Biography

Danushka Edirisinghe is a first-year postgraduate student at the Royal Academy of Music, where he studies with Hannah Roberts. During his studies, he has won several prestigious awards, including the May Mukle/Douglas Cameron Cello Prize, the Strings and Piano Duo Prize, and graduated receiving the Sir John Barbirolli Memorial Prize. His studies are generously supported by the Musicians’ Company, Help Musicians, the Countess of Munster Trust, and the Craxton Memorial Trust. 

In 2022, he was awarded first prize at the Haslemere International String Competition, leading to a performance of Haydn’s Cello Concerto in D major with the London Mozart Players. In 2025 he also had the opportunity to perform as a soloist in Sollima’s ‘Violoncelles, Vibrez!’ with the Britten Sinfonia in the Barbican Hall.

Danushka is a member of the Isla String Quartet, who were selected as Britten Pears Young Artists for 2023-2024 and are currently Tillet Debut Artists. The quartet has performed at venues such as Jubilee Hall and St John’s Smith Square, and toured the Southwest of France. They have collaborated with composers Brett Dean and Ryan Wigglesworth and receive regular coaching from members of the Doric Quartet and Marmen Quartet. In 2024, they won the inaugural RAM Nina Drucker Haydn String Quartet Prize as well as the Harold Craxton Prize and were category finalists in the 2025 ROSL Annual Music Competition.

As a freelance orchestral musician, Danushka has performed with renowned ensembles such as the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Sinfonia of London, and Royal Northern Sinfonia and he has toured with orchestras such as the London Symphony Orchestra and Britten Sinfonia. His festival appearances include the Lucerne Festival, Aldeburgh Festival, and BBC Proms.

Award: Musicians’ Company Award 2025

Photo Credit: IOA Photography