SOUNDARIE DAVID RODRIGO

Soundarie David Rodrigo, began her musical career under the guidance of the legendary piano teacher Mary Billimoria, and subsequently under her equally distinguished pupil Ramya De Livera Perera. She pursued her musical education further at the Royal College of Music in London, earning her ARCM and specializing in piano performance and piano accompaniment. While at the Royal College of Music she participated in the prestigious Piano Platform series, which also gave her the opportunity to accompany various instrumentalists and vocalists, and collaborate at various venues including the Royal Festival Hall. As a soloist, Soundarie has performed both locally and internationally. She has performed with the Symphony Orchestra of Sri Lanka, playing Beethovan’s piano concerto No 1, Grieg’s Piano Concerto in A minor and Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. She performed the Grieg Piano Concerto with the Bombay Chamber Orchestra in 2009, and in 2013 completed a series of solo performances in Washington DC for concerts commemorating Martin Luther King. She is sought-after as an accompanist and enjoys collaborating with local and foreign artists at recitals. 

Soundarie is the Founder and Music Director of Sri Lanka’s premiere female ensemble ‘Soul Sounds,’ the first choir in Sri Lanka to perform and win awards internationally. Over the last ten years Soul Sounds has given highly acclaimed performances in India, Australia, China, Kuwait, Austria, France, USA, Malaysia and South Africa, thus placing Sri Lanka on the map of International choral Music. Soundarie is also the Sri Lankan Representative on the Council for Musica Mundi—the International Organisation that hosts several celebrated International Choral Festivals and Competitions. She also regularly serves as a jury member at international choral competitions. She now runs her own music Academy, ‘The Soul Sounds Academy,’ focusing on all aspects of music. Soundarie is also the founder of the newly formed band “Soul” which focuses on original fusion music, incorporating her knowledge and expertise in Western Classical music, together with renowned musicians from other genres of music, and they completed a concert tour in Moscow, Russia in 2018.

Besides having a hectic schedule in the field of music, Soundarie is also a qualified lawyer with a Masters in law, in the field of Intellectual Property and Entertainment Law from the University of California, Berkeley having being the recipient of the Rotary World Peace Scholarship. She was the Deputy Director at the SAARC Cultural Centre based in Sri Lanka from 2010 having set up all its programs from inception and later on was Director, Programs for the Colombo Cultural Hub till 2018. Her awards include the SAARC Woman of Achievement Award, the Zonta Award, and the Bunka Award presented by the Japan/Sri Lanka Association. She is also one of the judges for the franchised talent show ‘Sri Lanka’s got Talent’