Why We Sing
Monday, December 14, 2009 @ 9:30 pm leave a comment? | 0 shed some light
I have been busy for the past few days.
Every year, I look forward to November/December choir practices as we are usually preparing for a concert and we get to have rehearsals almost daily. I really wish we could be like what Mrs Lim said about those Swedish schools - they have 'singing schools' where great emphasis is placed on singing instead of academics. Ah, the joy of singing everyday in a choir.
I felt really proud of my juniors after hearing them improve the week before the concert. It was good that Laura, Melanie and Jia Ying came back to help us. The techniques they introduced to us reminded me so much of Mr Albert Tay. Somehow, I still think all the techniques taught by him are the most effective for me. Ah, my Secondary One days, when we had Ms Jennifer Tham and Mr Tay.
Being so proud of my cute, lovable juniors (Hahaha), somehow this just makes me feel old. Especially the thought of leaving them next April. I will miss them all so much!
I'm a little worried for my section though. What Juniper said is true: the bulk of our section's voices come from the Sec3s. Meaning to say that the rest must put a teensy bit more effort to train their voices more so that they can coach the new people next year. The rest of the sections improved by leaps and bounds this holiday however. The Alto two section now sounds really strong and expressive. The Soprano two section can pretty much survive without Yi Bin or Claudia now. Alto One still needs to be more strong when coming in but they have improved nevertheless!
This time I bought candy canes and chocolates for the choir to thank them for working so hard for this performance. The section leaders all bought something for their own sections - except Soprano One..Hahaha. Well, that's okay. I managed to get gummies from Winny. Maybe what Zi Yu said is right, I keep bullying her. Well, I don't think I'm a bully...But I do pester her a lot. But she is such a nice person!! :D I'm so sorry for always disturbing you online, Winny! Hope she reads this.
I managed to apply make-up for myself for the performance fairly well. The eyeshadow has never been a problem but lipstick and blusher are the tougher ones to tackle. Anyway, I helped a few of the others to apply the eyeshadow. But dear Winny just refused to have a single layer of cosmetics on her face. Therefore, IF we ever have a concert before I step down, my main mission will be to make sure everyone has a decent amount of makeup. That clever girl managed to wash off the blusher. Tsk.
Our Saturday's performance went well. We sounded awesome. I think. Personally, I think we look better in the purple lycra shirt and black pants when compared to us wearing the gowns. Oh, Ying Ting only returned her gown last week, when SYF was right in the first half of the year. We were all really surprised to see her return with the gown.
My mum bought me a penguin plushie on Saturday. It's turning into a little tradition: Her buying soft toys each time I perform. I don't mind it at all. This penguin is really plump - well, fat. But it's just so cute! After the concert, mum and I went to the Niwa Sushi shop at Tampines MRT Station to eat some sushis. Those were delicious!
Sunday was indeed a busy day. Since I woke up pretty late, I had to rush through my practising for my guitar lesson. Considering the fact that I had rehearsals the whole week for choir and reached home late and didn't practise at all till an hour before lesson, I think I did pretty well. I relied solely on sight-reading this time and the only thing the teacher remarked on was that I need to try to minimise any non-guitar sounds while playing. Oh, and that I must not turn my wrist like what I did when I was asked to play the A Minor scale.
Right after lesson, I went to change into a skirt since I can't wear shorts to Espanade. I was the first to reach City Hall. After the rest came we set off for the KBox branch at Marina Square with Cynthia leading the way. My first time at a Karaoke lounge made me feel a little apprehensive when I stepped in. All of us had lots of fun though. Ms Ong and Claudia joined us a while later.
Since the concert started at 7.30pm, except for Cynthia, all of us rushed over to Espanade minutes before. Since Zhuo Min, her mum, Juniper and I were the only ones who bought the $35 tickets, we had to separate from the rest who bought the $20 tickets. When Juniper and I got to the Circle seats, we were a mere three minutes from the start of the concert.
SYC and Friends concert was awesome! The SYC Ensemble Singers sounded really good. Every section is really strong and the balance was good. We got to see Ms Tham and Mr Tay sing too! There was this guy who is singing in Baritone or Bass - he's just so expressive that it's so outstanding! All the soloists were really remarkable too! I especially like the Cantate Domino by Vaclovas Augustinas and the Light Mass part after the Intermission. Benedictus sounded beautiful :D
Juniper and I shouted "You rock, Jollin" or something along that line afterwards. I think Jollin heard it since we were sitting almost directly over the stage.
After the concert, I met Ee Faye and a few of the Sec1s who attended the concert too on my way to the station. They found the songs long. Well, I'm not sure...I was just blown away by the beauty of the songs that it didn't really matter to me how long there were. While passing by New York New York restuarant, I saw Yi Bin and Claudia. I didn't join them for supper though - since it was kind of late. Since I only had breakfast the whole day, I had a cup of yogurt and seaweed crackers upon reaching home. I was just so tired...
Today was the 6/9 gathering. I was really worried when Juniper initially said that we were going to meet Ms Ong today. But since my activities didn't clash with each other in the end, I got to go for today's gathering. Not many people actually went. We just loitered around at Changi Airport's Terminal Two and ate at the McDonald's there. After which all of us could not agree on a place to proceed to. Some wanted to go bowling, some wanted to play pool. In the end we just went to Kai Ho's house. Everyone just played cards or Wii. I didn't get the chance to watch them play Guitar Hero since I had to go home for dinner. Which is kind of a pity since my school's Wii games don't seem to include Guitar Hero.
Walking to Tanah Merah station from Kai Ho's house would not have been possible without Priscilla. I would've most probably gotten lost somewhere and Michael said he has a poor sense of direction. Indeed because we almost went off in the wrong direction at some road if not for Priscilla asking us to cross it. Anyway, somehow I just don't know how to talk to my ex-classmates as easily as how I talk to my choir people or my present classmates. Maybe it's because I used to be so shy and timid. And to think that people from Crescent will most probably not use those two words to describe me now. Ah well.
I managed to change my ear studs today! It was incredibly difficult at first and I was wondering if I will have the same ear studs for the rest of my life and die with them. But I got them changed in the end!! But my right earlobe hurts now. I don't know why. DD:
Every year, I look forward to November/December choir practices as we are usually preparing for a concert and we get to have rehearsals almost daily. I really wish we could be like what Mrs Lim said about those Swedish schools - they have 'singing schools' where great emphasis is placed on singing instead of academics. Ah, the joy of singing everyday in a choir.
I felt really proud of my juniors after hearing them improve the week before the concert. It was good that Laura, Melanie and Jia Ying came back to help us. The techniques they introduced to us reminded me so much of Mr Albert Tay. Somehow, I still think all the techniques taught by him are the most effective for me. Ah, my Secondary One days, when we had Ms Jennifer Tham and Mr Tay.
Being so proud of my cute, lovable juniors (Hahaha), somehow this just makes me feel old. Especially the thought of leaving them next April. I will miss them all so much!
I'm a little worried for my section though. What Juniper said is true: the bulk of our section's voices come from the Sec3s. Meaning to say that the rest must put a teensy bit more effort to train their voices more so that they can coach the new people next year. The rest of the sections improved by leaps and bounds this holiday however. The Alto two section now sounds really strong and expressive. The Soprano two section can pretty much survive without Yi Bin or Claudia now. Alto One still needs to be more strong when coming in but they have improved nevertheless!
This time I bought candy canes and chocolates for the choir to thank them for working so hard for this performance. The section leaders all bought something for their own sections - except Soprano One..Hahaha. Well, that's okay. I managed to get gummies from Winny. Maybe what Zi Yu said is right, I keep bullying her. Well, I don't think I'm a bully...But I do pester her a lot. But she is such a nice person!! :D I'm so sorry for always disturbing you online, Winny! Hope she reads this.
I managed to apply make-up for myself for the performance fairly well. The eyeshadow has never been a problem but lipstick and blusher are the tougher ones to tackle. Anyway, I helped a few of the others to apply the eyeshadow. But dear Winny just refused to have a single layer of cosmetics on her face. Therefore, IF we ever have a concert before I step down, my main mission will be to make sure everyone has a decent amount of makeup. That clever girl managed to wash off the blusher. Tsk.
Our Saturday's performance went well. We sounded awesome. I think. Personally, I think we look better in the purple lycra shirt and black pants when compared to us wearing the gowns. Oh, Ying Ting only returned her gown last week, when SYF was right in the first half of the year. We were all really surprised to see her return with the gown.
My mum bought me a penguin plushie on Saturday. It's turning into a little tradition: Her buying soft toys each time I perform. I don't mind it at all. This penguin is really plump - well, fat. But it's just so cute! After the concert, mum and I went to the Niwa Sushi shop at Tampines MRT Station to eat some sushis. Those were delicious!
Sunday was indeed a busy day. Since I woke up pretty late, I had to rush through my practising for my guitar lesson. Considering the fact that I had rehearsals the whole week for choir and reached home late and didn't practise at all till an hour before lesson, I think I did pretty well. I relied solely on sight-reading this time and the only thing the teacher remarked on was that I need to try to minimise any non-guitar sounds while playing. Oh, and that I must not turn my wrist like what I did when I was asked to play the A Minor scale.
Right after lesson, I went to change into a skirt since I can't wear shorts to Espanade. I was the first to reach City Hall. After the rest came we set off for the KBox branch at Marina Square with Cynthia leading the way. My first time at a Karaoke lounge made me feel a little apprehensive when I stepped in. All of us had lots of fun though. Ms Ong and Claudia joined us a while later.
Since the concert started at 7.30pm, except for Cynthia, all of us rushed over to Espanade minutes before. Since Zhuo Min, her mum, Juniper and I were the only ones who bought the $35 tickets, we had to separate from the rest who bought the $20 tickets. When Juniper and I got to the Circle seats, we were a mere three minutes from the start of the concert.
SYC and Friends concert was awesome! The SYC Ensemble Singers sounded really good. Every section is really strong and the balance was good. We got to see Ms Tham and Mr Tay sing too! There was this guy who is singing in Baritone or Bass - he's just so expressive that it's so outstanding! All the soloists were really remarkable too! I especially like the Cantate Domino by Vaclovas Augustinas and the Light Mass part after the Intermission. Benedictus sounded beautiful :D
Juniper and I shouted "You rock, Jollin" or something along that line afterwards. I think Jollin heard it since we were sitting almost directly over the stage.
After the concert, I met Ee Faye and a few of the Sec1s who attended the concert too on my way to the station. They found the songs long. Well, I'm not sure...I was just blown away by the beauty of the songs that it didn't really matter to me how long there were. While passing by New York New York restuarant, I saw Yi Bin and Claudia. I didn't join them for supper though - since it was kind of late. Since I only had breakfast the whole day, I had a cup of yogurt and seaweed crackers upon reaching home. I was just so tired...
Today was the 6/9 gathering. I was really worried when Juniper initially said that we were going to meet Ms Ong today. But since my activities didn't clash with each other in the end, I got to go for today's gathering. Not many people actually went. We just loitered around at Changi Airport's Terminal Two and ate at the McDonald's there. After which all of us could not agree on a place to proceed to. Some wanted to go bowling, some wanted to play pool. In the end we just went to Kai Ho's house. Everyone just played cards or Wii. I didn't get the chance to watch them play Guitar Hero since I had to go home for dinner. Which is kind of a pity since my school's Wii games don't seem to include Guitar Hero.
Walking to Tanah Merah station from Kai Ho's house would not have been possible without Priscilla. I would've most probably gotten lost somewhere and Michael said he has a poor sense of direction. Indeed because we almost went off in the wrong direction at some road if not for Priscilla asking us to cross it. Anyway, somehow I just don't know how to talk to my ex-classmates as easily as how I talk to my choir people or my present classmates. Maybe it's because I used to be so shy and timid. And to think that people from Crescent will most probably not use those two words to describe me now. Ah well.
I managed to change my ear studs today! It was incredibly difficult at first and I was wondering if I will have the same ear studs for the rest of my life and die with them. But I got them changed in the end!! But my right earlobe hurts now. I don't know why. DD:
Labels: 6906, choir, Crez chorale, guitar
