Tanya Ekanayaka facts for kids

Tanya Ekanayaka (born 6 May 1977) is a super talented Sri Lankan and British musician. She is a composer and a pianist. She writes her own music and plays it on the piano. Tanya is trained in classical music. She also knows a lot about Asian and World music. She is one of the most active female composer-pianists in the world.

Early Life

Tanya started learning piano when she was just five years old. By the age of 12, she gave her first big piano concert. When she was 16, she won a special competition. This allowed her to perform with the Symphony Orchestra of Sri Lanka. She was the youngest person to win that year.

Career Highlights

Tanya Ekanayaka released her first album in 2015. It was called Reinventions: Rhapsodies for Piano. She wrote, played, and produced all the music herself. Each song on the album was inspired by Sri Lankan traditional and folk music.

Her second album, Twelve Piano Prisms, came out in 2018. It also featured her own piano music.

Her first album included music based on 10 different Sri Lankan folk songs called Vannams. Her second album finished the set. It had the other 8 Vannams. It also included melodies from Armenia, China, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

In 2021, she released her third album, The Planets & Humanity - Piano Reflections. The songs on this album are about Earth's eight planets. They also reflect on Earth's seven continents. Many songs use melodies from native people around the world. These include tunes from Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, and South America.

Tanya's fourth album is a double album called 18 Piano Sutras & 25 South Asian Pianisms. It has 43 songs for solo piano. She wrote these songs in 2021 and 2022. The album was released in April 2023.

The 43 songs are inspired by 40 different human languages. They use melodies from 42 traditional songs. Some of these languages are endangered or no longer spoken. Others are common in countries like Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, The Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. These countries are part of Tanya's home region, South Asia.

The languages used in her music include Ainu, Bantawa, Bengali, Bhutanese Nepali, Bumthang, Chakma, Chamorro, Dari, Dhivehi, Dzongkha, Efé/Lese, Garifuna, Hindi, Kannada, Karaim, Khowar, Koda, Kolyma Yukaghir, Konomihu, Kuna, Mordvinic, Nepali, Nyangatom, Odia, Pashto, Puluwat, Shaninawa (a Yaminawá dialect cluster), Shimaore, Sindhi, Sinhala, Sogdian, Sri Lankan English/ English, Sri Lankan Malay, Sri Lankan Tamil, Saptari Tharu, Trinidad Bhojpuri, Tsimané, Urdu, Vedda and Wahgi.

Tanya Ekanayaka is the first composer from Sri Lanka to have her original music albums released by international record labels worldwide.

From 2012 to 2014, she also worked on a special music project. This project helped school children in Sri Lanka. These children were affected by the country's thirty-year civil war.

Tanya has earned several university degrees. She has a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Peradeniya. She also has a Master of Science and a PhD from the University of Edinburgh. She has also received special diplomas from top music schools in the UK.

She is ambidextrous, meaning she can use both hands equally well. She also has a special condition called synaesthesia. This means her senses mix, so she might see colors when she hears music. This condition helps her create her unique music style.

Key Published Works

• Adahas: Of Wings Of Roots (2010), for piano
• Dhaivaya: Altering Hue (2011), for piano
• Labyrinth; Vannam Lent (2012), for piano
• Dew Encounters: Of Scottish Walks, Vannam (Udara) & Sri Lanka's Bugs Bunny (2013), for piano
• Vannam (Gajaga, Mayura & Hanuma) & You (2013), for piano
• In Lotus: Olu Pipila With Moment (2013), for piano
• 2013/14 June Echoes (2013–14), for piano
• G – With Paaru Kavi (2016), for piano
• F – Renewal & Goyam Kapuma (2016), for piano
• F Sharp – Kitty & Bambaru (2016), for piano
• E Flat – July 2016/17 (2016–17), for piano
• B Flat – Armenia to a Pearl (2017), for piano
• C – Emerald Lapwing Karpet (2017), for piano
• D Flat – Intuition, Auld Lang Syne & an Asian Sacred (2017), for piano
• E – Arrow-and (2017), for piano
• A – Zuni Sea (2017), for piano
• A Flat Scintilla: Komitas Unto Childhood (2017), for piano
• B – Of Vannam & Zhuang Tai Qiu Si (2017), for piano
• D – Hana Hare (2017), for piano
• Neptune: Asháninka Kindled (2018 & 2020), for piano
• Mercury with Antarctica (2019–20), for piano
• Uranus: Numbulwar Sustaining (2020), for piano
• Venus: Sámi Traced (2019–20), for piano
• Saturn: Gond Inspired (2019), for piano
• Earth – Life (2020), for piano
• Jupiter: Cree Cast (2020), for piano
• Mars: Hadzabe Touched (2020), for piano
• Yelimu (2021–22), for piano
• Ruyanpe (2021), for piano
• Agidu (2021), for piano
• Ushe (2021), for piano
• Yuhuma (2021), for piano
• Tolou (2021), for piano
• Tunder (2021), for piano
• Nim (2021), for piano
• Ekitala (2021), for piano
• Ihua (2021), for piano
• Seiri (2021), for piano
• Anlamach (2021), for piano
• Kandaani (2021), for piano
• Tumaiguini (2021), for piano
• Uvhendza (2021), for piano
• Niyare (2021), for piano
• Takeimalo (2021), for piano
• Pavaz (2021), for piano
• Khirkey (2021), for piano
• Dhatoh (2021), for piano
• Khwe (2021), for piano
• Parun (2021), for piano
• Emrouz (2021), for piano
• Sabaa (2021), for piano
• Kaini (2021), for piano
• Noshwor (2021), for piano
• Ipil (2021), for piano
• Vissaara (2021), for piano
• Lewa (2021), for piano
• Turi (2021), for piano
• Vishraam (2022), for piano
• Neralu (2022), for piano
• Ghara (2022), for piano
• Subhane (2022), for piano
• Aabshaar (2022), for piano
• Iskim (2022), for piano
• Dhwani (2022), for piano
• Cirai (2022), for piano
• Numa (2022), for piano
• Indraikku (2022), for piano
• Siithu (2022), for piano
• Nivahan (2022), for piano
• Ode To South Asia (2022), for piano