at the Institute for Music and Neurologic Function at the Beth Abraham Family of Health Services in New York City.

At Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago, board-certified music therapist Elizabeth Pociask uses music therapy to help new parents calm their infants.

Dileo said that music therapists should be board-certified, which means they've attended at least a four-year college program, as well as completed a supervised internship and have passed a national exam.

However, less formal music programs can be helpful as well. Katherine Puckett, national director of mind-body medicine at the Cancer Treatment Centers of America, said that while they don't have board-certified music therapists on staff, the centers do use music as a means to help their patients.

"Music can activate the relaxation response, which helps promote deep breathing, lower heart rate, lower blood pressure, ease muscle tension and create less stress. That can help cancer patients sleep better, and difficulty sleeping is a common problem for cancer patients," Puckett said.

"Relaxing the body can also help relieve physical pain, and people may need less pain medication," she added.

The Cancer Treatment Centers of America keep a library of music available for patients to use, and they have special events, such as drumming circles, that help provide an emotional release for their patients, Puckett said. "Some people can release their emotions through talking, but sometimes people need a non-verbal release. We've had people moved to tears in our special events," she said.

"People respond to music -- you don't have to be sick to respond to music. It's relaxing, comforting and soothing," Puckett added.

Music of Spain

The Music of Spain has a vibrant and long history which has had an important impact on music in Western Culture. Although the music of Spain is often associated with traditions like flamenco and the spanish guitar.Spanish music is in fact incredibly diverse from region to region. Flamenco, for example, is an Andalusian musical genre, which, contrary to popular belief, is not widespread outside that region. In contrast, the music of Galicia has more in common with its Celtic cousins in
Ireland and France than with the unique Basique Music right next door.


Other regional styles of folk music abound in Aragon,Catalonia, Valencia, Castile ,Lion and Asturias and The contemporary music scene in Spain, centered in Madreid and Barcelona has made strong contributions to contemporary music within the areas of POP, Classical music, Renaissance composers like Thomas Luis de Victoria to the zarzuela of Spanish Opera to the passionate Ballets of Manuel de Falla and the guitarist Pepe Romero.

Life

Life like a Train. People can't control their life. Because , life is controlling us. The definition of life, the determination of the fundamental nature of living things, and the explanation of life's origin and evolution , have engendered much thought, debate and research throughout history. The perspective on life at any given moment in history, even today, qualifies as realistic and fruitful only to the extent of human knowledge at the time. In this article we focus defining the activity of living.
We focus on what essential activities living entities perform that enable their living — specifically, we focus on the fundamental processes of living, those that constitute the System that counts as a living thing, the "common denominator that allows for the discrimination of the living from the non-living", as inferred from the study of Earth's living things in the light of science. This article takes, as its theme, “Life is what is common to all living things on Earth” (Christian De Duve).
Those include the basic working unit of life, the biological cell, and the many molecular structures and processes cells have in common, including a boundary; the importation of energy and exportation of entropy;metabolism;information processing and communication; self-organization and self-defense; adaptation; death; (re)production from parents; and, cognition of self and the outside world.

DOUBLE BASS

The double bass, also called the upright bass or contra bass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra.he name, "double bass," derives from the early use of the instrument to double—an octave lower where possible—the bass part written for the cello.It is a standard member of the string section of the symphony orchestra. and smaller string ensembles in Western Classical Music.In addition, it is used in other genres such as Jazz,1950s-style blues and rock"n" roll,rockabilly/psycho billy,bluegrass and tango.
Double basses are constructed from several types of wood, including maple for the back, spruce for the top, and ebony for the fingerboard. It is uncertain whether the instrument is a descendant of the viola da gamba or from the violin, but it is traditionally aligned with the violin family. While the double bass is nearly identical in construction to violin family instruments, it also has features that derive from the viols.

Like many other string instruments,the double bass is played either with a bow(arco) or by plucking the strings (pizzicato).In orchestral repertoire and tango music, both bowing and plucking styles are used. In jazz, the bass is mostly plucked, except for some solos (and also occasional written parts in Modern Jazz.)that call for the bow. In most other genres, such as blues and rockabilly, the bass is plucked.

CELLO

The Cello (plural cellos or celli — the c is pronounced as in the ch in "check", thus "chel-lo") is a bowed string instrument.The word derives from the Italian violoncello. A person who plays a cello is called a cellist. The cello is used as a solo instrument, in Chamber Music, and as a member of the String Section of an Orchestra. It is the second largest Bowed string Instrument in the modern symphony orchestra. the Double bass being the largest.

SUNIL SHANTHA

Sunil Santha (1915-1981) was a renowned and influential Sri Lankan singer. He was pivotal in the development of Sinhala music in the late 1940s and early 1950s. He composed the soundtrack to Lester James Peries' Rekava
in 1956.

Life and career

Early life (1915-1945)

Santha was born Baddaliyanage Don Joseph John on April 14, 1915 in Dehiyagatha, Jaela to a catholic family. His parents died when he was young, and Santha was raised by members of his maternal family. His uncle M.J. Perera was a musician and taught Santha to play the harmonium at a young age. Santha passed the school leaving certificate examination with the highest marks in his class as a young adult and was awarded the Weeraratne award. In 1933 he completed the Teachers Final Examination and began work as a teacher at the Mt. Calvary School. While tenured there, Santha led the school to three consecutive victories at the Southern Schools Music Competition. In 1939 he passed the Intermediate Gandarva Examination and received a certificate in physical training. He also learned to play the piano and guitar at that time.

In 1940 Santha gave up teaching and travelled to Shanthinikethan to study music. The following year Santha enrolled at the University of Bathkanda and worked to get his Visharadha Degree in 1944. He then adopted the name "Sunil Santha."

Radio Ceylon (1946–1952)

On March 2, 1946 Santha held a recital for the Kumaratunga Commemoration ceremony and was asked to record for Radio Ceylon. Over the next seven years, he would have several popular songs including "Olu Pipila" (the first song he recorded), "Handapane", "Ho Ga Rella Negay", "Bowitiya Dan Palukan Vare", "Suwada Rosa Mal Nela", "Kokilayange", and "Mihikathanalawala." Santha stressed his Sinhala heritage in his songs opting to sing in Sinhala rather than English and not copy Hindustani and Tamil songs of India. An occasional songwriter himself, Santha sang songs written by lyricists like Huberth Dissanayake, Munidasa Cumaratunga, Raipiel Tennakoon, Father Marcelline Jayakody, and Arisen Ahubudu.

In 1952 Santha was banned from Radio Ceylon after refusing to audition for Indian musician Ratanjankar, whom the corporation had brought from South India to oversee the direction of music on their stations. That year he married school teacher Bernadet Leelawathi Jayasekara.

Later life

Santha experienced monetary problems after being kicked off Radio Ceylon. He tried his hands at various trades like photography and selling clothes over the next few years.In 1953 Santha started a small school at the Maradana Newton building. He vowed to teach 10 pupils for free. Santha's friend Albert Perera (later known as W.D.Amaradeva) joined the school as a teacher. In 1955 journalist D.B. Dhanapala started a campaign to expose Santha's plight and raised some money through his column on Lankadeepa.

In 1967 Director General Mr. Neville Jayaweera asked Santha to come back to the national radio service. Santha worked with Amaradeva and H.W. Rupasinghe to develop music and audition new artists. Santha moved into his uncle's house in 1970. In 1977 a record titled Sunil Gee was produced.Shantha died on April 11, 1981 from a Heart attack shortly after his son Jagath drowned in a Swimming pool.