Editing Dinuk Wijeratne (section)

==Body of Work==

Dinuk has composed specially for almost all of the artists and ensembles with whom he has performed; to name a few: Suzie LeBlanc, Joseph Petric, David Jalbert, Kinan Azmeh, Tim Garland, John Dankworth, Nikki Iles, Julian Argüelles, Victor Mendoza, Ed Thigpen, Pandit Ramesh Misra, Adrian Spillett, Kevork Mourad, Mayookh Bhaumik, Christina Courtin, MIR, Buck 65, the Apollo Saxophone Quartet, 4-Mality Percussion Quartet, the NY Kathak Ensemble, the New Juilliard Ensemble, Onelight Theatre, and Symphony Nova Scotia. A firm believer in the universality of music, Dinuk founded the cutting-edge NYC-based multimedia group NEOLEXICA in 2003 together with Turkish DJ Umut Gokcen, [http://asiancanadianwiki.org/wiki/Silk_Road_Music Silk Road Ensemble] artist Kevork Mourad from Armenia, and Kinan Azmeh. The quartet synesthetically combine live illustration with a uniquely multinational blend of acoustic & electronic music.

A passionate educator, Dinuk lectures at the universities of Dalhousie and Acadia, and is returning for his seventh season as Music Director of the Nova Scotia Youth Orchestra. He has conducted the National Arts Centre Orchestra and appeared numerous times with Symphony Nova Scotia during his 3-year appointment as Conductor-in-Residence. He is the recipient of the 2008 Canada Council Jean-Marie Beaudet award for orchestral conducting; the 2011 Nova Scotia Established Artist Award; double Merritt Award nominations; Juilliard and Mannes scholarships; two Countess of Munster composition grants; the Sema Jazz Improvisation Prize; the Soroptimist International Award for Composer-Conductors; and the Sir John Manduell Prize - the RNCM's highest student honor. His music and collaborative work embrace the great diversity of his international background and influences.

{{From|http://www.festivalofthesound.ca/rbc-stockey-young-artists}}