A Tempo XX

Let's take a trip back in time, just a few days short of 2 years, back to the 26th of May 2008...
It was a school holiday, so I woke up relatively late at around 10am, then headed for the Esplanade via car, before transferring to the MRT to school.

Flash back to today. Unlike then, I woke up at 5am in order to reach camp by 7am, then spent the full day at work.

Pre-concert was a whirl of activity, the usual concert stuff. Of course, the fact that it was in the Esplanade made things slightly different, but the familiar still held.

After work, I took a cab down to Raffles City, where I tried to find nice gifts for people, but ended up buying various types of "flowers" for people. Had a rushed dinner with Paul and Eugene, then headed for the age-old Victoria Concert Hall. It didn't strike me then, but this would be the last concert I would ever watch in that hall. Fitting that it be RJCSB's A Tempo XX

A Tempo XIX - Love Knows Not of Death or Calculus Above the Simple Sum of Heart Plus Heart - This line adorned the front of our programme booklet, intricately designed in full colour, and featuring heavily our theme of love.

A Tempo XX was emblazoned on the front of the programme, resembling not so much that of the previous A Tempo than that of Coda V, with photographs of the Golden Gate Bridge, Mt. Fuji and an airliner landing over an array of approach lights.

Of course, before the concert, there was a mad exchange of giving gifts and notes and receiving them. I gave out stuff ranging from a DVD to a box of "Chicken McNuggets", and received... absolutely nothing, other than notes I mean. Not totally unexpected though.

While it was surely a night of musical enjoyment and appreciation, it was really hard to ignore the fact that many of the people sitting (and standing) in front of us were people that I once played with.

Before.

It was a surreal feeling. This is the first time I've watched RJCSB since graduating, and unlike the times when I was watching RIMB, since I knew many of the people on stage, it was really hard to ignore that fact.

It's a feeling hard to describe. Their batch of J2s were the people I had known since I was sec 3, and played alongside all the way till last year. And surely, no one will be able to forget aobut the times we had, the songs we sang together?

RJCSB occupies a special, inerasable part of my heart.

It's guilt, it's regret. All the endless possibilities, of things that I could have done with this band 2 years, even 1 year ago, that I did not accomplish. During the concert I was alone and took a moment to ponder about all of these. I stifled a tear out.

Hearing the music, I couldn't help but noticing that those were not faceless, nameless people on stage as is usually the case, but people like Samuel, Benjamin, Alastair, Huijun, Zhenyi, Yethong..... the list goes on. I saw them both as people and as the musicians they were, adding to the emotional rollercoaster I never expected to feel.

You could say that I was going like, "ugh why do they have to start with Army of the Nile"? It brings back way too many memories.

Our first piece was Army of the Nile, with Mr Oura walking in halfway. I think we did pretty well, and the song brought back fond memories of RIMB 2006.

Their first piece was Army of the Nile, with Mr Oura walking in halfway. I think they did pretty well, and the song brought back fond memories of, well, everything. RIMB, A Tempo XIX, Limelight... Emotions welled up in me even though the piece was a simple march.

I'm not going to review the rest of the pieces in depth, except for a few that mean much to me. Suffice to say, mostly, they were all well played with few errors, and more importantly, I could see that the band, and Mr Oura, was playing right from their heart, having a good time and enjoying the music.

Throughout the concert though, I couldn't help but hear in my mind, as each piece was played, the repertoire of A Tempo XIX

Saga Maligna was arguably one of our two best songs of the evening. I love the piece itself, it epitomises the sound of the band and it is majestic, light and grand all at once. I almost cried during God in Heaven.

Satoshi Yagisawa's Symphonic Poem - "Northern Mother Earth - With the Beat of All Living Things" was epic. A grand, majestic and beautiful piece that RJCSB premiered outside of Japan. I really loved it, and enjoyed it immensely. I hope the players did too.


The intermission was a boring one, nothing much to say here.

During the intermission, I popped downstairs and ran into a few people, but it was generally uneventful.

Titanic Medley... I really can't describe how it felt playing this song. Memories of my batch, my time in RIMB welled up and in the end, during the saxophone soli, where my first solo was played during Investiture 2006, I couldn't hold it in. I just let go completely and let my emotions and tears run. They kept running too, all the way until the end, as I just played my heart out. After the song, I couldn't turn the page to the next song, I just stared at it, until Mr Oura raised his baton for the next piece.

The next song that struck a chord (pun not intended) with me was the Joe Hisaishi piece. I love his music, and it was really nice to hear familiar tunes such as those from My Neighbour Totoro and Spirited Away.


In it's third year serving as an RJCSB encore piece, Takarajima brought the house down with it's lively tune and hyped up rhythms and sax solo.

Encore was sooo awesome...

In it's fifth year serving as an RJCSB encore piece, Takarajima brought the house down with it's lively tune and hyped up rhythms and sax solo. It was the best part of the concert for me. I felt emotional and high all at once, wanting so badly to join in the music but knowing that I could not. Pity Samuel was not as audible as I would have liked, but no matter, the band really had fun, and Mr Oura was smiling all over.

After that amazing performance, we went to recieve the performers, despite rain and more rain. As each RJCSB guy and girl walked past, a different memory came up, which when pieced together, reveals the essence of RJCSB, and my time spent, especially guest playing last year.

After the concert, of course the usual occurred. We went to find our friends, and I handed out my "flowers" and took a few photos. I really really enjoyed seeing all my juniors again, especially the J2s. After some nice chats with them, as well as the good old VCH uncle, I headed off with Jeremy for supper.

In the end I feel as a whole that the concert was a rousing success. The audience thought we played brilliantly, and everyone left the concert happy. I guess no matter how divided our band has been, we, for a brief moment of time, felt as one.


This will probably be the last time I'll be seeing the J2 batch in action. They aren't going to be present in Prometheum. And technically, it will also be the last time seeing them in action, since I'll be performing WITH them in RWinds in the future.

Which all translates to: the last concert that I'll ever see my juniors in.

And it ended well.

Well, what do I have to say. My mind kept flashing back to that day, 2 years ago, and I still remember it so clearly. As we greeted the performers, I flashed back to the Esplanade stage door 2 years ago, where we got a hero's welcome from the audience, and I remembered as clearly as if it were happening then the events, hugging my juniors and friends, talking and chatting. As the lorry arrived (drove into VCH itself no less), I remembered pushing instruments up onto the lorry in the Esplanade with the bottle of milk. And as the pieces played, technically good or not (and they mostly were), I remembered how it felt to be back on stage.

Walking alone after the concert, I kept thinking about these events, and how I missed being back in the school bands. I wondered, too, why RWinds never evoked the same feelings, despite my passion for her. I came to the conclusion that it was probably because RWinds is more or less eternal, in the sense that it will always be there as long as the people are willing. However, in school bands, graduation's graduation. A Tempos, Prometheums and Cadenzas are finishing points, and starting points, more so than Codas.

This A Tempo was also special because of the people playing, especially the J2s. I've watched them grow since 2005, followed them through Prometheum XI, Prometheum XII, the Japan trip, and especially Limelight, where they made me feel more at home than I was with my own batch. To see them end their career with school bands, and at such a great concert at that, it's almost like watching your own son grow up and leave home...

Ah well, I'm getting way too emotional. But really, it's hard not to. I think no other Prometheum or A Tempo will ever evoke in me these feelings, of grief, laughter, pain, indifference, remorse, despair and hope.

To the RJCSB - Thanks for providing a place to further my musical skills, to my batch, for pulling through in the end, for giving me a night that I'll never forget

Most of all, to Mr Oura - Thanks for everything, over the past 6 years, for all your musical guidance, humour and imparted discipline and wisdom, for teaching me what it means to be in a band.

Also thanks to: Benni, for providing half the material in this post, and being a part of the wonderful music today.