Long-term Birchip residents may remember, about 30 years ago, when two young Sri Lankan boys, Tharanga and Chathura Silva, enrolled at the school.

Ranjith, their father, a civil engineer by profession, was on the staff of the Buloke Shire Council and Rahini, their mother, worked in childcare.

They quickly settled into the community; the boys enjoyed school and Rahini rapidly became known for her specialty cooking.

So comfortable were they that when Tharanga was fourteen, his parents decided that it was time for them to teach him to drive. Unaccustomed to Victorian bureaucratic ways, they proceeded to do just that, much to the town’s entertainment.

From an early age, Chathura showed a keen interest in and aptitude for things musical, developing early a strong sense of rhythm and a little later, a fascination for the sounds of string instruments, which he now describes as “mesmerizing”.

Lessons

Chath’s first formal music lessons involved learning how to play the drums at school with music teacher Robyn Ferrier, who also gave him his very first formal guitar lessons and introduced him to a range of other instruments including piano, bass guitar and electric guitar.

During a twelve-month period which the family spent in Rylstone NSW, the young enthusiast took private guitar lessons and was further introduced to the classical technique by a local teacher who quickly realised that he had met someone who had already exceeded his own capabilities.

At 15 years of age after an invitation from the Manager of Shire Council, Chath gave his formal debut recital at the Rotary Club International in the presence of the Governor of New South Wales.

On returning to Birchip, he entered the local Push Start Music competition for which he was awarded runner-up for playing Isaac Albeniz’s virtuoso piece “Asturias”. This brought with it the opportunity to give live performances on ABC Radio, Western Victoria, and to participate in an artist interview with host Leon Compton.

Chath says: “My school teachers were proud and some of the interview and the performance was also aired on the Birchip P-12 school announcement speaker. I honestly don’t think I would be here if it wasn’t for the support I received from Birchip P-12. They allowed me to continue music theory via distant education during VCE and even gave me my own music roster that allowed me to enter the music room at my designated period to practise guitar. My English teacher, Anne McClelland, even brought me back a set of French classical guitar strings as a souvenir on her return from a holiday in France (I still have this packet of strings to this day).”

On the road

“But most of all, I wouldn’t have made it this far in music and medicine if it wasn’t for my parents. Even during VCE, my dad drove three-and-a-half hours with me every fortnight from Birchip to Melbourne city for master classes with Antony Field, who was the Head of the Classical Guitar Department at the Victorian College of the Arts. Dad and I drove back together on the same day, which was seven hours on the road!”

Despite their dedication to Chath’s music, his parents were determined that their boy choose a second string to his bow – medicine – to which he came after a lot of hard work and dedication.

After exploring a range of possibilities, and having experience as a Microbiology registrar, he “developed a passion for Tropical Infectious Diseases” which he studied initially at the Liverpool School in the UK.

Returning to Australia, he achieved his Fellowship of the Australasian College of Tropical Medicine and then moved on to qualifying for a Master of Medicine, specializing in Infectious Diseases and Immunology at the University of Sydney.

Chath is currently working as a panel physician which both fosters and satisfies his interest in public health, and involves screening for various infectious diseases like tuberculosis that pose a health risk from an immigration perspective.

Mixed venues

Throughout his medical career, he continued his musical development, performing very regularly at numerous mixed venues, both formal and informal, and recording pieces which are now available on various online platforms including Spotify, YouTube, Amazon, Music, and SoundCloud.

While Chathura was a medical student, one of the consultants also invited him to play for his hospital patients for a lunchtime concert, a most memorable moment. Giving classical guitar recitals at his current workplace as part of its Well-Being Program also taps into another interest: music as therapy.

Chath’s first ticketed concert on May 31, at Knox Community Arts Centre, Melbourne, was “by far the most sentimental of my music career, because my mentors Robyn Ferrier and Anne McClelland were also there”.

Especially important was the presence of his closest friend and partner in music, Brody Harrison, with whom he has continued to play music, beginning in Birchip and continuing throughout their lives. Brody and his father Ken, together with Sandy, a cousin, drove five hours each way to attend.

Chath said that this concert, “run and hosted by my medical colleagues who have supported me and my parents throughout my musical journey, has been the biggest privilege of my entire music and medical career”.

Having worked and studied so hard in both medicine and music, he felt that the time had come to prioritise his music on the concert stage.

“It’s such a privilege to be able to play music that can have a positive effect on the way people feel.”

Recital at Birchip

Chath has offered to give a classical guitar recital in Birchip, with all proceeds going to the Birchip P-12 School.

Chath feels that it is only natural to give something back to the Birchip community and school which fuelled his passions as a young boy.

“I am greatly looking forward to it, and especially to seeing some familiar faces,” he said.

The concert will be held in the Birchip Uniting Church, Saturday, July 5, 2025, at 7.30 p.m..

This article appeared in The Buloke Times, 20 June 2025.