Limini Weerasinghe, a young Djembe player and past pupil of Bishop’s College, Colombo, will present a rare drum show named GOSHA – 2017, Beat To Beat at the Bishop’s College Auditorium on January 13 starting at 6.30 pm.
The Gosha show is all about drums, a combination of Sri Lankan and African beat. Besides drums, it will be an evening of percussion drums (a combination of Sri Lankan and African Beat), music and songs – presented in collaboration with popular artistes, Bhatiya and Santhush, Jananatha Warakagoda, Randhir Withana and Dinaadaa.
The djembe is one of West Africa’s best known instruments. This goblet-shaped drum is traditionally carved from a single piece of African hardwood and topped with an animal skin as a drumhead. In western understanding, the drum belongs to the membranophone class of instruments in the percussion family. The djembe drum is most likely about 400-800 years old, according to the history of djembe.
One of the youngest female djembe players in Sri Lanka, Limini started playing the drum at the age of five under the guidance of her father, Thilak Weerasinghe, who himself is a gifted drummer, in addition to being a professional surfer and diver.
“Drumming was initially my Father’s hobby. Listening and seeing him play made me interested in joining him. I was only 5 years, then,” says Limini, recalling her first training sessions.
In school, Limini joined the Hewisi Band which helped her hone her skills. And then she also got the opportunity to perform on stage as a djembe player at a show organized by the Dancing Society of her school. “Gosha will be my first public concert as a drummer,” she adds. The school Hewisi Band and the Brass Band will also perform at this concert.
Talking about her inaugural show Gosha, Limini says, it was one of her cherished dreams. “This is primarily to showcase my talent; but at the same time, I also get the opportunity to perform along with some of the top artistes in the musical field in Sri Lanka. This is an achievement for me.”