Maestro Dr Shelton Premaratne is a legendary Sri Lankan composer, instrumentalist and music director. At a time when Sinhala music was directly emulating Hindi and Tamil music from India, Dr Premaratne was a pioneer in developing a music style that was original and unique to Sri Lanka. Masterful with various Eastern and Western instruments, Dr Premaratne has contributed greatly to Sinhala cinema, theatre and classical Sri Lankan music. Dr Premaratne was the music composer and director in over 30 stage productions, including Henry Jayasena’s popular theatre production Hunuwataye Kathawa (The Caucasian Chalk Circle), and 21 Sinhala films including films such as Daskon , Romeo Juliet Kathawak and Hithaka Pipunu Mal. As a teacher and mentor, Dr Premaratne has cultivated the talents of many world-class musicians and created unforgettable melodies for the likes of Rukmani Devi, W.D Amaradeva, Latha Walpola, Sunil Shantha, Nanda Malini and Victor Ratnayake. Dr Premaratne’s contribution to Sri Lankan arts and culture over a career spanning six decades as both teacher and practitioner makes him a true living treasure.
