From Post-Tsunami Koralawella, Moratuwa to Post-War Vadamaaratchi, Jaffna 

Child rights artiste Karoshee sings for Children of Jaffna 

Karoshee Vijayasekere, a soprano trained in Paris (now residing in Canada) will be in Sri Lanka to perform in her sixth solo concert 'Karoshee Live in Colombo' on Tuesday, 23rd February, 2016,at Waters Edge. It will be a concert of Western Classics and Latin American popular classics. All proceeds of her concert will go to post-war children of Vadamaaratchi, Jaffna. 

Why did you name your Children's Fund - 'Trust Children'? 

Perhaps, since the beginning, generations of our parents, simply, don't trust children. Even the modern day parent hesitates to entrust children with simple social responsibilities that help develop a child's personality. In an even worse case, the destitute parents pass the vicious but inescapable 'responsibility' on the child: they make the child a beggar.This situation of a 'belittled' child, extends from child workers, and extends to child soldiers to child prostitutes. Under such conditions, a child's question remains: Can the 'civilized' adult world be trusted? 

Karoshee, tell us how you began 'Singing for Child Rights'? 

Like many children, I have enjoyed singing from when I was a child. My parents believed I had a talent and having identified my voice, they guided me to follow professional training, at the early age of seven. Thanks to my maestro, Francis Bardot, the director of Conservatory of Music Levallois Perret, Paris, my young voice was transformed into a singing voice. 

But, how I came to be sensitized to be singing for the cause of children of the world, also came from my parents' keen observation of the world of glaring inequalities in our 'civilized' world: not only the fair distribution of goods and services were unequal; even the open access to opportunities were unavailable. Seeing how millions of impoverished children from poor rural homes, urban slums, famine and drought stricken African countries suffer for survival, my child heart broke, and there were nights I slept without even wanting to eat dinner - just like most of those children I saw in TV documentaries, in Paris. 

The most pivotal moment for me was when the December 2004 Tsunami hit. It devastated many countries, including my small island, Sri Lanka. After watching how innocent children and families were being washed away from TV Cubana (my parents were in Cuba on diplomatic assignment, then), I cried long and then prayed, singing the Requiem of Mozart (Mass of the Dead). The following morning, I announced to my parents that I wanted to sing for the children to collect funds for them (like in Latin Quarter Artistes of Paris), the only idea I could come up with such was my desperation to take action. Again, my parents agreed but slightly 'organized' my basic idea, to do a concert in aid of the children. I have had five solo concerts in aid of post-tsunami children of Moratuwa. 

I know that we need build new partnerships. And I fervently hope that there will be more hands out stretched youth and adults aliketo perform our human service to those most disadvantaged and vulnerable sections of our humanity, and mostly, the innocent children. 

What humanitarian lessons have you learnt from International 'polyphonic notes' in music? 

For whatever the humanitarian qualities I have come to understand and value, I'm thankful for my most understanding parents. Because, it's they who not only identified my singing voice and directed me for professional training in 'polyphonic notes' at a Conservatory of Music in Paris; it was also with them that I discovered this multi-cultural world of ours. I suppose, all caring parents ought to identify early, those multi-faceted talents of their children. Instead of forcing down single-minded authoritarian dictates on innocent children, real responsible parents should lovingly help explore the varied talents their children may have because, every child has one's own talents. And today's young talents will build tomorrow's future. The traditional talents of our parents' generation have to be maintained, in their humanist spirit, but to be accepted by new generations, those traditional values have to be re-translated into differently expressed futuristic languages and images and sounds - all respecting their 'polyphonic' democracy. One of the most universal languages to make that integration is music. 

What are your achievements in France, Cuba, Canada and Sri Lanka? 

In France, with my European Children's Choir (ECC), I participated in the CD recording of the Gloria of Vivaldi with The Symphony Orchestra of Paris, and the choir of Opera de Paris, conducted by John Nelson (USA). With the ECC, I also have sung at almost all major chapels in Paris: Notre Dame de Paris, Les Invalides, St. Augustin, and St. Germain-des-Pres.In 2000, I had the privilege to participate in two major musical events: in the ECC tour of USA in which I performed as the US song: America the Beautiful as a soloist in ten performances from Los Angeles to Las Vegas. I also participated with others in ECC and sang at the main Millennium Concert in Paris, under the Eiffel Tower, accompanied by the Boston Symphony Orchestra conducted by renowned maestro Sergi Osawa and ECC director Francis Bardot. In this millennium event, the popular Italian singer Andrea Boccelli, too, sang with the children, and the concert was fully televised by French National TV (France 2). 

In 2006, as a young Sri Lankan citizen, I had the unforgettable opportunity to sing before Prince of Monaco, for a charity gala in aid of the Grace Kelly Home, Kalutara, Sri Lanka. 

In Cuba, joining my parents, I was a rare foreigner accepted into the Cuban National Choir. With the Cuban choir, I had the privilege of singing before President Fidel Castro and visiting international VVIPs like Presidents Hugo Chavez of Venezuela, Hu Jintao of China, and international dignitaries attending the UN Conference of Environment in Havana. In my last concert before leaving Havana, I sang four solos with my music teachers, which was televised nationally by TV Cubana. 

In Sri Lanka, out of my five solo concertsin Western Classics and Latin American Popular Classics, I have had three of them at Lionel Wendt, Colombo: July 2005; July 2007 and July 2009. 

In March 2006, my solo concert was held Levallois Perret Conservatory in Paris, and in May 2008, I had the concert in St. Catharines, Canada. 

It's my sixth solo charity concert that I will perform on Tuesday, February 23rd, 2016, at Waters Edge, Sri Lanka. This time, I will sing in Honour of the post-war children of Jaffna, and all the funds collected from the concert will go to a scholarship fund for the needy children of Vadamaaratchi. 

"Karoshee Trust Children" (KTC), solely depends on the profits from my solo concerts, and even before my performance for children of Jaffna, we have distributed twenty scholarships to children in Vadamaaratchi. Already, they have topped the island, in 2016 Advanced Level results, with 66% success rate. I hope that every socio-culturally concerned citizen will put their hands together to applaud and honour the children of Jaffna, from the concert hall of Waters Edge on Tuesday, 23rd February.