Thursday, March 29, 2007
@1:42 PM
Feast at Bedok 85
Kudos to our King for taking his precious time off his favourite Youtube pastime to organise a feast cum gathering at Bedok 85. We filled our stomach with the famous bak chor mee, stingray, fried oysters, satay and fried chicken wings. Sinful food!! But we don't eat it everyday, so it's ok =) Loads of catch-ups and laughters. And Kjt is once again the centre of our criticism for his fashion sense. Poor Kjt, he's being lectured for his odd match of clothings; black vertical-striped long sleeves shirt and pants plus a lacquered brown belt for at least 10 mins the moment we met him. hah. Anyway, though the group is small this time round with bee, leen, Lzm, Kjt and I, we had loads of fun and enjoyment. Great gathering I should say! See you guys for Beans next wed =D
Yearn for the days of innocence
@7:47 AM
3 BIG THINGS
There are just so many things to look forward to after exams. Eh...come to think of it, there are only three to speak of. I may have exaggerated a little BUT They're all BIG things.
The immediate thing to look forward to is The Phantom of the Opera. Yes, I'm going to watch this opera at the Esplanade on 6 May! Feedback from Desmond and Leen: It's a cannot-don't-watch opera. The first wave of ticketing received overwhelming response that I couldnt get a reasonable priced ticket. I almost gave up watching the opera. Luckily new seats are opened up to meet the steep demand, and that's how Hammy managed to grab two tickets for us. Though I forsee limited view from a 70-buck seat, I am not really bothered. Cos I could hear the beautiful vocals of the characters LIVE on-stage! So so looking forward to the opera. By the way, thank you dear for the advanced 21st birthday gift=)
The next big event is Sino-Singapore Student Exchange from 15May to 30May. It is an exchange organised by MOE to interact and learn with students from China. In the 15-day program, I'll be visiting 4 universities from 4 different cities, namely Kunming, Guangzhou, Xiamen and Hangzhou. So I guess we'll stay in each city for approximately 3 days. The draw of this trip...needless to say is value for money! All I need to fork out is a maximum of S$450 for the entire trip. In exchange, I'll get a wonderful experience interacting with students of different culutres and widening my social circle beyond the boundaries. Of course, I'll get an opportunity to make friends with students from NUS and SMU cos' we will all be going to China together. On top of that, I'm going to have fun exploring different parts of China and immerse myself into its beautiful mother nature. =D
But something is wrong somewhere cos' I dont seem pretty excited about the trip. The culprit must be Italy!
Yes, I'll be travelling to Italy with NUSWS in late June. That makes up two trips in my summer vacation! =) It seems that I'm more attached to NUSWS though I join the band for merely 3 mths. Probably I'm fated to join the big family. haha. Anyway, the band will be performing for a music festival at Besana,Italy. We'll have to march and play (my very first time marching and playing!! =D) for the opening and closing parades. Besides staging peformances at some nearby towns, we'll also be touring around Milan and Venice(Wowwww!!). And..my hammy and I are also thinking of extending trip, probably to Switzerland and Austria(if time allows). But I havent gotten parental consent yet. Need to rope in more people to increase my chances of extending. hahaha. Anyway it's safer to travel in a group la. Extension of trip, anyone? hee =)
Yearn for the days of innocence
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
@1:08 PM
InTempo 2007
In response to poh's spontaneous request, I shall take some time off to update my blog. haha. =)
I'm still feeling a little worn-out from the big event - InTempo 2007 at UCC, NUS. Yes, I was at UCC yesterday not as an audience enjoying the concert but a musician rather, performing for the 900 supporters. I havent seen a closely-packed hall for quite a while since my last Beautiful Sunday performance at the Esplanade. Probably that's my source of nervousness too. Luckily I settled down readily to get into the moods of our first piece, Merry Wives of Windsor. I would say that we did better during the past few rehearsals. However, I thought we sounded alright on stage.
Next is dear's solo piece, Immer Kleiner which means getting smaller. It is a fun piece, and you'll see dear dismantling the parts of his clarinet as he plays through the passages. I'm very proud of dear plucking up his greatest courage to take on the solo challenge. Though he met with obstacles during the rehearsals, he held on to his faith believing that he can do it. Yes, He Did It yesterday. I'm truly happy for him =)
We went on with The Sound of Music by the student conductor, Ben and we ended off with one of our highlights, Soaring over the Ridges. It's a work by Satoshi Yagisawa that expresses his feelings and impressions about the Japan Alps. I thought we sounded quite nice on the piece!
The second half of the concert started off with Silver Screen, a relaxing piece of music that features popular selections from the 1960s. But I was a little nervous before the piece due to the impending mini solo I had to play, and my tone was rather thin during the first half. So I was a little worried. Fortunately, the solo went well. Hee =D I was on cloud nine.
The concert ended on a high note with Poema Alpestre featuring the Swiss Alps. The heaviest and longest piece of the evening, but a beautiful band work. Really love this piece alot, especially after learning about the depiction of each movement. I feel that Mr Leonard Tan makes this piece comes alive with his artistic conducting.
Talking about Mr Tan, he's partly the reason why I joined NUSWS to perform for their annual concert as a guest player. I've heard about his great teachings as a conductor of VJ and I wanted to experience playing in a band under his baton. Indeed, I was truly inspired by my very first practice with the band, and remained inspired throughout my days with NUSWS all the way to the concert. He's efficient as a conductor at band, ever so encouraging as a music educator and amicable as a friend.
Besides learning loads from Mr Tan, I've made quite a number of fun-loving friends in the band too. They really make me feel at home, and I thank them for that, especially NUSWS Clarinet Section! =D My parents have given me the green light to go Italy with the band in late June. Yayyyyy!!!!!! =D
Of course, I appreciate deeply those who have come to support me for the concert. A big thanks to my parents for their undying support! Not forgetting of course my beloved cousin, Xiuning, Michelle, Haising Trombone Alumni, Desmond, Hansel, Cheng Huat and Xiuyu. Thank you people for your support! =)
Yearn for the days of innocence
@12:33 PM
me and dear at the backstage
Yearn for the days of innocence
@12:30 PM
NUSWS President, Cloud, me and dear
Yearn for the days of innocence
@12:28 PM
NUSWS Clarinet Section
Yearn for the days of innocence
@12:25 PM
NUSWS Clarinettists with Maestro Leonard Tan
Yearn for the days of innocence
@12:15 PM
Chill out at Azaku Sabo after the concert
Yearn for the days of innocence
@12:10 PM
dear with Over the Hedge Hammy and the pretty flower - gifts from NUSWS Clarinet Section
Yearn for the days of innocence
