Choir of Trinity College, Kandy | |
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Choir | |
Origin | British Ceylon, Church Missionary Society |
Founded | 1872 |
Founder | Clement Edwards |
Genre | Choral |
Members | School boys aged 9-19 SATB |
Choirmaster | Lasantha Tennekoon |
Organist | Sadhana Madasekara |
Affiliation | Trinity College, Kandy |
Website | www |
The Choir of Trinity College, Kandy , Sri Lanka, is a Boys' choir that continues a choral tradition dating back to the school's founding in 1872. [1] [2] The choir plays a central role in Christian worship at the school, [1] which was founded by the Church Missionary Society, and continues its affiliations to the Anglican Church of Ceylon.
The choir leads worship at Holy Trinity Church, Kandy [3] on Sundays and two days of the week during the academic terms of the college. In addition, the choir is actively involved in the music life of the school. [4]
The choir was established at the same time as the school in 1872, with Clement Edwards [1] [2] as its founding choirmaster. [1] From the mid 1940s [1] [5] a rapid development of the choir is recorded with performance of operettas, [1] and publication of a book with traditional songs and hymns. In 1946 commenced an annual performance of A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols. [6] Audio tapes of the choir were broadcast over the local radio and the BBC World Service. [1] [7]
In 2018, the choir had the privilege of performing for His Royal Highness Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex and Her Royal Highness, Sophie, Countess of Wessex, on their visit Sri Lanka on behalf of Queen Elizabeth II as part of celebrations to mark the country's 70th independence. [8] The choir led the singing of "God Save the Queen" and later performed George Frideric Handel's, Hallelujah Chorus. [9]
The choir performs mostly Christian choral music that ranges from renaissance music to modern music. In addition to that it performs secular music [10] ranging from folk music, pop music through to jazz, including Afro-American spirituals.
The choristers consist of boys from the ages of 9 to 19 years. They are chosen generally at the younger ages as young sopranos and continue to remain as choristers until they graduate from school. They are not essentially students of music or singing, but auditioned based on their keenness to sing.
There are two regular traditional events in the year for the choir, 'A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols' [11] held in Advent, which has been held close to 50 years at the Chapel. 'The Cross & Triumph of Christ', similar to the traditional 'Cross of Christ' [12] at Lent, is held on Palm Sunday. In addition to these events, a public concert with secular music is staged by the choir mid-year. [10]
The choir also has performance engagements throughout the year, including collaborated events [13] with other choirs [10] and music festivals. [14] [15] These include choirs from other schools [16] [17] both local and international, including performances with the Assens Boys Choir [18] and the Choir of Jesus College, Cambridge. [19] [20] The choir also produced a recording of Christmas Carols in 2008. [21] [22]
Choirmasters/mistresses
No records of some years in between
Accompanists
Kandy is a major city in Sri Lanka located in the Central Province. It was the last capital of the ancient kings' era of Sri Lanka. The city lies in the midst of hills in the Kandy plateau, which crosses an area of tropical plantations, mainly tea. Kandy is both an administrative and religious city and is also the capital of the Central Province. Kandy is the home of the Temple of the Tooth Relic, one of the most sacred places of worship in the Buddhist world. It was declared a world heritage site by UNESCO in 1988. Historically the local Buddhist rulers resisted Portuguese, Dutch, and British colonial expansion and occupation.
Bathiya & Santhush, also known as BNS, are a Sri Lankan pop duo consisting of Bathiya Jayakody and Santhush Weeraman, who met while at the "Mary Anne David School of Vocal Music" in Colombo. They both were born in Colombo, Sri Lanka. They have been one of the most commercially successful music acts in Sri Lanka in the last two decades.
The Trinity College Chapel in Kandy, Sri Lanka is one of the more distinctive church buildings in Sri Lanka. It is situated below the Principal's bungalow at Trinity College, Kandy. The chapel is one of the first and finest examples of the application of indigenous architecture in the design of an Anglican church in the country. The building is modelled on traditional Buddhist architecture, reminiscent of those found in Polonnaruwa, an ancient capital of Sri Lanka, in that it is an open building with a lofty hipped roof supported by numerous carved stone pillars.
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The Trinity–Antonian Cricket Encounter is the leading annual school cricket match of the hill country which is played between Trinity College, Kandy and St. Anthony's College, Kandy since 1914. It is considered to be one of the oldest annual school cricket encounters in Sri Lanka. This encounter is being played for the John Halangoda Memorial Trophy and is awarded to the team who manages to win the match by means of an outright win or failing that, a first innings win. But a first innings win will not go into the records as a win to the relevant team.
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St. Paul's Church is an Anglican church in the historical district of Kandy, Sri Lanka on sacred grounds west of the Temple of the Tooth.
Trinity College, Kandy, is an independent private school for boys in Kandy Sri Lanka. It was founded in 1872 by British Anglican missionaries of the Church Missionary Society, modelled on British Public school tradition. Trinity offers primary and secondary education, and is a leading private school in Sri Lanka managed by the Anglican Church of Ceylon.
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