P.E.I. Symphony Orchestra brings in renowned guest conductor

DinukWijeratne is returning as a guest conductor for the P.E.I. Symphony Orchestra for this weekend's concert, part of its series celebrating its 50thanniversary.

Wijeratne is a Juno and East Coast Music Award winning composer, pianist and conductor.

I really loved working with the orchestra and the venue is wonderful and the audience is very supportive.DinukWijeratne

He was born in Sri Lanka, raised in Dubai, educated in the United Kingdom and New York, but nowcallsHalifax home. He has been the conductor in residence for Symphony Nova Scotia and is currently the music director of the Nova Scotia youth orchestra.

Wijeratnewill be the guest conductor for the P.E.I. Symphony Orchestra's third concert in its 50th season celebrations. This will be the second time he's a guest conductor for the orchestra.

"We had such a great time last time and you knowit's a real whirlwind," he said. "We meet tonight on a Friday and the concert is on Sunday, so we put the program together very, very quickly."

"I really loved working with the orchestra and the venue is wonderful and the audience is very supportive."

Sunday's concert will also featureP.E.I. violinistSannu Lawt. They will be performing the SinfoniettabyViolet Archer, SamuelBarber's Violin Concerto and AntonnDvorak's Symphony No. 8.

The concert is taking place this Sunday afternoonat 2:30 p.m. at Zion Presbyterian Church with a pre-concert talk at 1:30 p.m. Tickets are available via the Confederation Centre of the Arts website.

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