Biography
Critically acclaimed soprano, visual artist and TED Fellow, Tharanga Goonetilleke is a native of Sri Lanka. She graduated with her Artist Diploma for Opera Studies as well as her Master of Music degree in Voice and Opera from The Juilliard School. Tharanga is the first and only woman from Sri Lanka to be accepted to the prestigious Juilliard School and the only native South Asian accepted to Juilliard for Voice. She has a Bachelor of Music degree from Converse College, Spartanburg, SC, with a minor in Biology. She is also an Associate of the Trinity College of Music, London, England. She has over a dozen leading operatic roles under her belt including Mimi (La Boheme/Puccini) and Pamina (Die Zauberflöte/Mozart). Tharanga made her New York City Opera Debut in 2010. Her operatic and concert career has taken her all over the world including in Italy, France, England, Scotland, Korea, Uganda, India, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Canada, and throughout the United States. As a visual artist, Tharanga is sought after for her line drawings, illustrations, and impressionistic paintings. Her most recent work as an illustrator is the picture book “The Jungle Book” for The Glimmer glass festival which is currently underway to be released in the fall of 2021. Tharanga also donated paintings for the VAC spring gala in 2020 and 2021. Since being selected a TED Fellow in 2015, Tharanga enjoys traveling the world sharing her story as an inspirational speaker, performer, and educator. She currently resides in Short Hills with her husband and two young children.