Goya Dmytryshchak
One of Australia’s leading teachers of traditional drumming, Maidstone’s Ray Pereira has been honoured with an OAM for service to the performing arts as a percussionist, performer and composer.
Sri Lanka-born Pereira counts introducing different types of percussion to the Australian community, and popularising it, among his most significant contributions.
“Because we are living in a country like Australia, in those days there was limited exposure to other cultures, for example there was no Latin band or salsa band whereas now you’ve got all these communities that have built up,“ he said.
“I was always a firm believer that music is not just something that comes from an individual – it is actually part of a community.“