Sri Lankan pianist Chaturika Rajapakse has given solo piano recitals at various venues in the heart of Central London including St James’s Piccadilly and Southwark Cathedral. In 2011, on the invitation of the Commonwealth Secretariat and with only a week’s notice, Chaturika performed solo piano at the Houses of Parliament at a reception hosted by the Speaker of the House of Commons and the Lord Speaker – this was for Speakers, Presiding Officers and Leaders of Delegations of Commonwealth Nations. Some of the other organizations that have hosted Chaturika’s solo piano recitals include the Blüthner Piano Centre in Mayfair, the Goethe-Institut in South Kensington and the Iberian and Latin American Music Society.

Chaturika completed the Professional Performers’ Diploma in Piano and became a Licentiate of the Royal Schools of Music London (LRSM) in 1998. Alongside her solo performances, Chaturika also spends her time as an accompanist and was once an integral part of a West London-based Choral Society for three years. She contributed as the pianist in their annual summer and winter concerts with guest soloists from English National Opera.

Chaturika also enjoys performing at charity and fund-raising events. She had her piano education in Sri Lanka with Bridget Halpe. In London, Chaturika was able to study privately under the world-renowned Brazilian concert pianist Cristina Ortiz, as well as with Cristopher Elton, the former head of piano at the Royal Academy of Music and with Albert Sassmann in Vienna.

Chaturika’s debut performance as a professional pianist was at the age of fourteen when she was the piano accompanist for Mozart Requiem excerpts for a series of concerts. In 1999, she won a local competition and received a summer musical Scholarship in the UK to follow an Advanced Pianists course.

Chaturika is described as a ‘self-effacing pianist of quiet charm’. She is permanently employed in a world-renowned Wall Street American Financial firm. In addition to music qualifications, she holds a Bachelor’s degree in Computing and Pure Mathematics with First Class Honours as well as Post Graduate qualifications with Distinction from the University of Surrey.