Rohan De Silva, Visiting Artist
Rohan De Silva has partnered with violin virtuoso Itzhak Perlman in worldwide recitals, and every notable violinist on the concert stage today. He has performed at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, Library of Congress, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Wigmore Hall in London, Suntory Hall in Tokyo, and at the White House at the invitation of President Barack Obama in 2012 for Shimon Peres; and at a State Dinner in 2007 hosted by President George W. Bush for Queen Elizabeth. A native of Sri Lanka, Mr. De Silva was invited in 2015 by the Prime Minister of his country to perform for U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on his historic visit to Sri Lanka.
In the 2022/23 season, Mr. De Silva plays recitals with Itzhak Perlman across North America in Davis, San Francisco, Modesto, Palm Desert, Mesa, San Antonio, Houston, Knoxville, through the state of Florida tour and in New York. He will also perform with Mr. Perlman on a new program entitled “An Evening with Itzhak Perlman” which captures highlights of Mr. Perlman’s career through narrative and multi-media elements, intertwined with performance. The tour includes dates with the Long Center, Florida State University, Artis-Naples, Celebrity Series in Boston, Tuesday Musical. Philadelphia Orchestra, Tilles Center for the Performing Arts, NJPAC, and Philharmonic Society of Orange County. Mr. De Silva teaches at the Juilliard School and at Heifetz International Music Institute in Staunton, Virginia.
Mr. De Silva began his piano studies with his mother, Primrose De Silva, and with Mary Billimoria. He spent six years at the Royal Academy of Music in London, and received many awards including the Grover Bennett Scholarship, the Christian Carpenter Prize, the Martin Music Scholarship, the Harold Craxton Award, and the Chappell Gold Medal for best overall performance. Mr. De Silva was the first recipient of a special scholarship in the arts from the President’s Fund of Sri Lanka. This enabled him to enter the Juilliard School, studying with Martin Canin, Felix Galimir, and violin pedagogue Dorothy DeLay. He was awarded Best Accompanist at the Ninth International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, and received the Samuel Sanders Collaborative Artist Award presented to him by Itzhak Perlman at Carnegie Hall.
Mr. De Silva has recorded for Deutsche Grammophon, CBS/SONY Classical, Collins Classics in London, RCA Victor and Chandos.