Woo, haven't practised at this intensity for quite a while. At least that put bits of my playing back into shape. Thompson fixed air and scales fixed right arm technique. Needs to get better though! First TPO rehearsal just now was, interesting. Well I screwed up the ending of Rossini. Need to get that fixed later. Also need to practise my concerto later! Many many things to settle. Alright, gotta teach in the morning. Time to sleep!

Firstly, a very Merry Christmas to everyone! I hope everyone has been having a fantastic week so far with lots of good food, drink, company and gifts! It has been for me so far!

I guess it's quite a good a good time to reflect upon the year that's about to end. Well 2011 has mostly been an enjoyable year for me. It has been a year of change I must say. Many events this year have changed me as a person. Now I shall do some recollection of 2011. Had an enjoyable holiday in Bintan to start the year off.

The beginning of the year seemed to go quite well. A good brass class with Damian, played some nice concerts, generally was going well. Suddenly I seemed to just hit this brick wall in my technical progress. Personal issues then got in the way. I really felt that my life just went south at that time.

Little things along the way did start to lift my life up again. Some interesting East Coast Park outings did help!

Yup those times really lifted me up. Then came the Hary Janos project with the NAFA Orchestra. That just gave me more motivation to improve. Eventually we did pull off decent performances of the suite so it did close the academic year on a positive note!

Exams came and to be honest I really forgot how I felt after the exams but before the results release. When my results came, it felt like this weight just came down on me. Was a dismal showing. That brought my life back down. I didn't have a very interesting holiday. Most of it was wasted not doing anything. At least there was Brass Explosion to keep me interested in playing. Heard some really good stuff during the festival from artists like Dave Childs, James Morrison, Scott Hartman, James Gourlay, etc. But honestly I felt I didn't gain an awful lot from the teachers during the festival. Or at least I'm not using their advice in my playing now.

Well in July, new things started to brighten my life. I got a new laptop, new case and just planned a trip to Italy. Also had a great project at the Singapore Saxophone Symposium. That project just lifted me up because I played with so many accomplished musicians, mostly alumni of NAFA. Sitting beside Aldwyn just gave me a boost as well. Even today, that guy is still an inspiration!

School started in August and quite a few things changed due to the new collaboration with RCM. After 2 weeks of school, I flew to Italy for a week-long summer camp where my concepts of music-making and trombone playing just took off. It was really a fantastic and worthwhile trip where I heard fantastic brass playing, took great lessons that really molded me into the musician I am today, and made lots of new connections with brass players from all over the world.

From that point on my life just kept going up. Played a wonderful orchestra concert, the last one with Mr. Hartung as our Head of Orchestra. I felt my playing just get more and more secure as the semester progressed. Another orchestra concert at the Esplanade Theatre passed and a good platform performance really motivated me. This motivation just kept going through my exams and it paid off with an A for PS.

Holidays arrived and rehearsals aplenty! I also had some teaching to do that earned me some income. Philwinds concert went well and like I posted before, I gained a lot from that project. Really excited to go back to school and start trying out new ideas and concepts that I've learnt from the project. 

After a great gig with Slide That!, we've come back to the present.

2011 has been an extraordinary year for me. As I look back, I thought, life just took me on a ride with unexpected twists and turns. Should I expect the same for 2012? Just plan all I want, buckle up and let life take me wherever it wants me to go and hope my plans do influence my route. We shall see one year down the road.

So now comes the final week of 2011. Let us all enjoy this final week. Let go of grudges, open your heart, be positive, give all you can. Let's make this world a better place!

Damn, playing was quite out of shape just now. And to have out of shape playing for Pines of Rome is really a crime. Need to start getting back to shape. Practise breathing, loud playing, intervals. Lots of stuff to cover. Oh well, a much needed wake up call. At least it was only sectionals and not in front of Maestro in rehearsal. Alright, that's all for now. Time to get some sleep!

Slide That! gig done! Was well played although we cut our repertoire short due to time constraints. Great job brothers! Alright, time to get practising for TPO's concert. La Gazza Ladra on the repertoire list and I'm on the sole trombone part.

Had a good reunion party with my sec 4 classmates just now. Nice to see old friends again over good food and drinks!

Oh well, not much more to say. Next performance has been updated so take a look! Interested attendees please contact me for tickets!

Woo just had a great day yesterday! Really loved it! Receiving results in the morning and being satisfied about it really kick-started my day! Really felt I had more energy even though I didn't sleep enough. Afternoon's rehearsal went alright and the concert was good in my opinion! I really admire all the hard work every musician I worked with put in to this project! After all the troubles in the beginning, last night's concert was really sounding good! I'm also very thankful for the many experiences and lessons I received while working in this project. Was really worth the tradeoff for my own practice time. Oh well, I still have 2 more projects to work on. Next one will be Slide That! performing at Marina Square next Wednesday at 8pm. It's free to catch so drop by and have a listen! We'll help you get into the Christmas mode! Hahaha! Alright, time to get some well needed rest!

Had an illness scare during Wednesday's Philwinds rehearsal. Similar symptoms to what I had last month. Fortunately, I'm fine now and able to play for the concert! Lots of rest and some coffee before rehearsal helped. But I'm still feeling the effects of the caffeine and thus, I'm still pretty much wide awake. Good thing I don't have to wake up early later! Oh well, nothing else to say, so good night!

Tiring day. Saved by coffee before rehearsal at night and it's probably still in effect. I guess I shall repeat for later. Woke up, ate breakfast and gave my horn a refreshing bath. Took me 4 hours to get it done! Really really tiring. I shall not touch the springs for a while because they're a pain to put back! At least now they're really clean. So now I have a fresh, clean and well-functioning horn to use for 4 upcoming concerts.

Playing in Slide That just now, I felt from my perspective, I've changed the way I play in an ensemble. I don't know if it's making it better, worse, or still the same but I can feel the change. I felt that I was caring much more about blend, balance and basically knowing my role on the go. Well they are all self-perception and it's only for others (or a recording device) to tell me how I'm actually doing from a different standpoint. It actually makes me excited to play in an ensemble again, the challenges it presents, the rewards we gain, the fun to have. All these just increase when we know we're all listening to each other at the highest level possible. It really becomes magical to me. All these are making me more and more eager to be on stage on Friday. It has been a great learning experience, this project with Philwinds. I shall find some way to make sure I remember it. I'll also want to share that experience with my schoolmates, especially the low brass players. We've all got so much to learn and I'm really looking forward to constantly working on ensemble skills in greater detail in addition to our fundamentals and solo works. Although my practice plans have simply fallen apart for the holidays, I felt I've gained more in other areas. I've been made aware, and now it's time to work on it. After all, that one seat in the orchestra is my ultimate goal.

Speaking of orchestra, NAFA has appointed a new Head of Orchestral Studies I believe and it's Maestro Lim Yau! Honestly, I am looking forward to this new era. No doubt the word going round says he is scary, but honestly, I prefer a music director who tells me I'm not doing the right thing and ensures I correct it. We're still in school anyway. No doubt we have to be as professional as possible but the fact remains that we're still students. We're all here to learn together. So I'm really looking forward to the first orchestra rehearsal which should be on the 4th. Right now, time to try and get some sleep!

Really don't know how to start off this post. Oh well, I guess starting off saying I don't know how to start off works! Hahahaha! Ok enough. The week has been mostly good so far, lots of positive things I see happening! Got to play pool yesterday...like finally! Also I'm hearing progress in Philwinds so keep it up guys! Let's keep moving forward! By the way, I still have $8 tickets for the concert! I really encourage everyone to attend this concert!

Gonna give my instrument a bath when I wake up later. It looks so neglected! Feel so bad for not providing the best care I can...

Really need to adjust my body clock to be active later in the day. So many rehearsals and concerts at night! Alright that's all I shall write now. Till next time, bye peeps!

Man I'm really missing my Arban book. Wanting to do some studies out of it tonight but I guess I'll have to invent my own. Sounds like a great idea actually! I should start composing some of my own exercises and maybe string some together in different combinations to form my routine. I might want to get a notation software first. I guess that'll be something I can put my recent income to good use! Oh well, time to get practising.

Rest proved to be better for me tonight. My chops managed to last the first half of the philwinds program. I also realised that as I practise the parts more, get familiar with them, especially the meters, I'm less tired than during the first few rehearsals. Also, with fellow musicians in the ensemble giving me comments about my playing, it really helps me focus more and know what needs to be done. To be honest, I did forget lots of important aspects of ensemble-playing and it was really unprofessional of me to bring less than 100% to every rehearsal. I really don't want to see myself typing this again but reality has taught me that I might let my guard slip in the future so I guess if I always keep that in mind, it might help make the impression stick.

By the way, I do have some $8 tickets for the philwinds concert. Please contact me ASAP if you want them! Time for some rest now. Low range practice continues later when I wake up!