Today I spent my day mostly in school. Went there to pay school fees for next semester and then went to practice. Nice to see some of my schoolmates there. After practicing we listened to some music together and passed time. Days are becoming less eventful; really should start exercising and keep my body in good condition before things get busy again when school reopens. Right then, till next time, bye!

Had a good rest at home today, cleaned my trombone's bell section and now the valves are quick again. I just don't know why they get sluggish. When I first started using light piston oil, it was fine. During the past week, it started slowing down. I hope it's just residue and not something I don't know about my valves.

I did some mouthpiece practice today and well, still not much progress. I've still yet to find that efficient and reliable embouchure for each note. Well at least there'll be time to think about it and practice soon.

Alright then, this concludes my day. Merry Christmas to you!

Well done to all soloists, conductors and fellow musicians of the Philharmonic Youth Winds! The concert was great! Now I'm left with one more concert and I'm free from activities till school reopens. For now, time to get some good rest and prepare for Sunday's concert.

Well I was wrong about ChildAid having little publicity because it was nearly full house yesterday!! Performance went alright, but can be better. Hope that later goes well. But honestly, performing with OMM has been a great experience for me. My thanks goes to everyone who made it possible for me to play for ChildAid 2010.

2010 is coming to an end. To me this year went through relatively faster; probably because I'm so much busier than previous years. I'm optimistic for 2011; hoping for good music making and a better life all-round.

Today was a bad day, a day I should put behind and not think about.

Well I bought my new mouthpiece! It's a JK Exclusive 1AK. Cup diameter is 28mm and backbore is 8mm. I really like the comfortable rim and the slightly bigger and deeper cup than my Yamaha. Now to practice and make it work! I realised that through my year at NAFA I lost that 'm' shaped embouchure and when I consciously made the 'm' embouchure my sound just opened up! More control, more flexibility, better sound...I just don't know why I left it behind.

Well I guess ChildAid doesn't have much publicity so I put up the Philyouth concert as my upcoming performance. Please attend this concert, it's gonna be great! I have four $5 tickets so please get them while I still have them!

Nearing the end of one of the busiest week during the holidays. Rehearsals almost everyday and 2 concerts. Dvorak 9 with RISE went rather well, certainly gave me some experience in orchestral playing. Soundcheck for the caroling yesterday was rather long and delayed by the rain. Really hope it doesn't rain later because this gig is just so fun to play. Certainly something different. Well, I just added another performance to my schedule and that's ChildAid 2010 with OMM. Concerts are on 17 and 18 December at Resorts World Sentosa. More details will be up later.

Please come down to Fort Canning at 6pm if you're free. I'm sure you'll have an enjoyable night!

Great concert! To be honest, this has been the best concert I've played in so far! Really had fun on stage and I'm sure the audience did too. Kudos to Philwinds!

Well my next concert is on the left now. Do check it out. I'll have one more on Sunday and that's the caroling concert which is free! So do come and listen!

Rehearsals aplenty this week. Yesterday I went for the Christmas caroling rehearsal and it was quite cool. Stage band (6 wind players and 1 cellist) with a rhythm section and choir. Really cool stuff. Concert will be on the 12th (next Sunday) at Fort Canning Park and it's free! So come down and enjoy some Christmas carols people! Bring your friends and family too!

I just went to hear the SSO on Friday and they played well! They've been playing well for the past 2 weeks so keep it up SSO! Rite of Spring was a blast!

Alright, gotta prepare for Philwinds concert tonight. Please do come down and watch!

Woo! No more insomnia. Now I sleep well. I guess after all the tiring rehearsals, some in the morning, my body clock has gone back to normal. Well it's a good thing coz many concerts are coming up and I need the precious sleep. So people, please do attend the concerts! Upcoming one is Philwinds Goes Pop! Details on the left. See ya there!

I've been having insomnia for quite a while now. I would just lie on the bed, unable to fall asleep. I just don't feel tired and sleepy. So here I am, typing out a blog entry.

Just hours ago, I attended a rehearsal/recording session of the Berlin Philharmonic and man were they awesome! The unity of the orchestra; the unseen, literally virtual, communication between musicians was really special. They did not just stare at their scores and/or the conductor, but they played to each other as well; and I mean this literally because they sometimes play in the direction of the colleagues next to them. These musicians really have the music at heart and made things like intonation, articulation, pulse and even musical direction second nature. This frees them up to listen to themselves as a unit and constantly fit in according to their roles, which I think, is a major contribution to their success. I'll be attending one more rehearsal later and I'll open up my ears even more so that I make attending the rehearsal really worthwhile.

I really do hope to get sleepy really soon....

I've never felt so...well...weak, tired and headache after..well..2 rehearsals. I feel my head is depleted of oxygen or something. It's a good thing there will be no more 2 consecutive rehearsals. Somehow I've not been able to keep my energy level up today. Well, the day is over; time to get some well deserved rest. Good thing there's Berlin Philharmonic tomorrow!

Yeah man! I got another gig to play. It's Carols by Candlelight at Fort Canning Park. 12 December (Sunday) at 6pm. Repertoire will be Christmas carols I would think but I've yet to confirm this. It's free admission so mark down on your calenders people!

Practicing my New World Symphony part last night was probably one of the most tiring things I've practiced after my exams. I just realised the power of the tuner and it really helped me realise a lot of things in my playing. Since my exams ended I've been practicing with a tuner and from what I hear, my sound is getting more centred consistently. Having said that, keeping low notes centred and in tune really requires lots of air and support and now what my teachers and peers have told me makes sense! And that's why my practice session last night was so tiring.However, I really think I'm overpowering the instrument and the mouthpiece especially. So I might head down to Top Brass one day and check out a new mouthpiece; bigger and maybe heavier too.

So right now I've got a busy schedule in December to keep myself occupied. Well that's all for now, goodbye!

PS exam is over! Time now to look forward to excerpts, solo pieces and of course the ensembles that I'll be playing with. Exam went alright, my intonation was still not good but I pulled through. Now I know what's on top of the priority list: INTONATION. Get this right and my music making will have much more meaning, be it solo or ensemble. Well time to get some well deserved rest and start practicing again soon!

Great news for myself: I'll be going to watch the rehearsals and recording sessions of the Berlin Philharmonic! Not needing to pay to watch them! This is fantastic; they'll be rehearsing/recording Rachmaninov's Symphonic Dances and Mahler's 1st Symphony. It'll be next Monday and Tuesday. Something great to look forward to as well!

Well it's 15 hours to my PS exam. I really hope all goes well. After a disastrous brass class, I've been trying to mend as many problem spots as I can. So...one shot at it, to play a representation of my playing. Well all the best to everyone!

Now that all the academic papers are done, time to concentrate on the technical exam. 5 days to go! I'm really looking forward to the concerts I'm performing in during the year-end. I'm also looking forward to the concerts I'm attending like Emmanuel Pahud solo/Mahler 7 by SSO and Rite of Spring by SSO. So much good music to conclude the year. Well that's all for now. Bye reader!

Hi all! I just received this poster of the Philwinds concert. Do take a look (Click on it to enlarge) and buy tickets if you're interested!

Hi all! Tickets for the Philharmonic Winds Goes Pop! concert are on sale on Sistic already! Here's the link to the event. Get your tickets now!

I just had a self reflection of the past semester. It was really busy I must say. Keeping up with orchestra, wind band, technique building and academics is really demanding work. James Markey (bass trombonist of the New York Philharmonic) put it well: "Even in college, you can be practicing 4-5 hours a day. But if you constantly do this everyday, high chances are that you won't feel fresh the next day." It is very true for me. I would practice till night and when I reach home, I just feel so tired. It is rare for me that I sleep when I'm on the bus but on some days, I just have so much fatigue that I can't help it. I would then go to school the next day feeling tired and unable to have full focus and concentration when I practice. I can probably push it for an hour more or so but after that, focus just goes down the drain and so does the practice session. But it definitely has been a semester that I've learnt a lot with regards to trombone playing. Playing in the orchestra has made me more sensitive to what's going on around me. Listening was of utmost importance; needless to say but it was the orchestra that drilled this skill into me. I admit that I'm still not good at it and it will be a lifelong endeavour to constantly improve my listening skills. It's great that I'll perform in one orchestra concert in December (Dvorak's 9th symphony). This will be another opportunity to improve my listening in an orchestra.

My seniors have taught me many things and have given me new and different ideas about playing. I'm grateful for having such close friendships with fellow brass players at school. Of course musicians from other disciplines give good ideas as well. Sometimes, when I hear my schoolmates practice, it just motivates me to practice and play well. It'll just be up to me to practice well to play well; after all, "If you practice well, you get better, when you get better, it's more fun, when it's more fun, you practice more!" -Douglas Yeo.

All that said, I'm very grateful to my parents for supporting my musical journey so far. They've contributed a lot and have provided moral support as well. So now, time to get through the exams and then, more time to make more music!

I've deleted my Livejournal account; so all that I wanna post online will be here. Lessons at NAFA for the semester are done. All that's left are 3 weeks of exams. After that, holidays! Oh yeah, time to start practicing more but with less stress on time. Rehearsals will also be abundant as I'll have three concerts in November. The first one is already on the left in the 'Upcoming performance' section I just added. Do come and watch as there will be familiar pop songs including the NDP song "We'll Get There"; "Plastic Mannequin Love" by Tay Kewei (should be familiar with NAFA music students) and "We Are The World". Full repertoire will be listed once confirmed. So that's all for now, goodbye!

I'm 17 today! Really had a great day. Many thanks to all those who wished me, treated me and especially to the NAFA Wind Ensemble for playing the birthday song! Also had a great class with Mr. Fujita. Learnt a great deal from him about my piece. Today was really memorable and once again, I thank everyone who made it so! :) Cheers!

Woo! Had great fun with the NAFA Orchestra this afternoon. Really good show! Many thanks and well done to all my orchestra mates! Let's put up an even better show for Brahms 3 and Meistersinger!

So yup, the current repertoire for orchestra is done with and up next will be the two pieces mentioned above as well as the Schumann piano concerto. Details will be up at a later date. I'm glad the orchestra has built itself from almost nothing when the term started; people needed time to fit in and also actually needing to get used to playing with a lot more people. I'm really happy that it has come this far. I hope one day, when I'm still studying in NAFA, the orchestra will get to play more complex music like Mahler. It'll be an extremely tall order but it'll mark a major milestone in the orchestra's history if it can play Mahler well. All everyone needs to do is practice hard, work together as a team and listen especially. Without listening, a score cannot turn into music.

Orchestra aside, now I've to start preparing Telemann's Sonata in F minor for brass platform. I've got 1 month to prepare a piece I'm familiar with, since I practiced it during the Access Course. I'll be playing the first and second movements. The piece is great fun and rewarding, but diligent practice is definitely required, especially for the running passages where I seem to lose pulse and rhythm easily. Time to strengthen the friendship with my metronome!

A new post for another month. Life's been like clock-work the past few weeks. School was like before, just more classes and assignments. Of course like most of my classmates, assignments are not the easiest things for me to catch up on. I don't know but I feel that my playing has taken a slide in recent times. Either that or I simply didn't know the standard in the first half of the year. It just feels demoralising sometimes but I'll pull through and work hard. Had a fun time yesterday with my parents playing pool. It felt like years ago since we last played together. Speaking of playing pool, that's what I did when Michael came back to Singapore! What a fun time we had together. It's a pity he only stayed for a week or so during school time but nonetheless, we had great fun and catching up together. Performances are on the way so I'd better go practice. My upcoming concert is with the NAFA Orchestra on 31 August 2010, Lee Foundation Theatre is the venue, 8pm is the time. Repertoire is as follows:

-Overture to the Barber of Seville (Rossini)

-Rhapsody in Blue (Gershwin)

-Gold and Silver Waltzes (Lehar)

-Vocalise (Rachmaninov)

-Four movements from Modern Times (Chaplin)

It'll be a fun-filled concert provided everyone practices and makes it one! Hope to see you there!

I have a very strong feeling, as I write this post, that just about nobody will read it. Blogs simply have lost their place in society. But still it is a place for me to type things in so that I can hopefully remember what has happened. Holidays are nearing an end and I'm happy about it. It'll be great to go back to school, meet new musicians and old friends, play in band and orchestra, play solos and chamber music and basically mould myself into a musical artist. Music is the one thing in life that I have the deepest sense of purpose for and I really enjoy making it. Although I'm not a very good musician yet, there's time for me to become one!

So music aside, congratulations to the Spanish football team for becoming World Champions! They really played a good game against the Dutch who simply couldn't dictate the game very well. They lost control of the game and eventually themselves so kudos to the Spaniards! Also, congratulations to Mark Webber for winning the British Grand Prix. It'll probably be the last F1 race I'll watch as I'll be having a very busy weekend when the German Grand Prix is going on. After the German Grand Prix, ESPN and Star Sports will move to a new home: Mio TV. Damn I wish they didn't make the change. Oh well, money, money money. So that's all for now. Bye!

Not updated for more than a month...well it's a good time to update. Yesterday had a fantastic dinner treat by Mdm Leow at the Carousel restaurant at Royal Park on Scotts. It's a buffet dinner and man oh man there was KING CRAB!! Such a rare thing to be able to eat King Crab's sweet and tasty meat. Also had sashimi and mussels for starters. Moved on to appetizer of bread then main course of meat (chicken, fish, venison and duck) and some rice. Dessert time! Marshmallows with chocolate fondue and also some biscuits to go along. I also had cakes and some Crème brûlée. Add some coffee and that completes the wonderful dinner with wonderful friends and teachers. Many thanks to Mdm Leow for the treat! Hopefully we'll have another one soon. I just came back from the 1st day of Brass Explosion and it was a great fun-filled day. Totally enjoyed today. Full details about it are on my Livejournal. Well till next time, goodbye readers!

Went back to Dunearn this morning for Speech Day! So great to see people I'll rarely get to see in the future. Received my certificate and a nice plaque from Mdm. Leow! Many thanks to her. After that, sat in with the band in the music room for the release of posts. I guess the right people have gotten the right posts. All that's left now for them is to work very hard for the upcoming competitions.

I've come to realise blogging has lost its status as the trendy thing to do. As you can see I've removed inactive blogs from the links on the left. I guess the trend now is Facebook as a lot of people spend time there.

Anyway, my part-time course is about to finish and I'll be looking for a tutoring job to fill the time from May till mid-July. Oh well, that's all I've to say so till next time, goodbye.

Inactive for almost a month. Oh well, I've been busy for the past few weeks especially with preparations for yesterday's concert. Even though I wasn't playing trombone for the concert but singing, I enjoyed it so much. The music was so expressive and soulful and in my opinion, the choir did very well and of course the orchestra and the soloists. It was a great concert! Now my Wednesdays and Mondays are sort of freed up. All that's left is the final theory/history exam and access course is over! Gonna be going down to Dunearn tomorrow to collect my SGC. Philwinds concert on Saturday, get your tickets if you haven't people!

Oh yeah..Scuderia Ferrari is back!! A 1-2 finish at the Bahrain Grand Prix. Although it was a bit lucky because Vettel's exhaust was damaged causing him to lose power towards the end of the race. Nevertheless, Ferrari showed their true prowess and came out tops. Hopefully it will be a good season ahead for them. A lot has passed by since I last posted; most notably, I performed for my first concert with the NAFA Symphonic Wind Ensemble on 9 March. A great concert from my side of the concert hall, the stage. The music went well except for one major lapse that had the whole last row laughing. Oh well, feedback from the audience was positive nonetheless and the next NAFA concert I'll be performing in is the combined Orchestra with Choir concert on 6 April. The combined forces will perform Gabriel Faure's Requiem. Till then, enjoy your holidays everyone!

I've just spent about 50% of the last 4 days sleeping...damn it feels so bad to be sick..especially from food poisoning..especially because I've to miss school..to not be able to pick up the trombone and play and practice. Well I'm almost back to my normal health but still feeling very gassy in my stomach; makes it hard to breathe sometimes..especially after eating. The ironic thing is that next week there's no school!!! Argh!! That's totally uncool. Oh well, life's like that. We can't change what's been done but we can mould our future from where we are right now. This brings up something in my mind; I've seen, I've heard and I've been told that many of my juniors in Dunearn, not just band ones but the student population in general, seriously hates school these days. You see in their blogs, you see on MSN and you hear them talking as if Dunearn is no longer an institute for education. They make it sound more like the Japanese Occupation is happening again. Well yes, of course I for one find it hard to praise the new principal there, but that's it. What else is causing all this unhappiness? Surely the problem is not only the principal...what else? But, wait there, before we look for problems elsewhere, have we looked at problems within ourselves? We often overlook ourselves and find problems elsewhere instead, something I'm guilty of too. But, if we can just take that rare moment or two, like right now, and really think what is causing us to think like this, situations can improve! Improvement is not always in big steps; improvement is usually in small steps. If we can find that every step to improve our lives and really persevere, our lives will be so much more enriching and fulfilling. I kinda think most people, especially young people, nowadays think on a rather short-term basis. A good example: You can take a seat in a classroom in Dunearn and you can hear "Fuck *this*!", "Stupid sia!" and so on so forth. The thing is, does it make it better? Oh yeah sure some people use these words as anti-depressants but they can only last that long. Just like smoking and drugs, you'll always want to do it again and again and again. But in the end, nothing improves! Come on people! We just need to spend some time on thought. Really think deep down what do you want in your life. You want school to be enjoyable? Do something! Make a big change if you need to. But always remember, don't give up once you started it because that's what you thought for. Once you start down that road, work hard and I mean really hard. It takes a lot of effort, it may not be comfortable and enjoyable at first but I assure you, you'll get what you want in the end if you thought well. May you all succeed in your current and future endeavours!

Yesterday was a fun-filled day for me; pool in the afternoon, steamboat at night and movie after that. I've finally gotten back to playing pool after months of not playing. Really had fun with my friends who were there. After that we went to Zhen Zhang's house for steamboat. There were many more people there than previous gatherings. So good to see my classmates again. We played games as well and it was really fun! Haha :D After that we went to Lot 1 to watch Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief. It's a very nice movie and well at least I was awake throughout the movie. Oh well, back to school tomorrow. Have a great week ahead!

Thank you for always putting a smile on my face and making me feel buoyant and happy. We've been through a lot together and I hope you'll succeed in your future. I'll miss you.

First few days of Chinese New Year has just passed by. My family doesn't do much during Chinese New Year. We don't have visitors, we only visit three houses yearly so ya, for us the festive mood goes away pretty fast. But this year, Abel warmly invited us to have steamboat at his house so a very big thank you to him and his family for the hospitality once again. Going to have one more steamboat this Saturday hosted by Zhen Zhang. So in a way, this year's Lunar New Year is different from past years. I didn't manage to find time to go back to Dunearn last Friday before the New Year; missed a chance to talk to my teachers but oh well, I'm going back tomorrow. I always have a strong connection between DMB and myself, no matter how sometimes I've been frustrated now and then by the members. It was where my musical journey blossomed, where I made some of my closest friends and where I learnt great things too. I really hope they can get back on their feet and play some good music this year. Meanwhile I'm still enjoying myself in NAFA. Although I really hoped to be in orchestra for the upcoming concert, I wasn't selected but it's alright, I'll still be a part of it; singing the Requiem by Gabriel Faure. Theory tests coming up though! Have to study! Have a great weekend ahead! :)

Long long time since the last post. Much has past, making music in NAFA, more music making in NAFA, concerts and masterclass. I'm really enjoying this life. Listening to school mates practicing, immersing myself in scores, technique and lots of theory. So many things in school to keep me interested. I think what will make me better is to start teaching as well. I really think I did not employ the right attitude and techniques during my previous stints at teaching. I really want to revamp my teaching side and become a better teacher. Lots of thinking and trial and error as well. Oh well, need to start building up experience; shall look for a place to start. Till then, a Happy Lunar New Year everyone! Gong Xi Fa Cai! :)

More than a week past, another eventful week. Had dinner at Tiffany Restaurant last Saturday. It was buffet style and it was very delicious especially the chocolate fondue!! Studies as usual at NAFA with the addition of brass band on Friday morning. Headed to DMB practice after that. So many alumni came back; Ben, Lydia and Andi. It was good to see them. Just came back from my cousin's wedding at Riverview hotel. Next week's gonna be even more eventful with the SYF demo on Friday and SSO open rehearsal on Saturday. All the best for the JAE results people!

Just concluded my first week at NAFA. It was definitely a major change from secondary school. Had choir class on first and third days. Dr Goh is the lecturer. He's a funny but very knowledgeable guy as most musicians know; never fails to make us laugh during class. Tuesday was all practical for me. Symphonic Wind Ensemble practice, followed by Brass Performance Class and private lesson with Mr Sonderegger after that. He's a good teacher; very versatile (he plays alto, tenor and bass trombone), strict but I think that will really push my standards. Also had theory lesson on third day with Dr Kan. She's a very patient teacher and showed us on how to use the resources at NAFA. Well, this will carry on for about 13 more weeks, maybe add in Orchestra practice. That will be really cool.

Mdm Leow and Ms Khoo will be treating us to dinner at Tiffany Cafe and Restaurant on Saturday! So nice of them. Well, our class did work hard and at least that will be one more time when everyone should get together again. Hope to see many more classmates there! :)

Woo!!! 5 distinctions for 'O' Levels! I was in the middle of choir class in NAFA when suddenly my phone had waves of vibrations..took a peek and people told me I have 5 distinctions! Was so delighted! Many thanks to my teachers, friends and family for helping me one way or another. Here are my actual results:

-English A1

-Combined Humanities A2

-E Maths A2

-A Maths A2

-Physics B3

-Chemistry A2

-Biology B3

-Chinese C6

So that gives an L1R5 of 12 and L1R4/L1R2B2 of 9 before CCA deduction. These are results I could only dream about months ago. Also my warm congratulations to top student Mandy with 8 distinctions! As well as to all my friends: All the best for your future endeavours. No matter which path you choose, persevere! =)

Hey people! I'm back from class chalet, probably the last time I'm spending time together with my classmates of 4 Opal. Had lots of fun during the chalet. I missed the Sentosa outing primarily because I was lazy...went to Dunearn for CCA promotion day instead. Joined my classmates at Tampinese MRT and took a bus to Aloha Changi where we're staying. Unpacked..played some games and off to bed at about 2am. Next day, woke up, found that only Syafiq and Ying Hao were awake. Went to Changi Village for lunch. Ate the famous Nasi Lemak. Sure was worth it despite the long queue. Went back, played more games and at about 5:30, we started setting up for the BBQ. More classmates and teachers started arriving, so nice to see them. We ate heartily but we still had a lot of food remaining. We were also told that this coming Monday is the result release for 'O' Levels, which I can't make it due to my course at NAFA. Anyways, after the people who can't stay went home, we played more games and slept at about 4-5am. Most of us woke up at about 12-1 in the afternoon and we started packing. Overall I had plenty of fun with my classmates probably for the last time as I won't be seeing them on Monday. So to all you classmates of mine from 4 Opal, I wish you all the very best for your future endeavours!

Woo! I passed the audition at NAFA! Was quite an experience; played my 2 pieces, some aural tests and an interview. I must say I failed at the aural test, especially the one involving singing the base note of the chord. Well but anyways, they say I'm teachable so I'll start next week! NAFA here I come!

It's 2010! Happy New Year everybody! This year sounds like an exciting one with a prospect of going to Thailand with philyouth for competition. We'll be playing at YOG and SIBF as well, hopefully all goes well. My NAFA Access Course audition is in 4 days time! I just hope all my preparations leading to this will not go to waste and that I'll be admitted into the course. Well, I'll know in 4 days time! Class chalet next week as well, should be lotsa fun and also pretty much 4 Opal's last time together (besides the 'O' Level result release). I wish all my friends and family and everybody out there a prosperous 2010! :)