Cantare
On 27th May we had our last performance as the 06/07 rioHC batch. I don't ever wanna forget that day. But I dunno if I'll manage to capture all the memories in this post. At least we've got tons of photos and the professional recording done by the esplanade people.
Met with most of the Summer group at City Hall in the morning. Joel Sera Miaoqin and.. wow that's all eh. Yuhan was late. Jonny didn't wanna lug a box of concert pamphlets around, and yuntian was at marina square already. Some of the juniors were there also. We left first, for Marina Square. Somehow we always end up at the foodcourt. Hm.
Joe and Yuhan came later. I went to get food but ended up going with Joe to help Lynnette carry her oh-so-heavy grand total of ONE box of pamphlets (wow we need two people for that lol). Yeah but I wanted to repay my debt, cos she brought me the much needed handphone charger (i forgot the charge my phone the day before). Oh and while we were looking for lynnette we found Defeng Jingzhi Boyang at BK. Just the three of them happily eating away at their double whoppers.
Took quite a while to find Lynnette. Almost got lost. Whoops. Some of the juniors were at Marina Square already when we got back. I ate the bak chor mee. Same thing I ate that night after SYF. Then I decided I wasn't full enough and I went to get popiah. Had to go before I could finish off one though. Logistics were supposed to meet earlier to prepare the rooms backstage. So junyao and I rushed off.
And we got there on time! Not bad. Quite a lot of the choir people were there at the concourse already. We headed down to meet Mr Quek. He'd already scanned all the backstage passes. So we just went in to prepare the rooms - which basically consisted of unlocking the doors and placing signs into the slots in the doors. Hm.
The Esplanade Backstage is really a maze man. And there's 3 levels. And the dressing rooms. Wow. I laughed when I recalled the.. er "dressing rooms" the guys had to squeeze in last year during our concert day at VCH. The toilets are really clean, the smaller rooms are like hotel rooms, and the two large ones the college choir used were so... er clean. They had individual lights for each mirror. To simulate the stage lights, I'm told. Oh and the key's really cool. Some ball-bearing thing. You can here something in the lock moving after you insert the key. Everything's really new. Well, I guess that's cos it is new. But enough about that.
We ( the logistics comm) went up to get the rest. Seok and I led the Fingerprints people. Oh man we almost got lost. Couldn't find the rooms at first. I wonder how they designed the place. We found the rooms in the end of course. Really embarrassing... Ah well.
When I returned to join the J2 guys (guys and girls had a large dressing room each) they were almost done with warm-ups already. Haha it was kinda weird- maybe the room was sorta sound-proof, cos I could hear our voices echoing in the adjoining toilet. Hm. Ok nvm.
We had a final tech run on stage. It went quite okay I guess. Except for the Summer of 69 thing. I was rather disappointed that we were taken out... but it was for the good of the concert. Yup. We just couldn't perform our usual on stage for some reason. I keep thinking it's cos the mike balance was off cos our formation was different from the other group's so for example the mike the bass used for Our Story was given to the tenor. Haha. Just a theory.
At the end of the final run-through miss lim talked to us for a bit. She's right. We've been a troublesome batch. I remembered then I thought back to all the past events. Like someone said before, we've had a lot of ups and downs, downs being more. But our 'ups' are truly worth all the effort But she's also right that we're a good batch. With 'the potential'. Our last chance to prove ourselves was that night man. What miss ho said to us after really struck me. How the last practice the day before concert ended really was in a way fitting for our batch. "Drama to the end", as she put it. Yes, drama to the end, and not for nothing..
We went to the artiste lounge for our dinner, catered by Job's dad's company- Elsie's Kitchen haha. The food was GOOD. For $4 I'd say it's really worth it. Much better than Yong Chye or Golden Rooster.
Went back to the changing rooms to change after dinner. I really must learn how to tie a tie some day. Junyao Hewlett and I had to leave early to bring the concert pamphlets up to the area outside the concert hall, and when we got back the choir was outside the stage door waiting already. And so Cantare begin.
I remember really giving my all during the final moments of Mate. I remember having just one thought in my mind (not the lyrics whoops) singing Si Nanay- "it's our last time." I remember feeling the excitement of Jap Game. And haha I remember thinking, "wah our delengdenglengdeng's very off" during the beginning of MaYiLa.
There's so much more. I don't wanna forget. May 27 was the last time ever we were on stage together as a batch. The batch that withstood so many trials and went through so much.
Hwa Chong Choir 2007.
hyperxi's life @
5/30/2007 05:06:00 pm
One last day.
Had our last ever official practice today.
Our time in choir is ending soon.
Okay no cannot be sad yet. Tmr we go and sing our hearts out. Happily. And go off with no regrets.Labels: choir
hyperxi's life @
5/26/2007 11:11:00 pm
Depression
Aargh. It's just hit me. Finally. The realisation that after this Sunday, there's no more choir. We didn't get picked for choral presentation. So no extension of our time in choir. Only two days left.
How I wish these two days would go on forever...Labels: choir
hyperxi's life @
5/25/2007 10:58:00 pm
GOLD WITH HONOURS. We did it.
So much happened today. I wanna write everything down, so I'll never forget. But I'm quite tired. Just got back half an hour ago. hm. Ok I'll write a bit. And add in stuff here and there another time when I've settled down and reflected more.
Woke up at 5.29 today. Okay I woke up another time before that, at 11plus pm!! Cos my brother was sleeping later than me (for the first time since dunno when). I remember getting quite pissed cos I thought it was near 5.30 already and I was still feeling tired. Then I looked at the clock. 11plus. Cheh. Then I slept all the way till 5.29. Got up and turned off the alarm.
Met cheryl chang on the bus. She went off when we reached school to go help some other j1s bun their hair. I made my way to the AVT. Some other people were already in school at the class benches la. Crazy. So early. To study? Sleep? Dunno.
I remember when I was nearing the avt I noticed a pair of rather small legs protruding from behind the er small 'wall' beside the door. Sarah. She was just sitting there with her zen player (not ipod!), leaning against the wall. Okay....
Walked in to see... hm... can't really remember. Oh ya, joel ( he was charging his phone in the avt wth. "i forgot to charge my phone!" ) And a few juniors. Can't remember. Oh and kaixuan went running! Ooh. And jason jnr followed. In school uniform (...)
Ahh everything in the avt went by so quickly. The warmups were the more tiring ones I've ever done. I perspired a LOT. And we did quite a lot of warmups. Oh ya before that (after the stretching) we went to change. On time finally, for once. Hoekit's not a bad hair-stylist. haha. He did my hair quite well- although it wasn't much different. Ah well. I'll use gel for concert!
Ms Lim popped by. I felt a surge of emotion during the short test-runs for our songs. Really felt empowered.
Then Mrs Chin popped by! Wah. Stress. We did Mate Saule for her. Hm... it wasn't that well done la, but she was very pleased anw haha. (she also went down for syf)
It got really hectic towards the end! After all the singing, that is. All the extra bags, leftover belongings... aargh! Made me wished we had a better plan. But I guess it still would've been hectic no matter what...
The bus trip wasn't that long. I sat right at the back, facing the aisle, staring straight at the clock at the front of the bus. Johnny on my left, hoe kit on my right. I was trying to focus (couldn't really)... Johnny kept fidgeting, putting his leg up on the right armrest of jianyi's seat... haha.
Oh man the events at VCH went by even quicker! We gathered outside the registration area- outside VT. And sung a bit. Then we got ushered up to some rehersal room. Kinda small. Ah well.
We spent a lot of time at the aisles, waiting for our turn. Cos before us was a break. I got more and more nervous. Maybe if we didn't wait that long... the spirit would've been higher. Ah well. Can't change that. Can't change anything for that matter. I told myself and others to go up and sing with no regrets. Dunno if I can say so for myself...
Song Without Words II really affected my morale cos... aargh the song sucks! But ya fine it's our fault for singing out of tune for some parts... haha. I still like the guy's "wavy" dong dong dong dong dong dong" though.. Hm.
Tried to come back for Mate Saule. OKay... on hindsight I think I probably did my best. My best in terms of after being a little demoralised. And we as a whole came back! So yeah. No problem. Oh man that last Ah for basses. I didn't come in and came in later as planned ( and sang the previous "DE BE SIS" part damn loud to cover for junyao who was preparing the B note ). Almost forgot to come in haha. But I did. Yeah.
And Jap Game was... exciting! I could feel the pulse! Not for all parts though. Maybe cos I was focusing too much on trying to get my expressions right... haha.
Actually I didn't feel very comfortable as a whole on stage. But I put on the right expressions so it wasn't so bad I guess.
And that was just the events up to 11.15. I shan't talk about the other choirs we got to observed before our session was over. Oh wait. Okay must say a bit. NY was... wah. Their animals sounds very realistic lol. No comments. And AC was very clean. Their SWWII was very impressive...
After that we dilly-dallied a while, before heading out for lunch! The comm had a lunch-then-meeting. The 3 teachers in charge treated us! Thank you Mr Quek, Ms Ng and Ms Ho! We ate a place which was supposedly one of the liverpool hotspots. Okay......
Had our meeting at Macs cos the liverpool place wasn't conducive. Went quite fast actually. Then we started talking about all sorts off other stuff. Yay fun. Haha we almost didn't wanna go back. All of us were dreading the results. Cos after we came out of VCH the alumni were saying we were quite messy for Jap Game (we didn't feel it was rushed ourselves actually. oh well) among other stuff. And Ms Lim even told kai and johnny to be prepared to settle for a gold. So yeah we were really nervous and afraid!
Went back at 3.30. wait or was it 4.30? Can't remember already. Oh man that was a really... strange experience. Cos we went in a little late, so we had no seats. So... we sat on the floor beside the hwachong 'camp'. The people came and chased us away. Wth. So we (zoe sarah yuhan huiying donald ziyuan me) went out and decided to listen at the sides. At that time I was already feeling quite irritated.. and just upset. Cos it was my first and last SYF! I wanted to watch the judges and everything! I didn't wanna just listen from behind the door. Then one of those people in charge ( I shall just refer to them as.. "them") gave us false hope, telling us to go up, cos they opened up "upstairs" for all those who got chased out (apparently in VCH even though it's not a concert, we must follow concert etiquette.) So we did. And had the door closed on us. Wth. So we went back to our 'hiding place'.
One of "them" spotted us and yay he was understanding. "I never saw you, you never saw me". But then not long after some other guy came and chased us away. But he told us he could find seats for us. I was quite skeptical. Hm. But we did have seats in the end. Separated. But better than nothing. I ended up sitting with yuhan.
Then came the long wait. It wasn't just cos we were nervous. Actually I was getting kinda sleepy. I think I saw ziyuan and sarah up front falling asleep haha. Yeah but they made us wait really long before the whole results things started.
Some woman came out and introduced the judges who came out one by one. (does ko mat ever comb his hair...)
And so the announcing of results began.
We were the fifth choir. Not much of a wait.
Choir No.3. National Junior College. Gold. with honours.
A lot ran through my mind then. A lot of what ifs. But I didn't have much time to start getting worried so...
Choir No.5. Hwa Chong Institution. Gold.
I started clapping upon hearing Gold. Dunno why. Hm.
"with honours"
I remember clenching both fists, leaning back into my seat and saying "YES!". Yuhan said she was hitting me. Hm. Either she remembered wrongly or I was just too excited. Oh ya and it wasn't what like what I imagined (both my reaction and how the person announced. There was no long pause la...)
After the initial excitement came a huge sense of relief. Then we went over to join the rest at the other side of VCH. Passed by Ms Lim on the way. She didn't look very elated. Cos all the other conductors were around man. I think she sort of patted me on the shoulder:) Hm can't remember exactly already. We stayed back for the "feedback/dialogue" session. Rather boring. Haha I was trying very hard to pay attention and look interested. The swedish judge seemed to keep staring at us. I hope it wasn't cos we were to rowdy.. Ah well.
Ms Lim met us outside VCH. Yeah, she told us, and we knew- we didn't do our absolute best. But still, we deserve it man. We got it. GWH.
We've come a long way man. Even up to the last practice, we still had doubts. And I think we still had on stage. But we did it. WE DID IT. No doubts. Like johnny said, the judges don't give GwH for nothing la. Yes, other choirs who deserved it but didn't get cos of other issues (shan't name here) also should have got it. But that wouldn't have affected our results. So yes. Let's take pride in the fact that we continued the legacy. Gold With Honours.
Oh yes, and prove that we more than deserve the GwH on May 27th.
We went for dinner after that. Marina Square foodcourt again. The bak chor mee is really not bad.. Liver. Yum.
A few of us went to esplanade for a while.
AARGH JOHNNY FIND YOUKNOWWHAT. (don't think he even reads my blog. ah well)
Okay I might add more afterthoughts. Might. But I've redeemed myself already after not blogging for one month eh?Labels: choir
hyperxi's life @
5/08/2007 11:11:00 pm
We are Hwa Chong Choir.
Quote from Kai's email/blog:
"It feels so surreal to know that in 2 days time, the event which we've been working for for the past year will come to pass. And in just that short 15 minutes everything which we've done will be done. And that there are no more second chances, no more 'that was horrible, do itagain'; because once we start, we start, and once we end, we end, andthat will be it. We are the SYF batch with the 'potential' and everything we've been through has been a stepping stone in leading up to that moment on stage. So we say we want to prove ourselves. This is the best time to do it. We are one of the top choirs in the country. We are good and we know it, believe it. We are the Hwa Chong Choir, and my dears, YOU are in Hwa Chong Choir. So fight for it. We've been so pragmatic that I think it'll do us some good to just let all the worries and fears go, and hope for it, hope for it with all our heart. There's nothing wrong with aiming for the best, whether for yourself or for the collective group. Or are we just afraid to hurt ourselves? Have you ever tried letting yourself go, let your heart go, wanted something so badly? Why not give it a try now? Dare to dream. So cliche but true."
It's here. The day. Tomorrow, May 8 2007, we'll go up on stage, casting aside our fears, our reservations. No hesitation. No doubts. No regrets. Up there we'll show everyone what Hwa Chong Choir is made of.
The result's uncertain, but just thinking that tomorrow afternoon I might be part of the 68 strong group who continued the rioHC legacy, who achieved GWH- it's a dream worth fighting for. 1.5 years, all for 15 minutes. just 15 hours more to go.
I wanna wow the audience with Mate Saule, and keep them at the edge of their seats with Jap Game. We can do it. We've done it a few times before. But we can do even better. Tomorrow. It's now or never.
It only really hit me this morning. But I'm kinda numb now. Not very nervous. Just.. empowered. Maybe I shouldn't think about it too much. So I can sleep... haha.
May 8th. The defining moment of our batch. Potential realised, or potential wasted?
Labels: choir
hyperxi's life @
5/07/2007 08:30:00 pm
