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!