MusicFest!
Awesome :D
It's been a really long journey. And this is going to be a really long post
I remembered that I first started writing the music on February 12th. Majority of the music was out by the 19th, where I met my musicians for the first time and explained the concept of our performance, and had a short rehearsal together :)
Okay unlike last year, when I did a facepalm immediately after hearing the recording and told myself "die lah, confirm last one", this year I know we had a real chance for contention :D I have a great team and imba players, and unlike last year where BW didn't put up anything animated, this time, apart from the music, I was directing an entire act.
The next 2 weeks were filled with sooo many obstacles, but thankfully I manged to overcome all of them while preserving my sanity. It's been really tough, I suffered so many blows, and so many times I was near breaking point but I just have to press on. For once I really know how hard it is being a leader, you cannot let the entire team be affected because of you, and no matter what it is, you have to put up a strong front even though you know you're going to crumble anytime inside :)
Okay on to the performance itself. It started well with Zongmin's vocal solo and the Lion Sleeps Tonight :) The entry to the imperial march felt a bit weak cos I didn't get the accent on the first beat, but still went quite well. Fangying's solo was great too :) but I really felt like killing myself for the angry sunshine transition after that. I miscued the ending bars, and almost everyone cut off too soon so I didn't get an effective buildup to Zongmin's Yellow River solo DDD: But everything after that went quite well I guess, especially the ending :)
After that we returned to the blue room and played like 2 rounds of bridge before going back to the PAC to hear the filler performances by XD and Rock. But my mood was dampened quite considerably cos Stella asked me before that who was the Erhu player of MR and how to spell his name -.- because I know that that means Zongmin didn't get the award I wanted her to.
My prediction for standings were BB - HH - MR - BW - MT, even though I didn't hear MT play, I accidentally crashed their rehearsal on Thursday and saw the way they are ending their performance and to be honest, I was really impressed and a little scared >.< I even told Dennis and Brent that I'm not going to let the musicians listen to MT perform in case they feel intimidated.
Mr Gooi then came out to give some comments which I thought were true but a little painful for HH >.< And he went on to talk about musicality and moving away from random gimmicks and childishness, and my hopes grew.
And then the results were released.
Sng Zheng got best performer, which I already knew beforehand -.- I don't know what to say to Zongmin D: I think I gave her a lot of high hopes and expectations ): Then MR also got best performance overall, which they rightfully deserved. BW did get best arrangement, but I would have swapped that for best performer or best performance if I actually could. I really wanted my members to receive recognition D: (eh sorry MRians if any of you are reading this)
House standings:
No surprises when BB got last. (sorry evan! >.<)
Okay but when MT got 4th I had the shock of my life. I was dazed for a moment, while everyone else around me was screaming "yes!" especially the house comm members since MT are second in the IHC race now. I really thought that MT, BW and MR would fight for a top 3 finish.
HH got 3rd. Surpassed my prediction :) and everyone else was screaming because it meant that we're into the final 2.
And then BW got second :) Okay I didn't really felt that happy cos got a bit of 不甘愿 but that feeling went away quite fast and I was still very happy with the result :)
MR got first. Congrats!!! You people really deserved it! :D Even though the performance was more or less a medley of pieces, they had a wider variety of instruments, and their team dynamics and stage presence really showed through. From their unique attire to the blue ribbons. And everyone was smiling when performing on stage, really enjoying the process :) I think BW's performance was quite strict and everyone was trying to get all their notes correct >.< probably all the way until the upbeat sunshine part near the end where I finally saw a few more smiles :)
BW MF team, I love you guys omg!!! Winning is not all about the 1st place and the IHC shirt and throphies. You people are still champion in my eyes, I really thank all of you for making this 2-3 weeks so memorable for me. Hope you all enjoyed the entire process, and may BW shine at Music Fest again next year! :DDDD
BW MF'10! You guys are ♥!!!
---
Zongmin: Piano + Solo Soprano + Crash Cymbal x)
When I first thought of including the Yellow River concerto in January this year, I was taking such a huge risk because I had to have a super pro pianist. If I couldn't get one I had to scrape the entire work, but thankfully you appeared xD I can't imagine how many hours and days you spent practising your part!! Thanks for being so cooperative and supportive, always replying my smses when the rest don't x) and singing and playing the crash cymbal like I asked you to :D
Fangying: Violin
Haha when I got you initially, I heard from many people that I shouldn't expect a good attitude from you. (oops xP) But you proved critics otherwise, you came for all the rehearsals, and when you came for the entire Thursday rehearsal all the way until 6:30 and rushed to YO after that, I was really quite touched. You're wiling to sacrifice so much for this performance! Thanks for everything! like giving me musical suggestions, filling in the bowing for lumpy! Everything! :DDDD
Lumpy: Violin
Okay your attendance is the worse among all the musicians, but you made it up by staying behind for all the rehearsals you attended and had a HTHT with me on how to improve the music :) Each suggestion you gave helped me to improve the music by a lot! Like the juxtaposition of the imperial march and yellow river theme and everything. The best arrangement award wouldn't have been possible without you :)
John Yu: Cello
Walaoeh, after the first rehearsal on the 19th I was thinking whether getting you was a mistake T_T But can see that you practised a lot on your own and you improved a lot after that :) I still can't stand your random antics and "no-link" comments, but the music fest team can't do without you. It's good that when I have nothing to say there's still a cellist that I can complain about xD
Kexin: Double Bass + Guitar
Haha the inclusion of the double bass made all that difference. That low rumbling and bass support brought so much character to the music. Even though you joined us a bit later, you were a very valuable addition to the team :D
Wenyun: Piano, Timpani, Xylophone
:D Haha you are like the best lah, I think I've never seen you miss a single entry unless its due to my bad conducting and you're sooo versatile! Playing piano, spoilt timpani and adding the 16 bars xylophone melody like 10 minutes before the actual performance! Haha you were quite quiet for the first few days, I think you didn't really at home yet, but everything got better at the end :DD
Hillary: Drumset
One of the surviving members of last year’s music fest :D You've got a really bubbly character and brought so much life to the team :DD And you're really a great artist haha :D Thanks so much!!
Alastair: Clarinet
You're the very first member of the MusicFest team I recruited :D Even though I didn't really had a full idea what I wanted to write then, I know I could do with a Clarinet, you just agreed on the spot :D Thanks so much for being such a loyal friend, staying behind on Thursday night to do the puppets, and always asking me whether I needed help with anything :)
WeiQi: Trumpet + Vocal
Haha pro trumpet player, I really love your tone. You're one of the super reliable players that I can just write any thing for your part and be sure that you can play it xD And you're one of the few players who is constantly looking at me when I conduct :))) If my memory doesn't fail me, you're probably the only player who came for all the rehearsals on time and stayed through all the way. Yay :D
Xinyi: Trombone + Vocal
Haha you're super cute when you sing, lose your root note and panic x) Thanks for coming all the rehearsals! Even when you can only stay for like 15 minutes or so :D Haha I still owe you your colour pencils :D you're the only person who met me at the Parade Square that day xD
Haoteng: French Horn + Vocal + Maracus
Pro French Horn player :D To be honest, I never knew the sound of the horn was so beautiful until this music fest, where I get to hear one up close. Yay means I will be writing more for the horn in the future x) You couldn’t make it for the first few rehearsals, but you really did practise your part and when you came back again for the final week, everything was great :D All the best running for council!
Dennis
Dennis!!!! Omg thanks so much for everything. This performance will definitely be impossible without your help, like notating Zongmin’s crazy piano part, helping me write the chords for the minor sunshine, getting Ms Koh to book all the venues, doing the AV and sound setting, pulling in your OGlings to take part in this, preparing the puppets and backgrounds, everything!!!
Brent!
Brent!!!! Wah you were like an innocent guy dragged into this entire project because I just desperately needed someone to help shoulder some of the work, and you really did so willingly and without complains. Thanks for being there being there for our rehearsals, doing the visuals, choreographing the act, ponning your tuition on Thursday to help us make the puppets and everything!! If not for you and Dennis, I would have collapsed weeks ago! THANKS! :D
---
And there are still a million others who I need to thank as well!
Weiyi: Pipa
You were originally the 12th member of the music fest team, but due to the 12-performer restriction I had no choice but to take you out D: I felt so guilty that night when I told you that I had to take you out! D: But you were soooo kind and supportive that it touches me greatly. Hopefully you get to play next year!
Elizabeth, Kah Jin, Hong Shing, Huiyi, Kathy, He Jia, Chang Cheng, Tingwei, Minjian, Yuanhao, Shze Hui, Arun, Kezia: Awesome actors
Omg I’m so sorry that you guys weren’t able to put up the act because of the 12-performer restriction T_T but I’m really really grateful to you guys for agreeing to help in the first place, coming for all 3 rehearsals, and standing by me even when you people know that you’re not able to perform anymore. Thanks so much!
Huiyan for lending the double bass!
Zhiyu for doing the AV and lighting!!
Charlotte for dissuading me from spending $100 to buy the 4 Darth Vader masks for the act, that saved me so much money x) If not I think I would have really gone crazy on Monday when I know that I cannot put up the act anymore
Benni for helping me check the range of the timpanis and discuss the feasibility of "repairing" the spoilt timpanis :D
Ms Koh! Omg super nice teacher who did all the venue bookings when the music room bookings with piano ensem went haywire. The rehearsals wouldn’t have gone smoothly without you helping us to book all the LTs and venues, and especially the blue room on the day of the performance itself! All the other houses had to cramp in LT6 together x)
---
BW MusicFest'10!
You are my sunshine! :)
Our awesome puppets :D
BW ♥ MF '10!
It's been a really long journey. And this is going to be a really long post
I remembered that I first started writing the music on February 12th. Majority of the music was out by the 19th, where I met my musicians for the first time and explained the concept of our performance, and had a short rehearsal together :)
Okay unlike last year, when I did a facepalm immediately after hearing the recording and told myself "die lah, confirm last one", this year I know we had a real chance for contention :D I have a great team and imba players, and unlike last year where BW didn't put up anything animated, this time, apart from the music, I was directing an entire act.
The next 2 weeks were filled with sooo many obstacles, but thankfully I manged to overcome all of them while preserving my sanity. It's been really tough, I suffered so many blows, and so many times I was near breaking point but I just have to press on. For once I really know how hard it is being a leader, you cannot let the entire team be affected because of you, and no matter what it is, you have to put up a strong front even though you know you're going to crumble anytime inside :)
Okay on to the performance itself. It started well with Zongmin's vocal solo and the Lion Sleeps Tonight :) The entry to the imperial march felt a bit weak cos I didn't get the accent on the first beat, but still went quite well. Fangying's solo was great too :) but I really felt like killing myself for the angry sunshine transition after that. I miscued the ending bars, and almost everyone cut off too soon so I didn't get an effective buildup to Zongmin's Yellow River solo DDD: But everything after that went quite well I guess, especially the ending :)
After that we returned to the blue room and played like 2 rounds of bridge before going back to the PAC to hear the filler performances by XD and Rock. But my mood was dampened quite considerably cos Stella asked me before that who was the Erhu player of MR and how to spell his name -.- because I know that that means Zongmin didn't get the award I wanted her to.
My prediction for standings were BB - HH - MR - BW - MT, even though I didn't hear MT play, I accidentally crashed their rehearsal on Thursday and saw the way they are ending their performance and to be honest, I was really impressed and a little scared >.< I even told Dennis and Brent that I'm not going to let the musicians listen to MT perform in case they feel intimidated.
Mr Gooi then came out to give some comments which I thought were true but a little painful for HH >.< And he went on to talk about musicality and moving away from random gimmicks and childishness, and my hopes grew.
And then the results were released.
Sng Zheng got best performer, which I already knew beforehand -.- I don't know what to say to Zongmin D: I think I gave her a lot of high hopes and expectations ): Then MR also got best performance overall, which they rightfully deserved. BW did get best arrangement, but I would have swapped that for best performer or best performance if I actually could. I really wanted my members to receive recognition D: (eh sorry MRians if any of you are reading this)
House standings:
No surprises when BB got last. (sorry evan! >.<)
Okay but when MT got 4th I had the shock of my life. I was dazed for a moment, while everyone else around me was screaming "yes!" especially the house comm members since MT are second in the IHC race now. I really thought that MT, BW and MR would fight for a top 3 finish.
HH got 3rd. Surpassed my prediction :) and everyone else was screaming because it meant that we're into the final 2.
And then BW got second :) Okay I didn't really felt that happy cos got a bit of 不甘愿 but that feeling went away quite fast and I was still very happy with the result :)
MR got first. Congrats!!! You people really deserved it! :D Even though the performance was more or less a medley of pieces, they had a wider variety of instruments, and their team dynamics and stage presence really showed through. From their unique attire to the blue ribbons. And everyone was smiling when performing on stage, really enjoying the process :) I think BW's performance was quite strict and everyone was trying to get all their notes correct >.< probably all the way until the upbeat sunshine part near the end where I finally saw a few more smiles :)
BW MF team, I love you guys omg!!! Winning is not all about the 1st place and the IHC shirt and throphies. You people are still champion in my eyes, I really thank all of you for making this 2-3 weeks so memorable for me. Hope you all enjoyed the entire process, and may BW shine at Music Fest again next year! :DDDD
BW MF'10! You guys are ♥!!!
---Zongmin: Piano + Solo Soprano + Crash Cymbal x)
When I first thought of including the Yellow River concerto in January this year, I was taking such a huge risk because I had to have a super pro pianist. If I couldn't get one I had to scrape the entire work, but thankfully you appeared xD I can't imagine how many hours and days you spent practising your part!! Thanks for being so cooperative and supportive, always replying my smses when the rest don't x) and singing and playing the crash cymbal like I asked you to :D
Fangying: Violin
Haha when I got you initially, I heard from many people that I shouldn't expect a good attitude from you. (oops xP) But you proved critics otherwise, you came for all the rehearsals, and when you came for the entire Thursday rehearsal all the way until 6:30 and rushed to YO after that, I was really quite touched. You're wiling to sacrifice so much for this performance! Thanks for everything! like giving me musical suggestions, filling in the bowing for lumpy! Everything! :DDDD
Lumpy: Violin
Okay your attendance is the worse among all the musicians, but you made it up by staying behind for all the rehearsals you attended and had a HTHT with me on how to improve the music :) Each suggestion you gave helped me to improve the music by a lot! Like the juxtaposition of the imperial march and yellow river theme and everything. The best arrangement award wouldn't have been possible without you :)
John Yu: Cello
Walaoeh, after the first rehearsal on the 19th I was thinking whether getting you was a mistake T_T But can see that you practised a lot on your own and you improved a lot after that :) I still can't stand your random antics and "no-link" comments, but the music fest team can't do without you. It's good that when I have nothing to say there's still a cellist that I can complain about xD
Kexin: Double Bass + Guitar
Haha the inclusion of the double bass made all that difference. That low rumbling and bass support brought so much character to the music. Even though you joined us a bit later, you were a very valuable addition to the team :D
Wenyun: Piano, Timpani, Xylophone
:D Haha you are like the best lah, I think I've never seen you miss a single entry unless its due to my bad conducting and you're sooo versatile! Playing piano, spoilt timpani and adding the 16 bars xylophone melody like 10 minutes before the actual performance! Haha you were quite quiet for the first few days, I think you didn't really at home yet, but everything got better at the end :DD
Hillary: Drumset
One of the surviving members of last year’s music fest :D You've got a really bubbly character and brought so much life to the team :DD And you're really a great artist haha :D Thanks so much!!
Alastair: Clarinet
You're the very first member of the MusicFest team I recruited :D Even though I didn't really had a full idea what I wanted to write then, I know I could do with a Clarinet, you just agreed on the spot :D Thanks so much for being such a loyal friend, staying behind on Thursday night to do the puppets, and always asking me whether I needed help with anything :)
WeiQi: Trumpet + Vocal
Haha pro trumpet player, I really love your tone. You're one of the super reliable players that I can just write any thing for your part and be sure that you can play it xD And you're one of the few players who is constantly looking at me when I conduct :))) If my memory doesn't fail me, you're probably the only player who came for all the rehearsals on time and stayed through all the way. Yay :D
Xinyi: Trombone + Vocal
Haha you're super cute when you sing, lose your root note and panic x) Thanks for coming all the rehearsals! Even when you can only stay for like 15 minutes or so :D Haha I still owe you your colour pencils :D you're the only person who met me at the Parade Square that day xD
Haoteng: French Horn + Vocal + Maracus
Pro French Horn player :D To be honest, I never knew the sound of the horn was so beautiful until this music fest, where I get to hear one up close. Yay means I will be writing more for the horn in the future x) You couldn’t make it for the first few rehearsals, but you really did practise your part and when you came back again for the final week, everything was great :D All the best running for council!
Dennis
Dennis!!!! Omg thanks so much for everything. This performance will definitely be impossible without your help, like notating Zongmin’s crazy piano part, helping me write the chords for the minor sunshine, getting Ms Koh to book all the venues, doing the AV and sound setting, pulling in your OGlings to take part in this, preparing the puppets and backgrounds, everything!!!
Brent!
Brent!!!! Wah you were like an innocent guy dragged into this entire project because I just desperately needed someone to help shoulder some of the work, and you really did so willingly and without complains. Thanks for being there being there for our rehearsals, doing the visuals, choreographing the act, ponning your tuition on Thursday to help us make the puppets and everything!! If not for you and Dennis, I would have collapsed weeks ago! THANKS! :D
---
And there are still a million others who I need to thank as well!
Weiyi: Pipa
You were originally the 12th member of the music fest team, but due to the 12-performer restriction I had no choice but to take you out D: I felt so guilty that night when I told you that I had to take you out! D: But you were soooo kind and supportive that it touches me greatly. Hopefully you get to play next year!
Elizabeth, Kah Jin, Hong Shing, Huiyi, Kathy, He Jia, Chang Cheng, Tingwei, Minjian, Yuanhao, Shze Hui, Arun, Kezia: Awesome actors
Omg I’m so sorry that you guys weren’t able to put up the act because of the 12-performer restriction T_T but I’m really really grateful to you guys for agreeing to help in the first place, coming for all 3 rehearsals, and standing by me even when you people know that you’re not able to perform anymore. Thanks so much!
Huiyan for lending the double bass!
Zhiyu for doing the AV and lighting!!
Charlotte for dissuading me from spending $100 to buy the 4 Darth Vader masks for the act, that saved me so much money x) If not I think I would have really gone crazy on Monday when I know that I cannot put up the act anymore
Benni for helping me check the range of the timpanis and discuss the feasibility of "repairing" the spoilt timpanis :D
Ms Koh! Omg super nice teacher who did all the venue bookings when the music room bookings with piano ensem went haywire. The rehearsals wouldn’t have gone smoothly without you helping us to book all the LTs and venues, and especially the blue room on the day of the performance itself! All the other houses had to cramp in LT6 together x)
---
BW MusicFest'10!
You are my sunshine! :)
Our awesome puppets :D
BW ♥ MF '10!Labels: BW ♥ MF '10
posted by hongrui at
3/06/2010 11:01:00 AM
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