The Western Musicians Association (WMA) is in the path of looking into the welfare of Western musicians of Sri Lanka, assisting students of Western Music, implementing minimum standards, and promoting a code of conduct for musicians. They represent all Sri Lankan Western musicians with the objective of advancing the interests of Western musicians.
In their most recent venture, the WMA is staging a virtual event “That’s what friends are for”, on 16 May in the view of raising funds for the members of the WMA who are badly affected due to the ongoing pandemic. Previously, they have managed to distribute rations with the help of “Manusath Derana” and food vouchers, and even went up to assist them with obtaining Government relief loans during this period.
Speaking to WMA Vice President Rajitha Rupasinghe on their motive behind the event, he commented: “Now, as the situation continues to grow with the recent second variant going around, sadly a few of our members identified as Covid-positive, so we have to urgently look into their needs. To carry on their livelihood is an uphill task now, so the WMA has organised a virtual event to help the cause.”
The event will feature renowned musicians such as MIRAGE led by Donald Peiris, along with Sunil and Piyal Perera, Rukshan Perera, Judy De Silva, Fabion Paul (WMA President), Radhika Rajavelu (ex Gypsies), Chandani Hettiarchchi, Tyronne Peiris, Clifford Richards, Damian Wickramatillake (ex-Purple Rain and WildFire), and Rajitha. All musicians that are part of the WMA, even the senior musicians, will come together to perform a two-hour virtual event for our friends overseas and local fans.
“We plan to get a substantial amount of funds to support this cause from our fans and friends overseas, who have expressed their interest in helping us out,” stated Rupasinghe, who added that while this event is aimed mostly at the overseas crowd, the support of locals is welcome as well. With these funds, they hope to aid them with their utilities and day-to-day expenses.
Rupasinghe explained that the WMA was inducted in 2016, and throughout those years, they have been assisting members in whichever way they were able. Discussing some of their previous charity work towards helping the members, he added: “We started off with dry rations distributions and went on to providing government-affiliated loans and food vouchers from a leading supermarket.”
He further expressed that because of this sudden variant of Covid, musicians had to resort to working in small venues like pubs, lobbies, and clubs as a means to make a living. This unfortunate situation has caused a few of them to actually contract the virus, as performing at these venues means they cannot wear masks. “So now, with the third wave, the whole industry has come to a standstill once again. We hope that we can keep the industry as well as our fellow musicians thriving with the help of this virtual event.”
One can donate funds to this cause through their website, and may follow up with any inquiries through their social media pages.
Website: www.wmasrilanka.com
Facebook: @wmasrilanka
