A Tribute to Fr. Claver
The third death anniversary of Father Claver Perera falls on 14th October and the St. Mary’s Choral Group and friends of Fr. Claver will be doing a short tribute to Fr. Claver, at St. Mary’s Church Bambalapitiya at 7.00 p.m. after evening Mass on Sunday, 13th October 2013.
Old Boys and friends are cordially invited to be present to pay tribute to a priest who was the first old boy Rector of College and who as Parish Priest at St. Mary's Bambalapitiya contributed greatly to singing and liturgy, etc.
Algi Wijewickrema (Editor – SPC OBU)
Fr. Claver: Thou art the Song that I sing
Daily Mirror, Saturday, 16 October 2010
The much loved tenor, choir master, priest and writer Fr. Claver Perera who passed away on Thursday night at the age of 68, will be buried at General Cemetery in Kanatte today after a thanksgiving Requiem High Mass celebrated by the Archbishop of Colombo, the Rt. Rev. Dr. Malcolm Ranjith at All Saints Church, Borella at 3.30 p.m.
Fr. Perera, a graduate of the Peradeniya University, had a Caruso type robust tenor voice. He returned to Sri Lanka from Rome in the late sixties and founded the St. Mary’s Choral Group in 1967. Its members were largely Peterites.
He became the sixth rector of St. Peter’s College. He was the first fully fledged Peterite to adorn the Rectorial Chair. His stay lasted two years from 1975 to 1976.
Later, as a resident at the National Seminary, Ampitiya, Fr. Claver trained young seminarians in vocal music and elocution. He also taught English.
"Intimations of Eternity 1" produced by Fr. Claver brought back some precious moments of the past, according to another famous music trainer and choir master Francis de Almeida. Fr. Claver’s audio album contained 20 priceless pieces of vocal renditions from different periods, styles and languages
