Staff

Dr. Sumudi Suraweera

PhD (music), BMus (hons) jazz, Dip (jazz)`

Sumudi Suraweera (born 1982) obtained his PhD in ethnomusicology in 2010 from the University of Canterbury, New Zealand. His research focused on Sri Lankan Low-Country traditional drumming. Prior to this, he completed a BMus in jazz, majoring in drums.

Some of his projects include Baliphonics, Serendib Sorcerers and Musicmatters Transcoastal Collective which draw upon Sri Lankan traditional music, placing it in a contemporary setting. Baliphonics in particular, has recently gained some international exposure with performances in Europe, Australia and New Zealand. In 2020, Sumudi released his debut solo EP “Low Country Drum Set Solos” as a result of several years of performance practice research into adapting Sri Lankan drumming onto the drum set. As a soloist and educator, he has worked with musicians from Germany and Australia during the past year.

Dr. Eshantha Peiris

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Eshantha Peiris (born 1983) graduated from New York University with Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Music Performance and Composition. As a musician, Eshantha is interested in understanding various musical styles in their original contexts, and using this knowledge to bring a fresh perspective to contemporary performance. This approach influences his work as a collaborative pianist and conductor (of the Symphony Orchestra of Sri Lanka, and the vocal ensembles The Old Joes Choir and Contempo), and with the rock group Triloka which experiments with Sri Lankan folk music.

Eshantha is currently residing in Canada and on a sabbatical from teaching at Musicmatters.