AYO on tour

My apologies for not updating this blog! It has been really busy on tour and I wish I could update at every city I'm at but it's not really likely.

Firstly, I am enjoying the travels! I have now seen Vietnam (Hanoi), China (Zhongshan & Dongguan) and Taiwan (Taipei) for the first time in my life. I didn't spend so much time outside the hotel in Hanoi, partly because I didn't seek someone to take me around and partly because I was practising before rehearsals. Since I did not actually see much of Hanoi, I can't give a fair point on how I feel about the city. I honestly didn't really like the tour in China. I don't hate it, I just didn't enjoy myself. The only upside was the stay at the Hilton hotel and that the city streets were relatively clean in both cities. The halls were actually theatres, audience were noisy and the general feel of the places weren't really comfortable. In stark contrast, I really enjoyed Taipei! From the first outing on the first day, I felt Taipei was a place I'm going to enjoy and it was! The food is great, people are nice, city is clean, hall is really nice and most things are quite inexpensive! The audience at both concerts were also really supportive and it made the concerts very enjoyable! Now the orchestra is back in Hong Kong for one charity concert and the two standard programs that we prepared.

I would like to talk about flights for a bit. So far every time I went to check in with my case intact, it has been questioned by the check in officer who insists I should check in my instrument in the Cronkhite until they get a supervisor who is more lenient and will let me board with the instrument. So far I have taken seven flights and I have not once been questioned by the cabin crew. My case has also successfully been in the overhead compartment on every single flight. I usually sit with a horn player and it has been dicey but the case's ability to separate the two parts has allowed us to store both our cases (she uses an MB5 case) in the same overhead bin! So what I have been doing nowadays is to separate the case and hand my slide to another trombonist while I check in. So for useful information, a Cronkhite 2-piece bass trombone case can be carried on the following: B777, A320, A330 and B747 (biggest bins so far). Generally I would pick the seats on the sides for wide-body aircraft (two aisles) as the bins are bigger on the sides and of course, do yourself a favour and pick seats at the back of the plane because those tend to board first. Other than that, the service on Cathay Pacific has so far been decent. Sometimes I wish the cabin crew smile more during actual service and not just during boarding and arrival. The entertainment system on the new economy class is absolutely fantastic and may have a shot at beating Emirates but I'm not completely sure because I haven't experienced the best of Emirates. The Cathay system is completely touchscreen and has the complete new seasons of the Big Bang Theory and other popular shows and movies. The system is also really snappy so less waiting and it accommodates the standard 3.5mm earphone plug! The new seat itself is very comfortable and it was nice to have it on the 3.5 hour journey to Singapore from Hong Kong. Other than that, we've been getting the shell seats and old seats which are ok for short flights but I can imagine they are a bit too cramp on long flights.

The music on tour so far has been pretty average at the most. I have not really felt like the orchestra has done a fantastic job at all for the concerts we have played so far and I seriously doubt we will actually play a musically fulfilling concert. There are way too many technical deficiencies and a lack of effort in taking care of those deficiencies. As such, I do feel what I have been getting most out of this experience is the networking with other musicians (some of which are not in AYO!) and the travelling which I have been enjoying (even though I don't actually like the city) because I love seeing the world and getting an idea of what each city and country is like. After Hong Kong, we have 6 days in Japan starting on Sunday! Till the next time, bye!

AYO day 19 and my musical journey so far

It has been a routine so far. Wake up at 7, wash up, head to the APA, breakfast, warm up, morning rehearsal, lunch, afternoon rehearsals, dinner and head back to hotel for almost 3 weeks now. Imagine a normal orchestra rehearsal you have in music school or in an amateur orchestra and multiple that by 3 for one day. The orchestra here goes through 17 days of that within a three week span! So imagine the brass players, we do have a lot of waiting but we have to stay alert! It can be very mentally draining. Today, we get a refreshing change when Steven Isserlis, cello soloist with us on the tour, arrived for rehearsal!

An even bigger surprise was when Joshua Bell, who happens to be in HK right now, decided to turn up for our rehearsal! Made for a really superstar-studded day!

Now, I'd like to write about the musical advice I've received being here in the orchestra. The conductors here do demand a lot of precision and it was quite a struggle for all of us initially to meet their demands but we're getting much closer each rehearsal. Precision not just in rhythm and pitch, but also in following all the text in the score. It feels like a really anal, perfectionist attitude to it. Every single dynamic marking, articulation, tempo, mood is scrutinised by the conductors and I do agree with this way of interpreting! We have to interpret a piece according to what the composer has written! We should not rewrite the piece. Any nuances we'd like to make should be done according to the composer's intention!

Maestro James Judd has also tried to instil a very singing way of playing the music which is great! He really makes us not play any note without intention and I believe that's what we should always aim for! Every note should have a purpose, an energy. Accents are very good targets to aim for when building a phrase. Whole bars can be pickups to an accent! Even the brasses are challenged to make our parts sound alive and musical even though it's very much accompaniment. We might always be thinking we should be really stable and in time and in tune but we have to get beyond those and start making music! It should never be boring!

Well that's all I can recall for now. 1 more full day of rehearsal followed by a morning rehearsal on Friday and off to Hanoi we go!

AYO week 1

It's a bit late to post about the first week of AYO but nonetheless, I shall!

After a couple of nights with little sleep, I woke up at 5am on 20 July to head to the airport. It was a great feeling knowing that in a matter of hours, I would be making music in an orchestra once again. After meeting the others at the airport, we went for check-in. This check-in was the first time I encountered resistance against carrying my instrument on into the cabin. Nevertheless we negotiated and we were on our way. I was seated away from the others but I won't be complaining because I had a pair of seats to myself! The rear section was half-occupied and that made for a very nice flight!

After disembarking we joined the very long immigration lines at HKIA and at the lines we bumped into the other musicians from Shanghai and Osaka I believe. After clearing immigration and luggage claim, we were met by the other musicians and AYO staff who were waiting and after a short wait, we were on our coach to the hotel. On the way we passed by the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, which would be our rehearsal venue for the next three weeks. Upon arriving at the hotel, we were briefed on our stay and then handed our room keys. The rooms here at Y-Loft are very decent. The only complaint I have so far is that the wifi gets cut off every once in a while. The hotel is connected by covered bridge to the shopping mall and the MTR station. Everyday, we have to take a 20 minute train ride to the rehearsal venue. That night, we had a full orchestra dinner and we met our faculty members who will coach us for three weeks. I had too much tea and couldn't sleep well for another night! zzz

So, next day, with little sleep, I went for the first sectional and man did I play like crap! Haven't practised much and lips were in bad shape with not enough sleep. Was really a nightmare. Anyway, we did some exercises together and practised Nimrod for the opening ceremony. Monday was the opening ceremony with speeches by VIPs and the orchestra playing Nimrod, following the tradition of the orchestra. After a catered lunch, sectionals continued for the concert pieces. The schedule everyday consists of three rehearsal sessions: 0930-1200, 1300-1530 and 1545-1815. Usually the first session is for sectionals and the afternoon sessions are for tuttis.

The orchestra members do have fantastic technique but many lack the skill of being able to count and be rhythmic which is such a pity! To me, rhythm is the backbone of music and if we don't play rhythmically, there isn't a structure to the music! It didn't give me a really good impression of the many players (who mostly come from the same country). All I can hope for is that they'll wake up their ideas and actually practise their counting, rhythm and pulse!

Of course, there are many fantastic ensemble players such as those in the horns, trumpets and the strings are actually pretty good!

The two sets of repertoire are rehearsed on alternate days. For the low brass, there isn't much to play, especially for Beethoven and Brahms and so we do spend a lot of time not playing. However, this schedule of rehearsing almost everyday makes me realise how mentally draining it is to just sit in rehearsal and constantly be alert and listening! I do hope the orchestra can progress quickly and have the technical stuff dealt with soon!

As for being a tourist in HK, I haven't been doing much! Haha =X So far all I have done is ate the local food, some of which are really good but most are average or something I'll only eat once and also visited places like View 62 where there's an observation lift that allows us to see most of HK island, Stanley Bay where we had really good pizza and some quiet moments by the sea and walking around Tsim Sha Tsui and Tai Koo. A full orchestra BBQ at the Grand Hyatt as well as a movie with other musicians made for a very enjoyable weekend!

Right, that's all I can think of and recall of the first week. I'll do a post soon on the musical things I have learnt here which are plenty and very useful (for me at least!). So far now, goodbye!