- Natasha Senanayake and the global journey of a Sri Lankan classical composer
Sri Lankan composer, conductor, and music director Natasha Senanayake has built an international career in contemporary classical music, a field where few Sri Lankans have gone before.
Her portfolio spans orchestral works, choral compositions, works of chamber music, and film scores, with performances in the UK, the US, Australia, and Sri Lanka. She works from Colombo, but her music is global, appearing in concert halls and festivals around the world.
In 2024, Natasha reached a major career milestone when her choral work ‘The Phoenix’ was performed at the Sydney Opera House during Australia’s Festival of Choral Music 2024. It was the first time, according to her inquiries from the venue, that a Sri Lankan female composer had been featured at the festival over nearly two decades.
For her, the achievement was personal as much as professional. As she shared: “It was a bucket list dream for me that came true.”
The performance placed her work before a 700-voice children’s choir every night, adding up to 3,500 young singers over five concerts. The festival, run by the Sydney Opera House and the Arts Unit of New South Wales, is one of Australia’s largest choral showcases and features students from hundreds of schools.
Natasha was invited to attend rehearsals and the concerts, giving her a rare chance to see young voices bring her music to life. The lyrics of this work were written by P.M. Haigh, Anushka Senanayake, Asela Perera, and Natasha herself.
Finding her voice in contemporary classical music
Natasha grew up in a home filled with classical music courtesy of her grandfather who played classical records constantly.
“From the age of four, my grandfather was my biggest influence. He always played classical music in the background. I became familiar with the music I heard and started singing it back. I processed it quickly at a young age.” She began piano lessons at five and moved naturally into classical performance and theory.
She originally aimed to be a concert pianist. “My dream since I started learning piano was to become a concert pianist. I wanted to perform professionally around the world, because every time a professional pianist performed in Colombo, my grandfather would get tickets.”
But by her mid-teens, something shifted. She became more curious about writing her own music than performing the work of others.
“At about 15, I became curious about writing my own music. There is so much music already written. I wondered, what if I created my own? I felt the best way to share some of me, and my identity, would be to create my own music. That felt more like myself.”
This curiosity carried her into her university studies. Natasha earned a Bachelor of Music in Composition in the US, followed by a Master’s in Composition at King’s College London. Both programmes were rooted in classical and contemporary classical traditions.
“Both programmes were classically heavy. I studied contemporary classical music.” She explained contemporary classical writing simply, saying: “Contemporary classical music is music written by living classical composers. It is not time-defined.”
Her exposure to contemporary giants shaped her language. She attended seminars by leading British composer George Benjamin. She also studied the works of composers such as Beethoven, Mozart, and Debussy, and other contemporary composers such as Messiaen and John Cage. These influences anchored her understanding of modern classical composition and strengthened her desire to create work that blended Western forms with Sri Lankan cultural elements.
Building a career across borders
In 2008, she became the first Sri Lankan female composer commissioned by the Symphony Orchestra of Sri Lanka, which premiered her orchestral work ‘Of Shores Near and Far.’ In 2015, she was named Commonwealth Music Ambassador after winning the Commonwealth Music Competition from over 4,000 applicants.
Today, she works internationally while remaining based in Colombo. “I work as a composer globally. Most of my projects are from other parts of the world. It is amazing to be based here and write for something happening far away.”
Her recent international work includes:
- A choral work performed at the Sydney Opera House
- An original school hymn written for a school in Dublin
- Choral and orchestral commissions in the US and Europe
- Working with a UK-based production house on two sports anthems for a global brand, conducting a 103-voice Sri Lankan choir
Natasha described the Sydney Opera House milestone with a mix of excitement and disbelief.
Her work, ‘The Phoenix,’ originally commissioned in 2019, was selected for the 2024 Festival of Choral Music after being introduced to the selection panel by her colleague, Australia-based choral conductor Natalie Gooneratne. The festival organisers later invited her to attend the concerts in Sydney, where thousands of young voices performed her piece.
Seeing her music in that space was overwhelming. “It was a bucket list dream for me. For a composer, that moment is something you never forget.” Natasha is the resident Music Director of Theatre Junction, the contemporary English theatre company founded by her sister Anushka Senanayake.
Some performances she has conducted and music-directed include Rodgers and Hammerstein’s ‘Cinderella,’ ‘Next to Normal,’ and ‘The Last Five Years,’ as well as many large-scale school productions.
“I have a deep love of musical theatre. Working alongside Anushka has harnessed my passion further. I had the pleasure of conducting live ensembles and bringing the live orchestra element to theatre,” she said.
As an educator, she is the Head of Music at the Asian International School, where she directs the Senior and Intermediate choirs and serves as a mentor to the school’s music society. “I do a lot of events to keep young musicians engaged. I always keep them performing.”
What it takes to be a composer
While the final work may look effortless, Natasha is direct about the complexities of composing, noting: “The process of composing is complicated because it is individualistic. There is no one clear process.”
She explained that teachers could not dictate how a composer should work. “My composition professor never told me to compose in a particular way. Instead, he elaborated on what I had already done and helped me through the process of creation.”
For her, the hardest part is always the beginning. “No matter how many times I compose, I am terrified to start. If there is a new piece, even though I have done it before, starting with a blank page with no notes is intimidating. It starts with fear and doubt. I know I have done it before, but can I do it again?”
She also addressed the myth of inspiration. “Composers are romanticised. People think we wake up in the middle of the night and the melody comes to us. While that can happen, it does not happen that way most of the time. We have deadlines to meet. We have to find that inspiration.” For her, the challenge is “crossing the bridge past that fear and allowing ideas to flow”.
Natasha is careful not to give one-size-fits-all advice. “I do not know if there is a set path anyone can follow. Each person’s path is individual. So many things have to fall into place.”
However, she believes in a few guiding principles.
- First, dedication. “Classical music needs the same level of dedication as learning to become a ballerina. You keep practising. You stay focused.”
- Second, find the right instrument and commit to it. “It is about finding which instrument works for you, whether it is singing or violin or flute, and dedicating yourself to it.”
- Third, accept the fear. “For me, that starting process is the hardest. But you have to go through it every time.”
Carrying a Sri Lankan voice into global classical music
Natasha’s career still feels like it is gathering momentum. Her music now reaches audiences across continents. Her work blends Sri Lankan and Western influences, and she continues to champion young musicians through her work in education and musical theatre.
She is also clear about what drives her. “I love being able to work as a composer based in Sri Lanka. I am thankful to all the support from my family, friends, and mentors for this to happen.”
Her journey shows a growing truth for young Sri Lankan composers, conductors, and music directors. The world’s biggest stages are not out of reach. The music that starts on a blank page in Colombo can echo across concert halls in Dublin, Seattle, London, and Sydney. And sometimes, it even finds its way to the steps of the Opera House itself.