Satoshi Yagisawa "LIVE"

Victoria Concert Hall, 20th March 2010
To The Crown
Berutness - Ship of the Sun That It Invites to Ocean
Cluster of Light from Pleiades
Birth of Life from Sea
The Honour of the King
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March Willing and Able
"The Bells of Sagrada Familia" - An Everlasting Will of Antoni Gaudi
Perseus - A Hero's Quest in the Heavens
Ephermal Dream of Prosperity
"Morning of Keith Haring" And the Darkness was Filled of Happiness

Yes, I know, the titles of the pieces look like they were fed through Babelfish.

Met Benjamin at the Esplanade's rooftop, then headed for dinner at Just Noodles at Suntec. After dinner, we attempted to find Eugene a gift, found said and headed for Victoria Concert Hall, where I discovered that our reservation wasn't present. We did get tickets though, and a CD.

I shall not comment much on the concert, because my comments are going to get boring. But suffice to say, it was brilliant. Excellent musicianship and conducting from both bands and all three conductors. For me the highlights were, of course, seeing Mr Oura in action once again and seeing Satoshi Yagisawa in action live.

I was most impressed, and moved almost to tears, by the performance RGSSB put up with Perseus. It has to be the best performance I've ever seen by a secondary school band, and was of a standard I wish RI could even reach half of.

After the concert, I was pulled aside by Mr Oura to meet Yagisawa himself. At this point, I was really touched by his actions. Not only did he give me some special token (some cute Yagisawa piece stickers), when I requested his autograph, he did it in Kanji instead of his usual English "just for me".

Had a quick photo with Yagisawa, where I introduced Benni in Japanese as "the best percussionist under Mr Oura". Benni of course was smiling happily and nodding, not knowing what I was saying. We then left for Macs and home.

This concert was one of the best I've attended. Musically, it was brilliant. I half expected to be bored after so much Yagisawa but that was not the case, as each piece had its own unique flair. NTUSB and RGSSB put up magnificent performances, and credit goes to Yiheng and Eugene among others.

On a personal level, it was good to spend some time with Benni in person. For all the talking we do on MSN, we don't see each other in person that much, and it was a good bonding experience.

Sound advice of course from Satoshi Yagisawa, music must come from the heart. I loved the way he conducted, you could see that he was pouring his heart into his conducting and that he really felt the music. I would really have loved the chance to play under his baton.

Finally, the actions of Mr Oura today left a deep mark on me. More than Yagisawa, I was really looking forward to seeing him today. As my teacher of six years, as the person who taught me music and life, I really miss him and his doing what he did, minor though his actions may be, really touched me. So, obviously, you're not reading this, but I have to say this, once again, but it won't be enough.

全て私の心から ありがとうございました