Three young music and dance talents honored with Sparebanken Vest's Music Prize for 2016

Jawana Thayaseelan and Mira Thiruchelvam from Sri Lanka and Gutu Abera from Ethiopia were honored tonight with Sparebanken Vest's Music Prize for 2016. The prize is 20,000 kroner, and the three young musicians received the award at the opening concert at Førdefestivalen Thursday evening.

Photo: Oddleiv Apneseth

Jawana Thayaseelan is from Sri Lanka and came to Førde in 2006. She has been dancing traditional Hindu dance since she was a little girl. Since she danced for a large audience for the very first time with Fargespill in 2008 at Førdefestivalen , she has been a central dancer in the ensemble.  

Mira Thiruchelvam also has her roots in Sri Lanka. She joined Fargespill in 2013 and has since made her mark on the performances as part of the band. She plays the traditional Tamil flute, and impresses with demanding vocal percussion. After performing alone and with others for many years, she recently established the band 9 degrees North, which has frequent concerts in Bergen.

Gutu Abera came from Ethiopia to Norway as a refugee in 2010. In January of this year, he was a soloist at the televised gala concert on the occasion of the King and Queen's regnal jubilee. At the opening concert in Førde He has once again moved the audience to tears.

The three young music and dance talents have shown over the years how great their ambitions are, both on their own behalf and on behalf of the ensemble they are all part of, Fargespill. This multicultural adventure that started in Bergen 12 years ago now has ten sister projects in Norwegian cities, and three in Sweden. Through their performances, they have gathered tens of thousands of people for concert experiences at the Opera, at the Constitution Day, at Førdefestivalen and most recently at the Regent's Jubilee.

Photo: Oddleiv Apneseth