MusICian

my debut as a resident conductor came and went in a flash.

some pieces were very well played, some pieces were not as good as rehearsals, but all in all it was a fantastic experience, and arguably a good concert! the bandsmen really put in their best efforts on stage, and they were really quite responsive to my gestures, bringing out most of the juicy bits in the way i desired. as in all live performances, there are bound to be mistakes, and actually that made the whole process a lot more exciting!

imagine going to a concert where everything was just clean and tidy, all correct notes but the extremes of the dynamics weren’t explored. i dunno, that notion just feels weird to me!

tonight, Beatty Military Band really went all out and showed what they are capable of. despite the little mishaps, every single person did a great job, and together, we have created a legacy for ourselves, something that we have helped the alumni accomplish. we have finally done a public concert after being dormant for 19 years, and we didn’t just do a concert; we did a good concert!

i really want to thank all invited guests for gracing this special occasion for the bandsmen. i wish to extend my most sincere thanks to mr richard png, who has given me no less than 13 years of guidance. my sincerest thanks to mr pisit, from whom i inherited the great work already done for Beatty. big thanks to my parents and grandma, who came to watch me in action! big big thank you to the NCWO members, who came in great numbers and gave me a real pretty bouquet of flowers. thank you jeremy and your EVG students who came to watch the concert! thank you desmond, nick, dennis and hongliang for coming; hongliang especially! he helped me with the recording of the concert!

and my biggest thank you to sweetie dear who sponsored my shirt and never, for a single moment, failed to shower me with all the encouragement and support!

Esprit 2 was a blast! have you heard?

yup. in about 19 hours it’ll be my conducting debut as a resident conductor

i really thank every single Beatty Military Band member, and all our precious alumni involved, for the hard work leading up to this concert. i’m sure that we will put up a good show tomorrow, and we will put our efforts into good use. i sincerely thank all the alumni members who have given such strong support; it wouldn’t have been possible without all of you! i’m sure the members do appreciate your efforts, and together, we’ll pull off a good show

let’s make Esprit! 2 a night to remember

Esprit! 2, Beatty Military Band in Concert
4th April 2008, 7:30pm, Beatty Secondary School Hall

Repertoire:
The Happy Wanderer
Gently Touch the Sky
The Best of Green Day
Highlights from Harry Potter

Intermission

One Moment In Time
Midnight Rock
Shenandoah
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End

hope to see you there!

yup, this post is long overdue. i was just _______ (insert usual string of excuses).

InTempo 2008 (15th March) came and went. the hell week also came and went. at the end of it, everything was really worthwhile, and i was rewarded with a fantastic bout of music making, amongst some of the most musical musicians on Planet Earth (pun with full intention).

i think you can ask anybody in NUS Wind Symphony, and they will tell you that it is probably the best concert they have ever played; in their lives. in our first concert with Mr Leonard Tan, we played Danse Diabolique, Kirkpatrick Fanfare, Miss Saigon Selections, Bayou Breakdown and Hymn to the Infinite Sky (just some of the pieces). in our second, we scaled the Alps in Soaring Over The Ridges and Poema Alpestre. in our third, we visited the Star Wars Trilogy. in our fourth, and our 40th Anniversary of existence, we traveled through space, landing on Planet Earth.

each concert grew on the success of the last, and each concert became better. our learned audience got to appreciate us better each time, and our seasoned audience have watched us grow in numbers and in sound. each concert brought about a different level of maturity in sound and musicality, and such is the legacy Mr Leonard Tan has set for us.

this concert is the best i have ever played in, and Planet Earth was at its very most emotional. i started the concert with Crescent and Five Stars, telling myself i have to set the concert ablaze immediately. it was over before i knew it, and martin was up next with Folk Song Suite. Mr Tan then took the stage with a soulful Finlandia, before unleashing a fun-filled Cartoon.

and then the 2nd half was unstoppable.

albeit mistakes in some parts, Planet Earth was so intense, so emotional, so overbearing that in so many of the parts, i almost broke down in tears! the entire Wind Symphony joined together in the 3rd movement and poured their souls into the music, bringing that magical piece alive in a way we’ve never experienced before. it was at that exact moment many would have realised why we have devoted so much of our time to music-making; exactly for moments like this, where we could just die right there and not feel any regrets!

i was totally on the verge of tears while cloud beside me quietly wept, overwhelmed by the emotional intensity (the only thing that stopped me was the fact that i was on stage; i had to fight back my tears really hard).

when we ended the piece in an intense release, the applause from the audience was extraordinary; a mini-standing-ovation from the VIPs and a few others! and i thought i would never ever see a standing ovation in Singapore! tell me, why should i regret making music at this level?

after the concert, before we could recover from the high, huili and i rushed down to the airport to catch our flight to Jakarta! it was our mini-honeymoon, since i had to travel down to Jakarta to attend my diploma award ceremony for the ABRSM performing diploma i finally passed last year. and the 2 days and nights we had there were truly awesome! good food, good rooms, good ceremony, good leisure activities, but we didn’t do much sightseeing due to lack of time and knowledge of infrastructure. we had room-service-breakfast on the day we left! it was really cheap, and the servings were huge O.o

a few days after coming back from the trip, huili and i mysteriously fell ill together, showing the same symptoms. she has recovered since, but i am still mysteriously ill. even now i feel nauseous, and i threw up this morning. i feel something is not right with me; i’ve really gotta see a doctor tomorrow morning to check it out. SYF is in 2 weeks, i really can’t afford to be sick now.

ok, also about time i got to sleep. really thank all my students who came to the concert, hope you have truly enjoyed listening to these emotionally intense stuff. really thank all my friends who came, whom i didn’t get a chance to speak to because i was in a hurry. really thank all in NUSWS for being part of this incredible music-making process, and for enduring my off-days on the podium. really thank the clarinet section for trusting me with sectionals, working hard in getting the notes right, and always being present for sectionals and practices. really thank huili dear for always being so supportive, and for the wonderful mini-honeymoon that i’m sure we will never forget!

and really must thank my mom and dad, who patiently sat through almost all of my concerts, appreciating quietly my one passion that keeps me alive every day

yeah, one rather successful performance this afternoon! the bandsmen were at their best, and they delivered a job quite well done. it could be better, of course, but i’m satisfied with their performance today. of course, we can deliver a much better job for those pieces at the concert; we shall really show other people what we can deliver!

thank you for the ’sorry’ cards, it’s good that you reflect when you know things are not going the way they are supposed to go. but i know all of you are capable of achieving much more; you just need that bit more focus and you’ll really be a good band!

to all band members out there, i hope you subscribe to the 4Ts and 5Ps of band!

4Ts: to always play
in Tone
in Tune
in Time
in Touch

5Ps: to always
be Present
be Punctual
have Pencils
Practise!
be PASSIONATE!

with these you’d be armed for a great band life

in case you haven’t heard, come watch NUSWS on 15th March, 5pm at University Cultural Center! we’ll be playing exciting exciting stuff!

they make my day and they tear me apart, all at the same time.

if you ever come across this post, Hae Li, Douglas and Bernard, i hope you’re feeling much better now. i’m sorry i had to make these decisions. and i hope one day you’ll understand.

because what tears you apart also tears me apart.

after a really tough day at work, yelling at kids, getting children to focus so that i could get things right, doing all the tuning for all their brass instruments, i thought that’s it. today’s gonna be one lousy day again. and it’s not gonna get better. until AJ, while talking about Beatty Military Band, said one thing to me:

"Teacher, I’m also glad that you came (to the band) lah."

that really made my day. thank you AJ! for your help and your trust in me

it’s been a while since i updated, and many many things have happened since then. shocks, smiles, sadness, success, sensitive stuff (just trying to look for words starting with letter ’s’). haha. but seriously, these few weeks have been a real killer. and it’s only the beginning of it all.

my 26th birthday was one full of surprises! and my friends and students really really made growing old much easier to bear with. haha. before the day itself, i already had wishes from my nan chiau students; they were almost wishing me every single practice. haha.

NUSWS clarinets surprised me first with a heaty cake and a trumpet soft case, which i’m happily using already. then desmond and dear tried to surprise me with a cake; unfortunately, they were busted by yours truly, who happened to pop by that coffee shop to have dinner, without realising they were one table away with a huge cake on the table. oops, sorry, didn’t mean to bust my own surprise! hahaha… then my beatty sec 4s wished me through sms. many many of my friends too! and many whom i haven’t heard from in a million years. my lovely nan chiau trombone section gave me a mug with my name on it, and happily put it in a paper bag full of notes and clefs facing the wrong way. so cute! my beatty students threw a mini party for the january babies, and also for my teacher-in-charge, whose birthday is on 1st of february. and they gave me a handmade card and deodorant. haha. nice!

and of course, my birthday itself, celebrating with dear at many places!

she had these slips of paper for me to ‘choose’ where i would like to go for dinner; 3 slips for 3 locations. so she asked me to pick one, and i happily tried to pluck 2 out of her hand and she panicked! apparently, she was so creative, she gave me a ‘choice’, but they were all the same place. haha. so eventually, all the choices pointed towards Dian Xiao Er at T3, Changi Airport.

so we were there and we were happily eating the really really nice set dinner, consisting of herbal duck, mongolian pepper ribs, vegetables in really fantastic sauce, my favourite lotus root soup, and rice! really very nice! but not cheap lah, not a very expensive place to go, but not cheap. after that we walked around the new terminal, before heading to tampines to shop. on the bus to tampines, i opened my present; a very nice shirt from Zara! and with it a very nice personalised Smirk card, with our photo in it! apparently, dear’s skills have improved, she got me to pick my own present without me realising the trick! haha. we had haagen das ice cream at tampines before concluding the evening with a nice little bus ride home

so my 26th birthday was full of smiles

had a concert with Mus’Art, and this time i ‘guest-played’ for percussion again. with a superb Black Swamp tambourine, i was all set to play the part for Riverdance! concert was ok, dear and i got mobbed by the beatty students. haha. somehow i felt like i haven’t performed for a long while, even though it’s only been 1 1/2 months! i don’t really know why.

been through some really tough times lately; i’ve been working very hard off the job so that i can be more efficient on the job. planning for concert, rewriting of scores, rearranging the entire choice piece, putting in little fingerings for the kiddos, planning for performances, writing divisi parts out so that the kids can see better, doing rhythmic studies worksheets for the kids (dear helped me out with this!) and so on. it’s been really really tiring. and for a while i really thought of giving up. it was really a horror trying to work with the constraints i have, and i feel the pressure building up, but i kept going. till my body couldn’t take it anymore and i fell quite sick a few days ago.

on the day i fell really sick, i decided to go see a doctor and get medication. and while at it, i received an sms from an old friend, and it wasn’t good news. i was really stupefied. my primary school classmate had passed away. those who know me well know i’m terrible at funerals; i can’t handle them, especially if i know the deceased personally and he/she was a close friend. i wasn’t particularly close to this classmate of mine, but nevertheless we’ve shared some friendship together and i decided i must go. and yup, i still can’t handle funerals.

such a young guy. it is truly unfortunate. apparently, he had an epilepsy relapse and he fell off his bed into an awkward position and couldn’t breathe. couldn’t be revived when they found him in the morning.

well my friend, i’ve missed out on a huge part of your life, i don’t know if you remember me, but wherever you may be now, i hope you are now in peace.

life is fragile; treasure it!

thank you, NUSWS clarinets! this is indeed a very pleasant surprise! and i completely love the trumpet soft case man! and love the mouthpiece pouch that came with it, now it protects my Yamaha Custom 14B4 GP mouthpiece! hehehe. i’m all set to become a trumpet player man. this doesn’t sound too right…

i greatly appreciate the effort guys. THANKS!!!!

you guys make growing old more bearable for me

you know, i have been so caught up with negativity these days and i really have missed the whole point of life. i am already so blessed, yet i easily missed out looking at all the blessings i have. when you count your blessings, you’d realise that life isn’t that unfair after all!

so… here’s a tribute to all my blessings, as far as i’m allowed to say:

first on the list has got to be my family. although things aren’t always smooth sailing in my family, and as "every family has a difficult book to read", we are still a very blessed family because we get to put food on the table. we get a roof over our heads. and my family is tolerant of my profession. thank you mom, dad, and my two brothers!

next has got to be my dear. she has always been a pillar of support for me, and she just helped me out with the concert order of pieces i was planning for Beatty. i’m truly blessed to have her by my side, and i will always cherish her great companionship and ever-lovely smile! thank you dear!

i have to thank my teachers-in-charge for all my bands for believing in a young and relatively inexperienced conductor like me, and despite some misunderstandings somewhere, i think i’m really blessed to still have them support me all the way. i’m sure that with all your support, i will continue to grow as a band instructor, and i really thank you all for being such fantastic blessings in my life!

i really have to thank my mentors for teaching me so much about band and band teaching! i am blessed to have Mr Richard Png as my band instructor in secondary school, and then continuing my clarinet with him, finally bringing me out as an assistant band instructor. my sincerest gratitude to Mr Png for giving me all the opportunities that i’ve always wanted! a true blessing indeed!

also, thank you Mr Leonard Tan for sharing with me so much of your knowledge through NUSWS! i have learnt so much from you and i really cherish all the valuable lessons. and really, thank you for giving us so much fantastic music! NUSWS has become a very different place after you came; you’re our biggest blessing!

and thank you Mrs Chua for the wonderful music at Mus’art Wind Orchestra! we have learnt so much under your direction and i have personally improved a lot because of your belief in me. thank you for the opportunity!

and i shall not forget all my friends; every single friend who made an impact in my life, you are not forgotten! although i don’t have many friends, i’m truly blessed to have these few but great great friends who always have faith in me, and who are always giving me valuable advice, and who always seem to appear and give me a helping nudge in times of need. you are my true friends indeed! i’m blessed to have my friends by my side; nothing is impossible with you guys’ support

and of course, i’m truly blessed with all my students, many of whom have been with me through those days where i was an almost completely clueless band conductor to where i am now. although i haven’t made my mark, but i sincerely hope that i have made a difference to your lives. you are my blessings! because when i wave the baton, i don’t make a sound; you guys and girls do! thank you for the music and the fun and the gossip

make it a point to count your blessings every day! have you counted your blessings today?

or rather i was reminded of it. why i’m in this profession.

because the only time i feel really really alive is when i’m on the podium.

even without dinner. lol.

that being said, i still messed up some parts. haha. more homework on the pieces! i’ll be ready

do come watch us, NUS Wind Symphony, on 15th March 2008. we will bring to you:

Stars and Crescent
English Folk Song Suite Mvt 1 by Ralph Vaughan Williams
Finlandia by Jean Sibelius
Cartoon by Paul Hart

and…

Symphony No. 3 - Planet Earth by Johann de Meij

InTempo 2008 will be a blast, celebrating 40 years of music making in NUS Wind Symphony. come!