by Vidhurinda Samaraweera

Introduction

Sri Lanka, a beautiful tropical island famously known as the “Pearl of the Indian Ocean,” is a melting pot of diverse cultures. Sri Lanka's history is a captivating journey through time, marked by a rich blend of ancient civilizations, colonial influences, and a struggle for independence. The island's chronicles date back over 2,500 years, witnessing the rise and fall of great kingdoms, which left behind awe-inspiring archaeological wonders. In the 16th century, the Portuguese, followed by the Dutch and later the British, made their indelible marks during the colonial era. This period brought significant cultural, economic, and social changes. The island, then known as Ceylon, gained its independence from British rule in 1948.

Sri Lanka faced the challenges of a prolonged civil conflict that lasted until 2009. The nation has since made remarkable strides towards reconciliation, development, and fostering a sense of unity among its diverse communities. In more recent times, Sri Lanka faced a severe economic crisis which led to political instability.

The citizens overthrew the previous administration, and the new leaders are now progressively restoring political and economic stability. Today, Sri Lanka stands as a resilient and vibrant nation, where the echoes of its storied past can be heard in the ancient ruins, colonial architecture, and the enduring traditions of its people.

History of Music in Sri Lanka

Mainly, four communities live harmoniously in Sri Lanka: the Sinhalese, the Tamils, the Muslims, and the Burghers. The cultural tapestry of this island is rich and diverse, with these communities sharing a deep-rooted connection. Three European nations settled in Sri Lanka since the 16th century. The Portuguese took control over the coastal areas of the island in 1505, and the Dutch in 1638. Finally, the British took full control over the island in 1815 until the island became independent in 1948. With the intermingling of Sinhalese and Tamil customs with Western influences, including the embrace of Catholicism and Anglicanism, Western European music integrated itself into the rich tapestry of Sri Lankan culture.

Long before Europeans ever set foot on the island, the Sri Lankans nurtured profound bilateral relationships with their nearest neighbor, India, and a handful of other nations, including China and Rome. Sri Lanka bloomed as a vibrant hub of international trade, where it was customary for Sri Lankan royals to unite in matrimony with princesses hailing from distant empires. Historical wars with various Indian Kings resulted in a fusion of Indo-Lankan musical traditions, leaving an indelible mark within the long established local musical traditions.

The earliest signs of musical instruments in Sri Lanka date back to the time of King Ravana’s rule (2554 – 2517 BC). According to the tale of Ramayana and the legend of Ravana (which are intertwined with mythology), the King himself played a small, bowed string instrument called the Ravanahatta. It is a forgotten Sri Lankan artifact, players of which can be found in some regions of India such as Rajasthan in the modern days. Some historians believe that the Ravanahatta is an ancestor of the modern violin.

Traditional Wind Instruments

Conch shells are an important part of Sinhalese Buddhist rituals in Sri Lanka. In the Sinhalese culture it is called Hakgediya. They are mostly played during grand ceremonies. It is made out of the shell of a large marine gastropod mollusk. Usually, single-note conch shell horn calls are played above the rich sound of polyrhythms played on Sri Lankan drums. It adds to the grandiosity of the festivities.

See video: Dances of Sri Lanka Blowing of the conch shell (youtube.com)

Highly-decorated conch shell on display in the National Museum of Sri Lanka	Painting in the short tunnel entrance to the Temple of the Tooth (Dalada Maligawa) in Kandy.

Decorated conch shells were even used in the King’s court. They were used as a kind of trumpet in the traditional/ritualistic music which has been somewhat influenced by Indian music.

Kombuwa is another instrument found in Sri Lanka which looks like a straightened natural horn. Surprisingly, no sound is produced using the instrument and it is only used as a ceremonial mace. Kompu originally is a Tamil word referring to a musical animal horn. Kombuwa in Sinhalese stands for the non-initial letter ‘E’ in the Sinhalese script. The name given to the instrument suggests that it is curved much like the shape of the letter; yet, obviously, these instruments are not circular like a French horn.

Sinhalese Kombuwa	Kombuwa, a letter in the Sinhalese script	Young Sri Lankan Kombu bearer at the Kandy Parade

Sri Lankan Horanewa player

The Horanewa is a reed instrument which is sometimes referred to as the Temple Clarinet. It has a sound closer to that of the oboe and uses a quadruple reed to produce sound. Traditionally it was made out of buffalo horn and brass. The instrument has inherent intonation problems that only a true master can overcome. There are six holes on the body of the instrument that help cover the entire melodic range of the instrument. Horanewa is typically used in Buddhist temples and rituals.

See video: (1) Horanewa | හොරණෑව | Traditional Big Sound | Sri Lanka - YouTube

A Brief History of French Horn Playing in Sri Lanka

As explained by the veteran horn player and conductor, Mr. Manilal Weerakoon, prior to the 1970s, the only horn players in Sri Lanka were in the military bands and the Salvation Army band, the formation and training of which is unknown. The Colombo School of Music situated in Borella had a wind band which included some horn players. All brass players in such wind bands, church bands, and the few school bands and orchestras, were trained by servicemen. Instruments and accessories were not available for sale in the country and had to be specifically obtained from abroad.

The Symphony Orchestra of Sri Lanka usually drew its players from the Navy Band. Mr. Weerakoon was the first non-serviceman to join the orchestra on a regular basis. The Symphony Orchestra had a junior orchestra and there were only 2 players including Mr. Weerakoon and one de Seram (who was primarily a violinist). Occasionally, visiting amateur horn players would join if a concert was scheduled during their stay in the country. Several professional horn players, the likes of Barry Tuckwell, also performed in Sri Lanka many years ago.

Horn Players and Methods

Sri Lankan Horn player and teacher, Manilal Weerakoon

There have been several notable Sri Lankan horn players who excelled in the instrument. Manilal Weerakoon is widely considered the foremost French horn player and teacher in Sri Lanka. He was Principal Horn of the Symphony Orchestra of Sri Lanka, the now defunct Lanka Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Chamber Music Society of Colombo. Reflecting on his formative years, the training he received as a schoolboy in the Chapel Choir helped him immensely to develop his horn playing ability. Moreover, since he was left-handed, the horn had a strong calling to him. Playing a string instrument or another wind instrument was a formidable task. Hence, the horn was THE right fit. According to Mr. Weerakoon, there were no teachers available in Sri Lanka 50 years ago when he started learning the horn, making him a one-of-a-kind, self-taught player. Occasionally he would meet visiting horn players from abroad from whom he would gain valuable insights.

He went on to teach many young players, including myself, who took up the horn either as primary or secondary instrument.

His methods of teaching were by no means mechanical or purely theoretical. Although he did not refer to a single handbook as such, he considered The Art of French Horn Playing, by the great American pedagogue Philip Farkas, a great tool. His golden words of wisdom still ring in my ears: “Always hear the note in your head before you play.” He always emphasized mastering the fundamentals before attempting complex technique. He would often remind us to "crawl before we walk," meaning we shouldn't rush into difficult material before we have fully understood the basics. He also cautioned us about the long-term problems that can arise from learning incorrect techniques, which could require many years to unlearn, if we are fortunate enough to even recognize the mistake.

Mr. Weerakoon was then a Conductor of the National Youth Orchestra of Sri Lanka (NYO), and he was the Orchestra and Band Director at my alma mater, St. Thomas’ College (also known as the School by the Sea), which was an Anglican Church school for boys in the heart of Mount Lavinia in Sri Lanka. I had the privilege of meeting him every weekend at NYO rehearsals, and on weekdays before and after school during rehearsals there.

Manilal Weerakoon in rehearsal with his section in the Symphony Orchestra of Sri Lanka in 2008

His approach to teaching was pragmatic. The solo from the Overture to The Barber of Seville, the beautiful legato horn line at the end of Sir Edward Elgar’s Salut d’Amor for orchestra, and the solo from Leonard Bernstein’s Symphonic Dances from West Side Story (which I was required to play in my formative years in the NYO) bring back beautiful memories, as I learned subtle techniques that helped me deliver what he expected as a conductor. Being a horn player himself, he was rather difficult to please. Nevertheless, his character was such that he never scolded or insulted his students; instead, he would make an entertaining but light-hearted comment during rehearsals to paint a picture to which we could better relate. As horn player cum conductor, the most important lesson he instilled in his students was, “Music is always the hero, and always be loyal to the composer.”

Manilal Weerakoon conducting the Colombo Philharmonic Choir

Current Trends

Sri Lanka has seen the formation and fall of a few amateur orchestras, and it is fair to say that these orchestras have produced the most capable horn players in Sri Lanka. The tri-forces bands have remained one of the main feeders of horn players for these orchestras. They are not necessarily of high standards but are populated by fairly capable men. The number of female horn players who have played consistently for over a year is only a handful. Horn players are rarely found in school bands simply due to the lack of knowledge among school band instructors. Thus, the French horn is not a very popular instrument in the school band community.

The inherent playing difficulties, high cost of purchasing, and the lack of teachers exacerbates the popularity issue. As a result, horns are not readily available for purchase in music stores since the demand is low, and the few instruments found on store shelves are poor quality. Not only instruments, day-to-day essentials such as rotor oils, valve oils, and grease are not readily available for purchase. Moreover, the range of mouthpieces readily available are limited. Players who desire special equipment are left with three options: travelling abroad to purchase, requesting a friend to bring the desired product when traveling to Sri Lanka, or, the worst-case scenario, blindly purchasing online.

The National Youth Orchestra (NYO) of Sri Lanka (est. in 1992) is a state-funded program run by the Ministry of Education. The Japanese government donated a plethora of instruments to the NYO on two occasions during the last 30 years including numerous horns. The purpose of the program is to uplift Classical music in Sri Lanka by providing the youth of Sri Lanka an opportunity to take up an instrument and learn the art of orchestral performance. This program is especially beneficial to those who cannot afford their own instruments. The orchestra lends instruments as long as the student is a part of the orchestra. The NYO permits its students to join other orchestras as well. Therefore, the program is mutually beneficial to the other orchestras operating in the country.

National Youth Orchestra of Sri Lanka (2022)

There are no professional orchestras in Sri Lanka. The Symphony Orchestra of Sri Lanka (SOSL) is the oldest orchestra in the country but remains an amateur orchestra with only a few professional players participating. The majority of its members are individuals from varied backgrounds who engage in performances primarily for the sheer pleasure of it. The Chamber Music Society of Colombo (CMSC) was established many years later, and they cater to smaller audiences focusing on chamber music (as the name suggests). They mostly perform Baroque music as it lacks the range of instruments in a symphony orchestra. The Gustav Mahler Society of Colombo (GMSC) is the latest addition (established in 2018). It is the only Mahler Society in the world, recognized by the International Mahler Foundation, with its own orchestra. This orchestra is considered the maverick among its peers as its intent is to establish a professional orchestra in the country.

All of these orchestras share players in common, but they have distinct governing bodies. The classical music community in Sri Lanka is quite small and mostly condensed in Colombo. Classical music in Sri Lanka continues to develop and the biggest challenge is promulgating classical music by taking it outside the capital to more rural areas.

What the Future Holds

The Horn section of the Gustav Mahler Orchestra of Colombo (2023)

During my school years, many young individuals who initially chose the French horn for its prestige often switched to another instrument that offered quicker results due to their lack of patience. This was frequently driven by pressure from parents or the school to quickly master a song or two on the instrument in order to join the school band or orchestra, or from a personal realization that their chosen instrument was not a good fit. This trend significantly contributed to the lack of a large pool of players in Sri Lanka in the past. However, the landscape has since evolved, with a greater number of young musicians persisting with the French horn at least through high school. Some of these individuals even join amateur orchestras, offering crucial leadership to these ensembles.

Even though classical music has existed in Sri Lanka for well over six decades, until recently the standards of performance have not improved, and professional attitudes have not changed significantly. With the advent of new contenders in the industry, it is now progressing. However, the industry remains noticeably small compared to the island’s pop music culture.

Given Sri Lanka's unique socio-cultural landscape, any organization, performer, or teacher is likely to encounter numerous challenges. Chief among these is the task of dismantling preconceptions about classical music when introducing this centuries-old art form to local audiences. Indian classical music and local popular music have deeply permeated the media and the consciousness of the general public, which can lead to resistance towards Western classical music. Some individuals may perceive classical music as exclusive to the English-speaking community and incompatible with Sri Lankan culture. As such, it is crucial that classical music is introduced not through force, but in gradual stages, blending its repertoire with local music. The use of fusion music can also serve as an effective conduit for familiarizing local audiences with classical music. Their reluctance stems primarily from the lack of awareness of the capabilities of less-common instruments in the local music industry such as the horn.

The Horn Quartet of the Gustav Mahler Orchestra of Colombo (2023)	The A Team Horns Sri Lanka	The A Team performing at Kuweni the Musical (June 2023)

See videos: https://www.facebook.com/reel/325202316745099; Kuweni the Musical | A Cinematic Musical Experience by Charitha Attalage (youtube.com)

As a performer and teacher in Sri Lanka who constantly strives to learn, I have made it my mission to popularize the instrument among local audiences. Utilizing mass media could prove very effective where more people are then exposed to horn playing and the instrument becomes commonplace in mainstream media.

See video: Thara Para Diga | (තාර පාර දිග) | Anjalee Herath | Derana Dream Star Season 11 | GRAND FINALE (youtube.com)

REMARKS

Horn playing in Sri Lanka continues to develop. It is a slow and steady process, the players’ labor of love. I extend an open invitation to any reader of this article who wishes to lend their support to kindly get in touch with me. Your assistance is deeply appreciated. I wish to thank Mike Harcrow, editor of the Horn and More newsletter, for giving me the opportunity to write about horn playing in my small island-home.

by Ellie Jenkins

Hi everyone! My old friend Mike Harcrow asked me to introduce myself officially by way of this Meet the People column, so here is a bit about me and my lifetime of membership in the IHS. 

I live in north Georgia, U.S.A., very near Chattanooga. I’m originally from Georgia, but from a very different part of it, the coastal islands. That’s where I first learned to play horn. I currently teach a great group of horn students at Berry College (fun fact: Berry sits on the largest campus in the world at 27,000 acres), along with other music classes at Dalton State College. I play my horn everywhere that will have me, including lots of orchestras, churches, and freelance ensembles. Karl Hill built a Geyer model horn for me in 2000, and it continues to serve me well. I’ve had the opportunity to play it in many amazing places including Taiwan, Brazil, Italy, Austria, and the Many Glacier Lodge in Montana.

In 2020, I began seriously studying natural horn and am pleased to say that I’m starting to feel fluent without valves. Honestly, I have covid to thank for giving me the time to devote nearly a year to playing natural horn almost exclusively while the world was shut down. I had great instruction (and moral support) from Anneke Scott as I was bumbling around in those early months. Now, I am continually looking for excuses to play my natural horn and for new music to learn—or old music that I learned on modern horn that was written for instruments without valves (like anything by Gallay). 

I have been a member of the International Horn Society for many years since discovering its existence while at the University of Miami (where I met Mike). I remember being astonished when I first learned that there was a whole MAGAZINE devoted to the horn and horn playing. Until then, I’d never imagined such a thing. I sat on the floor of the school music library, pouring through issue after issue! In a world with no internet, no worldwide web, no cell phones, and no social media, The Horn Call opened a portal to information and people I had never heard of—and couldn’t get enough of. I went to my first International Horn Symposium in Kansas City at the prodding of my teacher, Doug Hill. (Keep scrolling to check out the interview with Professor Hill in this issue.) There, I played in ensembles with horn players who were already legends to me, and I got to hear concerts by both rising stars and renowned artists. I got to try what seemed like every horn and mouthpiece on the planet, and I bought more music than I could afford. 

Thinking back, the International Horn Society has been with me every step of my journey since then. Most importantly, it helped to introduce me to “horn people” of all types. Those are the people who introduced me to new music, new players, new techniques, and new ways of thinking about the horn. A few years later, The Horn Call became the starting point of research for my doctoral project. 

Even so, I now find myself with roles inside the IHS that I never anticipated: I’m on the committee for Online Music Sales, and I also edit a regular column in The Horn Call, “COR Values,” which spotlights our all-important vendors, those that sell and service all things horn-related. (Don’t tell anyone, but interviewing gives me a great excuse to talk to people whom I’d otherwise feel like I was bothering!)

If you’ve discovered the International Horn Society here at Horn and More, why not join now? Access all that Ellie finds so exciting, intriguing, and challenging! MH

by Katy Carnaggio

Okay, I’ll be the one to concede this: People always say that becoming a great musician requires discipline, but no one really talks about what exactly discipline entails. So, please pay attention and take notes…yes, with a pen and paper! Here is your success formula: Stress + Rest = Growth

Following are 4 steps to apply to get THE WORK done…like your favorite great athlete does!

#1—Align practice sessions with your peak learning cycles. 
Your body operates in ultradian rhythms of approximately 90-minute cycles throughout the day. These rhythms determine when your brain is in a prime state for learning—that is, its most neuroplastic phase.

If you’ve ever stayed up late cramming for an exam, you know exactly what it’s like to work against these cycles: it’s strenuous. Capture those sweet spots of heightened neuroplasticity instead. You’ll be able to do deeper work with greater flow.

Note when you're most alert after waking up; that's your first ultradian cycle. You typically experience one more phase of high alertness in the mid-to-late afternoon. Together, these provide two optimal learning periods daily.

#2—Prioritize tasks according to intensity and meaning.
To be clear, each day, you normally have two opportunities to significantly deepen your knowledge, refine your skill sets, or improve your athleticism…or not. You get this time, but you get only this time.

You can’t grow in every direction at once, and you can’t choose when these optimal learning cycles occur. But rather than serving as limitations, these constraints provide opportunities to cultivate something of deep, intrinsic value. They ask you to decide what matters most, and they shape who you choose to become as a result. 

Support your choices by using deep learning sessions to work on meaningful activities which can benefit from high levels of focus and concentration. Save the less-intense or less-important tasks for later. 

Best Practices: 

Instead of: using your optimal learning cycle to practice a routine you know like the back of your hand,
Try: compiling/creating/varying a routine to refine skills needed for upcoming performances.

Instead of: practicing after you’ve spent all your energy at your 9-5 job,
Try: waking up at 5:30 a.m. to leverage a ~7 a.m. learning cycle. 

#3—Commit to focusing (and refocusing) during your deep work session.
Honor your practice sessions with total engagement and deep, unremitting focus. This is the time to introduce the stress part of the Stress + Rest = Growth equation. 

If you aren’t pushing yourself to develop your skills, interpret your music thoughtfully, or to offer something qualitatively more beautiful to your audience, you will not grow. 

Monofocus. Go “full throttle” on your musical development. It’s totally fine if it’s hard to do this at first. In fact, you will not be able to focus at peak levels for 90 minutes. Like any skill, your abilities to focus intensely, resist temptation, and to think deeply will strengthen with practice. 

#4—Incorporate 10-30 minutes of deliberate recovery throughout your day.
Hard work is vital for thoughtful, compelling, and skilled performances. But hard work is often mistaken for relentless work. 

Without adequate rest, we can’t recover well enough to work hard in the first place. We become stuck in an unfulfilling grind of doing “pretty good” work, never truly stressing ourselves to reach our full learning potential but never really resting either. 

Incorporating recovery throughout your day not only expands your capacity to complete more than one deep learning session in a day, it also brings all your work to fruition as your brain rewires and consolidates learning during sleep or non-sleep deep rest.

Best Practices:

Instead of: bringing your attention into a tight focus by scrolling through videos on your phone during breaks,
Try: letting your mental states idle by staring out a window or looking around the room.

Instead of: traveling a familiar or mundane route,
Try: putting yourself in the way of beauty: reroute your commute or breaks, preferably through nature. 

Tomorrow’s agenda? Listen to the rhythm of your body and mind. Aligning the rhythm of stress and rest with your biological rhythms is a powerful tool for sustainable excellence that will carry you through the year. 

by Marty Schlenker

Dear Fellow Ambitious Amateurs,

Welcome to our second column. In the first column, I introduced myself as a middle-aged guy whose enthusiasm for horn exceeded the time and focus required to channel it during the 22½ years since our oldest child was born. As she and her younger sister and brother have become adults, I foresaw more time available for horn and decided it was within reach to “up my game.” The pot’s been on simmer for a long time. Let’s see if I can turn up the heat….

Previously, I didn’t mention my intended audience: it mostly isn’t you. If you’re reading this column, you know what the IHS is, and you’ve taken the initiative to receive Horn and More each month…and you actually read it! If you’ve made it this far, you’re pretty invested in your horn playing. You’re probably the leader in your cadre of amateurs. You probably already know most of the things I will be discovering (or rediscovering) in the coming months. If you learn something new here, wonderful! At least let my experiences inform and affirm yours.

Instead, I’m writing for your community band section mates or fellow pick-up quartet players who have far more potential than they’ve ever considered. I am writing on faith that small tweaks and self-belief will take them a long way. I intend for this to be conveyed here as I document my post-peak-parenting horn journey and then to be transmitted by you. With your encouragement, your section (or quartet or whatever) will become more accomplished, more committed, and more joyful.

Back to the plot. I called Dr. Harcrow…with some apprehension. Why? Because it had been so long since I’d taken a lesson that I really wasn’t sure how much of my playing was ‘right’ vs. ‘wrong.’ I expected to have to go backwards in order to move forward, taking a more diligent approach to detecting and avoiding bad habits. But what if the prescription was to start over? What if Mike took one look at my open bite (ridiculously wide) and said, “Wow. You should have been a woodwind player. Not much I can do here…”?

Before I called him, a good thing happened. I figured I should get ready for our meeting, so I practiced more often, and I practiced a few etudes repetitively for polish instead of randomly going where my muse took me. This helped, a little. More air from more regular practice improved fullness of tone and marginally improved my upper register. More repetition improved accuracy. Folks, pass this on: the benefits of jumping back into lessons start before the first one even happens.

We had a very enjoyable introduction and first lesson. I could describe what I wanted: a more reliable upper register, a punchier bass clef, and more flexibility, for starters. Oh, and more richness and commanding presence of sound. I didn’t put it to Mike exactly this way, but I wanted to sound like all four members of the American Horn Quartet put together. Ambitious? Oh yes…yes indeed! I had formed hypotheses about where the opportunities for improvement lay. I expected that the discussion would dive quickly into micro-details of embouchure.

But that’s not how it went. Much of the lesson was spent on phrasing and musicality, using the Strauss Nocturno and Belloli Etude #8.

Having spent three summers in drum corps, and the last 20 years in a community band with a horn section of 3-4 members but with a trumpet section of 8-13, I was under the impression that I was never loud enough, never working hard enough. Mike: “Well, actually.…” Revelation #1 was that I was far louder than I understood myself to be. Prescription #1 was to work on expanding dynamic range on the softer side before the louder side. 

Sounds easy, right? Perhaps for some; but for me, this prescription ran headlong into a corollary of the sound concept I mentioned above. Along with thinking I wasn’t loud enough, it was also really important to me to initiate every note very squarely, which I accomplished by tonguing hard, and very far forward, basically at the tip of my upper teeth. 

From a discussion about sound, a significant technical prescription arose. My aggressive tongue was in the way, attempting to substitute for work that should have been done by my air. Move your tongue back. A-ha! Friends, pass this along too: a lesson may not go how you expect it to go.

Okay, this is getting long, and I should go. One thing first, though: I want to hear from you and relay highlights of your journey too! The one person I heard from after column #1 was Marilyn Bone Kloss who graciously invited me to receive her Cornucopia newsletter. (I would recommend it to all. Lots of neat stuff.)

Next column: the realities of splitting time between Pennsylvania and Los Angeles…and tonguing.

Marty Schlenker, Amateur Hornist