With the promise to provide a “musical experience unparalleled in the history of Qatar,” D S Senanayake Old Boys Association (DSS OBA) Qatar Branch, for the very first time in Qatar, is presenting Donz Studio, a singing talent show to showcase hidden raw potential of undiscovered talent.
“We are confident that with people’s continued support, we can turn this event into the biggest musical and talent show of Doha. Heathrow, one of the leading bands of Qatar, has agreed to support us wholeheartedly for this event,” Kanchana Abeysekara, President of DSS OBA told Community.
In the event to be organised on March 4 at Mercure Grand Hotel, there will be 10 tables reserved for Sri Lankan School OBAs in Qatar, which are participating in the signing contest. There are four more tables reserved for DSSC OBA and six for the public.
Each table can seat 10 individuals. The audience will get to see and hear the live performance of the talented singers and experience the best-in-class musical performance of Heathrow, according to the organisers.
Everyone will get an opportunity to vote and choose the winner from the talents showcased at Donz Studio 2016.  A sumptuous buffet dinner will be made available during the event.
A few Senanayakians, working and living in Qatar, decided to form a branch in Qatar of the main DSSC OBA a few years back. Their ideas materialised with the formation of DSSC OBA Qatar Branch in 2012, said the president.
The inaugural meeting was held at the Gulf Paradise Hotel and a committee headed by founding president Tilak Ekanayake was established. Today, the Qatar Branch boasts of a membership of over 50 Senanayakians, according to the president.
“We established the OBA Qatar Branch in February 2012 and within a short period of three and a half years, we have been successful in becoming one of the leading Sri Lankan Schools’ OBAs in Qatar, earning the respect of the Sri Lankan community in general and our peer OBAs in particular,” said Abeysekara.
Through various social, charitable and CRS activities, the association builds fellowship and brotherhood amongst the old Senanayakians and also provides much needed financial assistance for the welfare of the students, teachers and staff members of DSSC Colombo, Sri Lanka.
D S Senanayake College, situated in Colombo 07 (Cinnamon Gardens), is currently one of the premiere educational institutes in Sri Lanka. It was established on February 10, 1967 as a public national school in Sri Lanka and named after the first prime minister of independent Sri Lanka, D S Senanayake.
Within a short span of time, it has been able to gain many achievements of excellence both in the academic and non–academic fields, locally and internationally.
DSSC takes pride in being a truly multi-ethnic and a multi-religious college which has created unblemished and prestigious records of excellence in academia, sport and community leadership culminating being an institute of highly innovative and patriotic individuals to Sri Lanka.
The school currently has an enrolment of over 6,000 students with an academic staff over 275. It is among the most desirable schools in Colombo. The school is listed among the National Schools, which comes under the administration of the Ministry of Education, thus has direct funding from the ministry.
D S Senanayake College provides education to students from Grade 1 to 13 in Sinhala, Tamil and English mediums. It also provides Mathematics, Science, Commerce and Arts streams for the Advance Level Examinations.
“We continue to support our school and our fellow brothers in Sri Lanka through our involvement in the past teachers medical camps and scholarship programme,” said the DSSC OBA Qatar Branch president.
The school is fully equipped with modern classrooms, multiple science laboratories, computer laboratories, ground and sports complex for sports activities. It also has more than 35 clubs, societies and associations engaged in all types of co-curricular activities. There are a wide range of sporting activities, be it the track, field or water.