A ROYAL CHRISTMAS RING IN THE FESTIVE SEASONTHE DE LANEROLLE BROTHERS’

The De Lanerolle Brothers rang in the festive season at the Hilton Colombo on 13th December 2022 together with the National Unity Orchestra. ‘A Royal Christmas’ once again saw a sold-out crowd gathered at the lobby of the hotel for an evening of Christmas cheer. The evening was inclusive of a food and cocktails selection by Hilton prior to the show. Rohan and Ishan De Lanerolle were also joined on this occasion by the National Unity Orchestra, an ensemble formed and managed by the brothers.

The National Unity Orchestra started off the event with a medley of Christmas songs the likes of Silent Night and Jingle Bells before welcoming the De Lanerolle brothers on stage. ‘Rudolph, the Red Nose Reindeer’ kicked off a medley of popular Christmas songs, carols and hymns. Over the course of the evening, guests enjoyed renditions of their favourite holiday songs such as ‘So This is Christmas’, ‘White Christmas’, ‘O’ Holy Night’, ‘Winter Wonderland’ and ‘Silver Bells’ among others. Rohan and Ishan were also joined on stage by family members Khalia De Lanerolle and Yohan De Lanerolle that had the crowd singing along to the chorus of ‘Feliz Navidad’.  With the shouts of ‘encore! encore!’ ringing across the lobby, the brothers wrapped up the evening with a lively rendition of ‘Jingle Bell Rock’.  

The National Unity Orchestra was a fantastic addition to the show and elevated the festive music and heightened the Christmas cheer for the night. Orchestral conductor Srimal Weerasignhe did a great job of bringing the scores to life. Commenting on their involvement in the evening, Rohan shared that it has been a ‘wonderful experience working the players’, “there is much more that people will experience of the National Unity Orchestra. I believe we have ushered in a new era of a different brand of the term ‘orchestra’ and we hope we receive support from stakeholders to carry it forward”. 

Commenting on the show afterwards, Ishan expressed that they were thrilled to have sold out the concert even before the tickets were printed. “We’ve always done a Christmas concert and there is a notion that people kick off the Christmas season and feel the Christmas spirit at the De Lanerolle Brothers Christmas show. With people going all out during this festive time, we’ve really enjoyed every minute of it. And we are happy that the evening went very well.” 

We’ve always done a Christmas concert and there is a notion that people kick off the Christmas season and feel the Christmas spirit at the De Lanerolle Brothers Christmas show. 

Having subtly hinted at the audience to expect something grand in the year 2023, Rohan remained tight lipped when asked for details, merely adding that “so many plans are in place” as the brothers would be celebrating 15 years in the industry next year.

pix by  Waruna Wanniarachchi