I need some warmth

And no, this is not literal considering the average temperature is in the low 30s. I guess one of the things I miss most about pre-NS life is the warmth of the school, of Raffles. It felt really nice to feel appreciated, even if only for a while and not by many. Now, as I look back and think of all who meant so much to me in those days who I have since lost... life just feels so empty. I need the Rafflesian Spirit back. To all those in Raffles now who don't believe in it, well, I guess sometimes the only way to understand what it is is to lose it...

3 years on, the magic lives on (somewhat)

21st July 2006, the most memorable day of my life in RIMB, and to this day remains the day of a concert that has touched my life forever, despite it's technical flaws. RIMB performed as one on that day, a feeling I've found hard to come by since. I'm just going to repost some quotes, as I believe that they capture the essence of what Prometheum XI was to us all back then, and what it still is for me.'

"Prometheum, has come and gone… it is now part of the glorious history of our band. It was a great concert, and I have played my part in making it great. I can’t possible describe the sensation of performing on stage, the feeling of nervousness, the exhilaration, the joy, and the regrets…"

" It was a night of passion. No, not in that sense.

We played our hearts out. And when Mr Oura smiled, we smiled.

No matter the screw ups (and there were few). We were one band. One heart. One soul."


"i luv RIMB.

we owned.

1st half only a few nice songs. when ensembles took place, magic happened. something forgettable turned into a night of colour. ... went back to school, at around 10+ did unite cheer around 11+ and band cheer too totally loud. had supper b4 going home with eric and jiahui.

still reading the note by brian, dunno what's going to happen to us after they leave.

we still owned.

i luv RIMB."



"That's something I won't forget for a long time.

It's amazing you know, that some things when you practice you keep screwing up, but when it comes to the actual performance, you do it flawlessly.

At least I got to play the drumset part XD

Percussions <3 Special mention for Brian KinChun Jerald Benjamin and Wentao! "


"<3 my class and the guys who came, <3 my section, <3 my batch, <3 the band

we met the bigtime and totally owned it"


"aniwae it was good experience and Im glad I was in (The Best Country)Singapore, (The Best School)RI, in (The Best CCA)RIMB, in (The Best Section) Saxophones and Lower Woodwinds, and playing the best instrument (Bassoon). how was the layout? impressive??? i thought soo..."

" ytd was prometheum XI
very very happy very very high
i'm proud of the trumpets
i'm proud of jeremy
i'm proud of pok
i'm very very proud of rimb
gogo rimb"



"
In the end, that was probably the most memorable night of my life. We all played well, the audience was fascinated, Mr Oura was happy, the band was happy. This band certainly has more passion and dedication than the band that went in for Prometheum X. I'm proud of us."









I think that says it all... I really really miss my batch and those days in RIMB, of the band cheers and the fall-ins, but most of all Prometheum XI, our concert, our crowning moment. I cannot help but think about those happier days, as mundane as my life is now. I wish with all my heart that my batch, and the RIMB of old, can be reunited someday. An impossible dream, really. But even if all I have to hold on too are the faint memories, those are some darned good memories at that.

Dreams

Have you ever had the feeling, where you listen to a piece of music and you can't stop wishing that just once, you would have the chance to play that music, to be a part of the glorious melodies, basses and whatever else makes up that music? It's just sound, really, sound arranged in a particular manner, but there's something else too, definitely.

Will I ever get a chance to play my two dream pieces on stage? Maybe, maybe not, but I really hope so. I actually have a lot of pieces I would love to play, but most of those pieces I'm dying to play are those that I've already played before (eg Monument, Hymn of the Highlands). But there are 2 of them, by the same composer and in the same style, that I've never played, yet I feel compelled towards them...

One day. One day I will get the chance.

In the Limelight once more

Well, the big first event of the year, probably my last concert in the Esplanade, unless we get into the SIBF finals, I get into SAF Band or I get invited back to RJCSB as a guest player RWinds plays there sometime. I'm not going to lie and say that this was the most meaningful day of my life, or that this was the most satisfying concert I've played in, because that honour still belongs to Prometheum XI and Coda IV. However, it was still a good night.

Today marks the first performance I've had in over 6 months, the first I've had in the Esplanade for over a year, and the first time I'm guest playing in RJCSB (I refuse to call it RIJC Band). Overall I would not say that it was technically brilliant, but I wouldn't say it sucked either, and I think the main problem was really a lack of time to practice to make a reasonably good concert a great one.

The morning, as with last year, consisted of heading off to Bishan via Esplanade, with a quick stop at the rooftop to grab photos. Once there I met up with the band members for lunch at the canteen, which I really miss. Warm up went quite well and instruments were moved with relative efficiency. I won't go into too much details about the moving process, since they're relatively similar to the usual, except for a few interesting details.


1. I managed to leave my notes to people at home. Then I bought new ones at J8. Then I left those in the varese -.-. Luckily I managed to source some spares from Ziluo to use. I actually got the notes ready this time.


2. The truck devolved into one without a lift, although that may have decreased loading time a little. The truck evolved into one with a lift controlled by foot buttons, quite interesting.


3. I never knew there was a stage door near the bus stop/mall side of the Esplanade, first floor near the library We used the mall side stage door again.

The pre-concert proceedings were as usual (and I find it quite sad in a way that concerts are becoming so routine...). Soundcheck was decent, and we settled all our gimmicks and movements beforehand. Dinner was, as usual, spicy, but for once it was not intolerable. I gave out some gifts but saved my section for later.

By 7:15 we had lined up in the all too familiar backstage area and we proceeded to walk in and see... a rather full stall but completely empty circles, which was quite sad but not totally unexpected. Our first piece was an old favorite, namely...

An army of Singaporeans doing what they do best along...

the Nile river.

Our first piece was Army of the Nile, with without Mr Oura walking in halfway. I think we did pretty well, and the song brought back fond memories of RIMB 2006 and A Tempo XIX
Having been repeated many many times, this piece has a lot of history for me, and began tugging at my heartstrings from the first note. Playing Army of the Nile on stage at the Esplanade once more was reminiscent of A Tempo XIX, the Saga Maligna of my band concert history. I enjoyed revisiting this piece for what may well be my last time.

After that rousing opener we proceeded to...

Ardross Castle
Alladale

Dundonnell

Hymn of the Highlands was my dream piece for this concert, as I'm sure those of you who know me well enough may have guessed. Sadly, due to lack of preparedness and tension, Ardross was not played all that well, in my opinion. Alladale, however, was nicely done by the three other saxes, and I am duly impressed, especially by Huijun, as it is definitely not easy to stand in front of a large audience and play such a solo. Dundonnell sounded better, and I found myself tearing slightly as I heard that emotional bagpipe melody come forth near the end.

The green sleeves of the new SAF No.4 shirt

This piece was played reasonably well, lyrically and expressively. I didn't touch this piece much, nor is it of a lot of significance except the resemblance to At Wit's End, so not much comments here. Daphnis Et Chloe

Delibrately skipping the next song is in my best interests because I... whatever. Actually, having only played the piece once or twice at most, and not being too familiar with it, I have not much to say. Furthermore, it's the SYF piece for the rest of the band, and I am really in no way qualified to comment on whether the piece was good or bad, not really understanding the music that much

The intermission was a boring one, nothing much to say here. It was quite brief with not much going on other than some rehearsals on the movements for the second half's pieces.

We moved back on stage in time for:

A demand curve, showing the quantity that consumers are willing and able to pay at a set price

My first time playing a Yagisawa piece on stage, this one was quite nicely done I think. Not impressive, but good nonetheless. I maintain that it sounds like the Star Alliance theme.

A Condor 757-300 (commonly referred to as a 753)

Given the lack of time we had to prepare this piece, I'm pleasantly surprised at the way it turned out, sounding rather happy and light, as it is meant to be. Still doesn't hold a candle to Seventh Night though.

A little pigeon, known in Japanese as "Hato Poppo"

PDQ Bach would be proud of this little musical joke, which was pulled off nicely, especially, I think, the saxophone soli. Really nice work there, and I enjoyed trying to figure out where the various segments were stolen from.


George Gershwin, famous American musician

Another piece which I think was well done, being familiar to some of the band members from Con BRIo. I hope my solo here could actually be heard, but even if it wasn't, the piece was fun to play and received well.

After giving Mr Oura some well deserved thanks and the RJCSB teachers in charge some thanks too, we proceeded with the last piece before the encore.

Movie poster for a random movie

The last piece was again a samba, which was fun to play, though not as much as the encore yet to come. The gimmick we had at the end of the sax soli was an epic failure, but otherwise we played well and had fun.

Three guesses what the encore was. You're right, its:

Takarajima, part of the Tokara Island chain in Japan


RJCSB's Takarajima

The audience kept calling for encores, so we decided to give them two one. In it's third fourth year serving as an RJCSB encore piece, Takarajima brought the house down with it's lively tune and hyped up rhythms and even better sax solo.

I have to say that before this, I was feeling a little emotionless throughout the concert, as I normally am these days. However, right from the start of this piece, the emotions came rushing back. I don't think I've ever felt so high and emotional on or off stage at any point before, nor do I think I will anytime soon (oh wait did I say this about last year's Takarajima?). Regardless I really really enjoyed playing this piece, and my hat really goes off to Samuel. The rest of the band, as well as Mr Oura, were enjoying themselves and overall it was really nice.

After the concert, we made a quick move, as there wasn't much time to meet people. Met a few of my good friends, some RI sec 4s and RWinds members, then proceeded back to school for some informal gift exchanging with the section.

I have to say, this concert was not technically well done, and musically there was a little lacking. This is probably due to the lack of time, as the potential was there. Perhaps if the concert were in August it would have been much better. Regardless, it was ok, with some good reviews from audience members, and I think we did quite well given the constraints.

I also have to say that I enjoyed the practices and the concert a lot more than last year. The band has been really welcoming and fun to be around, especially after a hard day's work, and the pieces were fun to play.

I have to thank my batchmates, RWinds members and other friends eg Calvin and Hafiz for coming down to watch the concert, and I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed playing in it.

Also, I have to thank my wonderful juniors for their support and for making the band what it is. I do hope to continue making good music with you all in Coda V. I have to make special mention of Benni, who's been a real help to me getting through some tough times, offering encouragement when I felt down and random chat when I'm bored. Hope that we can work together on making V a great success!

Finally I have to thank my wonderful section, Zhenyi, Huijun, Jiawei and especially Samuel, for making my short 1 months worth of band reservice what it was. I really enjoyed the time we've spent together and hope to see more of you all. Thanks, from the bottom of my heart, for giving me the chance to perform under the baton of Mr Oura, to wear the band uniform with pride and to once again give all I have on stage.

Well, one more chapter of my band life closed, reluctant as I am to let it, and it is time to focus on RWinds and making it work.

Last practice (again)

Well today was once again my last practice with RJCSB (hopefully I'll have a few more though). I really enjoyed the past couple of months playing under Mr Oura again, and alongside some great friends, some who I've known for the past 5 or 6 years, others who I got to know through RWinds last year and still others who I've just got to know, but all are really great people.

If I said the past couple of months have been going smoothly for the band, I'd be lying. Of course, there have been many problems to overcome and many hard times to pull through, but pull through they did. The last couple of pracs I went for showed marked improvement, and I've also grown to like the repertoire quite a lot. Army of the Nile and Takarajima are old favourites, Shichi-Go-San is reminiscent of the beauty that is 7th Night, Poppo-Poppo reminds me of PDQ Bach, and of course, Hymn of the Highlands, which was love at first hear.

I can't say that Limelight will be a very significant concert for me (to the level of Coda IV or Prometheum XI), which is probably a given since I'm a guest player. However, I can say that this has been one of the most enjoyable practice seasons I've had, and besides being the first concert I'm guest playing in, I think this will also be one of the more enjoyable performances.

The band has been really great, and I enjoyed playing alongside my juniors in the J1 and J2 batch again, such as Benni and Alastair. But the people who made this one really special for me were my section, who welcomed me with open arms and never failed to make practices fun and meaningful. Huijun and Zhenyi I barely knew of course, save for Coda pracs and crashing Jinjun's various outings with Huijun, but they've been really nice and fun to be around. Samuel and Jiawei, two of my old sectionmates from RIMB, were always around providing free entertainment trying to outdo each other.






Tomorrow's the concert, so let's do this thing.

The Seventh Night of July

This is one of my favourite band works for a good reason, it's really beautiful. As it is currently the eponymous seventh night of July, thought I'd share the joy. This is a piece that has seen me through some truly happy times, and of course Coda IV's rendition of it is one of my most played. Just listen and enjoy (though pity it's not ours)

Saxophone outing at Orchard!

Today was, I have to say, one of the better days of my life this year. Saxophone section outing was really good, short though it was. Hearkens back to the old days of RIMB saxes 2006, we had Jeremy, myself, Samuel, Bertrand and Huijun (not from RIMB 06 but nevertheless part of the Raffles saxophone family). Dinner was at Subway, since sadly Billy Bombers axed their 2 for 1, but lanning BF2 was fun. Fourth of July fireworks abound, and the moment of the day has to be the co-ordinated F-35 strike on the Gulf of Oman map.

All in all a good day, hope we have more of these section outings in future.