MusICian

finally!! i’m done with VCH for now. 4 very different occasions, 4 very different atmospheres, 3 happy performances and 1 torturous experience. that’s VCH for me in a week! so many of the NCHS members came to support the PRSS concert tonight! sweetie and hansel and desmond were here too. hehe. and my clarinet student fiona with her whole family. wow. i also saw many changkat changi members gracing the occasion.

what a way to end the eventful (or otherwise) 4 days at VCH! i enjoyed every single performance i played there this week, each in a very different way. i’m proud to have brought NCHS, together with my teacher, to a different level of playing, and i’m proud to have been a part of the concert! i’m proud to be the arranger for 2 of the 4 pieces we clarinetists from Mus’Art presented in the quintet, and i’m proud to have put up a good performance! i’m proud to be a friend of the warm family of PRSS, alumni and friends, and part of the very entertaining concert!

i’m proud! haha, becoming egoistic???

2 VCH concerts down, 2 more to go! the first one was a disaster; luckily i was only watching the concert. but then again, there goes some $12 wasted at a badly planned concert. the repertoire was a little too boring! and the band didn’t play very neatly. the trumpet concerto and bass clarinet concerto weren’t very well taken. what a disappointment!

anyway, well done NCWO!! you’ve really done us proud. the concert was a resounding success and i’m sure all of us who played or watched agreed that the band was the best item that night! thank you all members who have played your hearts out to make the most out of this performance! the emotionally charged Ross Roy really did it for us. we have done well, and i’m so proud to declare that i have been a part of this great concert. i’m so proud to teach this band.

2006, halfway through, lots of ups and downs in my time teaching in NCWO. from the first day of teaching (my extremely stressed face appeared), to the first few signs of acceptance from the members (my smile resurfaced), to the eventual working out of the pieces and the members giving me some cooperation (can start to joke and ppl will actually laugh), i have truly come a long way, and have learned a lot about band teaching and taking over from a great conductor. there are certain expectations about some things, and things cannot be changed overnight, but mr png and i have worked hard together, and we have revamped the band our way. and it is by no means a bad way; the rocking of the concert hall on sunday night was proof enough!

very well done, NCWO! and you have indirectly helped me secure high chances of getting a band teaching contract from the school! and of course, we can now see the dream of having a concert of our own coming true. thanks to all our blood and sweat! now to work hard for the future. look forward to the concert, and also SYF. we have lots to accomplish, lots to achieve. we must help your seniors fulfill their dream of getting a gold! but more importantly, we must establish a good foundation for the band, and we’re on our way to doing that.

clarinet quintet performance tonight! gonna perform with sweetie again! i’m quite excited because it’ll be the first time my arrangements are performed, and performed by myself and a group of good friends. Somewhere Out There and Theme From Super Mario did not come that easily. took some time to put my inspiration on the five lines and eventually, they are now what they are. and they’ll be performed tonight as a guest item in Hai Sing Catholic’s concert! the only catch… VCH AGAIN!!!

ok, shan’t complain. after friday’s PRSS concert, i’m gonna celebrate really hard.

all the best to me and my concerts! hope they’re all as successful as NCWO’s

finally, finally i get to rest for a day! what a crazy time i’m having. and i thought my tough tough time is over. ha. well, even in the holidays, my schedule is rather packed. just that i can squeeze some time out for friends and entertainment, unlike during the last semester, when i really didn’t have much time for myself.

what a crazy few days it’s been… had a whole day of teaching at NCHS last monday, met sweetie for dinner. went to school and InClarion practice on tuesday, went to PRSS band camp on wednesday, met up with my group for discussion and tutorial on thursday, thereafter’s NUSWS band prac, went for NCHS concert rehearsal on friday, met sweetie for lunch, then met cheng huat to help him in his pieces for exam. saturday was the mini trial for my module, and then i went to NTUSB practice, sunday was mus’art prac, sent sweetie to toa payoh before i went to meet mr png for some pool. and then it’s the crazy monday and tuesday…

NCHS rehearsal on monday, took them the whole afternoon. went to NTUSB prac after that till late, and then went home to rush my jap studies essay… which eventually effectively took away my whole night of sleep. went to print and submit the essay in school on tuesday morning, then rush to NCHS for another whole day of band teaching. after that, i had to rush down to newton to teach fiona. after dinner i was totally exhausted, but surprisingly, i couldn’t get to sleep when i reached home. ended up sleeping around 12am.

that probably explains why i slept till 3pm today…

many many things happening in the next 1 1/2 weeks! starting from this friday, i have 2 exams for my special term 3, and then i’m bringing sweetie to the cartoonival show in the evening. on saturday, i’d be going for PRSS concert rehearsal in the morning, NTUSB rehearsal in the afternoon, sembawang winds concert in the late afternoon, and also meeting sweetie’s friends in the evening. woah. on sunday, i’ll be going for mus’art practice, then head to VCH for NCHS concert (i’m performing too). and that week i have another 2 more concerts to perform. music IS my life…

my schedule may be ultra packed, but i’m happy

i can smell it. it’s in the air. my atmosphere reeks of packed schedules. and my nice little bright orange organiser proves it. i’m a busy man this month! so many things to worry about in so little time. in a way, it’s good. since sweetie packed her schedule, i should also pack mine. haha. no link. but somehow i don’t really mind all the business because now i really live my life to the fullest. unlike previous holidays where i spent countless hours rotting and wasting away. note the redundancy in the last sentence. that was how redundant i felt.

now i’m happily packed with teaching band, practising in many different bands and also school! i’m now in NUSWS, NTUSB and Mus’Art Wind Orchestra. i’m also in the InClarion Clarinet Choir and i’m teaching Nan Chiau Wind Orchestra. i also have a clarinet student by the name of Fiona. so yup, i spend most of my time going to bands, playing in bands and teaching music. it’s a SHIOK life. trust me.

but seriously, thank god sweetie is also involved in NTUSB, MWO and InClarion. haha. then we won’t have less time with each other.

i’m seriously enjoying my time at nan chiau nowadays. made a couple of friends there and also i’m getting a lot more support from the band itself. not just me, but most importantly, mr png too. and nowadays i don’t mind making small sacrifices to see that they are taken care of. yesterday i missed my project meeting because mr png wasn’t there yet and i chose to stay on to see that their rehearsal went on smoothly. instead of staying till 12 noon (for recruits’ practice), i ended up staying all the way till 6pm, when the main band ended their practice. and i was proud that i did that. because i really managed to do a lot my staying back to help out.

now i’m a guest player at their concert on 18th June. haha.

i’m beginning to find my passion back. not that it’s ever been lost. but now it’s stronger than ever. i love my life! and of course i love the love of my life

yeah, dad’s finally discharged! so far, his speed of recovery is quite impressive. and of course that’s a very good thing. now that he’s back, my mom can rest easy and not have to run to and from NUH every single day. 1 1/2 weeks of terror for my family; now it’s finally over. well, i guess that really brought our family closer together. not very much, but we are close. now to keep that closeness…

10 months worth of bliss! i’m so glad i made that move 10 months ago. because i’m in love with the most wonderful woman on earth, and i know how lucky i am to have found her

everything seems to be going in the right direction now. the nan chiau students are treating me so much better now, and some of the seniors are very very friendly with us already. now they respond much better to my conducting and working with them is a lot less stressful and a lot more fun. i look forward to conducting the rehearsal tmr! have loads to work on.

thank you for bringing me happiness.