First of all, I'd like to turn the clock back and look on the decisions that I made that put me where I am today.
When I was about to go to secondary school, I had a pretty strong belief that I don't want to study in junior college (here in Singapore that's where you study 2 years and take the GCE 'A' Levels). I wasn't really the studious kind who could stare at books or articles for an extended period of time. That still stands today. So I was pretty set on going to polytechnic, where after 3 years of mixed hands-on and theoretical studies, one gets a diploma.
At about the same time, I started getting interested in planes and I had a Flight Simulator on my computer and I would simulate flying a commercial flight, learning as much about what actually goes on in a flight and so on. So as a result, my aim was to do some form of aviation course in polytechnic and also take a pilot license at the youth flying club.
While all these were happening, I was still very happily playing the trombone in the band (something I've done since 9 years old) and enjoying band as an activity. It did feel like home to me. However, I didn't really consider becoming a musician then. It wasn't until after I went to Hong Kong with the band on an exchange that changed my decisions altogether. When the band was in Hong Kong, we exchanged with one of the youth bands there and they had a trumpet soloist, who currently plays in the HK Sinfonietta, who played the Arutiunian trumpet concert with the youth band accompanying. At that time I was just amazed at how he played. The band also played very well and it was probably at that time when exposed to such good music playing that something inside me told me, yes this is what I want to do, to play music at the highest level.
I had one more year of secondary school after we came back from Hong Kong. That means 'O' Levels and time away from the band. However, sometime in early in the year I decided to audition for the Philharmonic Youth Winds. I'd ask the teachers for the band room key almost everyday and would practise for an hour pieces that my band director had helped me pick. So I went to my first audition, not expecting much because I didn't know what the standard was. At the end of it, I was offered to join the band but on probation so that encouraged me quite a bit. I played my first concert at the Esplanade with with them and I really enjoyed myself. That gave me more intent to pursue music as a career.
Following my 'O' Levels I started to look through websites of professional musicians, particularly trombone players to find any useful articles that would help me understand the profession better. I then decided that I wanted to become an orchestral musician because I really liked playing in a group and from the orchestral recordings I have, I found I've acquired a liking for them. My first CDs contained music of Beethoven and I really enjoyed the emotion that came through from those pieces. I discovered IMSLP while trying to look for full scores of the works I was listening to and tried to follow it. I was really hooked onto music after my 'O' Levels.
I then took the audition to be admitted into the music preparatory course in NAFA and from then on, I worked hard and tried to gain as much orchestral experience as possible and today, I've been notified that I have met the graduation requirements for the diploma with a cumulative GPA of 3.25. Not really impressive but I'm really happy with my final semester grades and more importantly, how much I've seen myself progress through the 3 years in NAFA. Overall, I'm very satisfied.
If you'd like to study music at NAFA, particularly if you're a school band player who wants to head straight to NAFA right after secondary school, here's some advice. The most important thing is this: do not treat your music education as leisure. Too often I see music students who treat their music education as their CCA, as if it's some kind of fun activity with no professionalism at all. If you or your parents are paying money for you to study music full time, you are expected to get a job out of it and if you don't take your education seriously, how can anyone take you seriously? Studying music is not cheap, one has to buy scores, method books, instruments, accessories, etc. So take your education seriously. If you want a job at the end of it, work and study like you want one!
Next, have an end occupation in mind before entering. Is it being an orchestral musician, or wind band musician, school band director, general music teacher, music therapist or something else? Having the end occupation in mind gives you more reason to study music and it helps provide some motivation. Also, you'd start finding out more about that particular occupation and finding out who are the leading (insert occupation) in that field, what are the well-known institutions, etc. You'd also start networking earlier to hopefully put you in the market for jobs.
Finally, gain as much experience as you can in the local scene. Your education in school should be complemented with external engagements that help you get a closer feel of what it's like in the real world. If you want to be an orchestral or wind band performer, get out there and take as many opportunities to play for the local orchestras and wind bands. However, word of caution. Always think about value of yourself. If a project doesn't pay you, you need to ask yourself, is it worth playing? Will you get a good experience playing for the project? These are things that are more relevant the better your skills are but it's worth thinking about for every project you're offered.
So that's it. I hope you enjoy the article and find it useful. Do comment or write to me if you'd like to discuss the article or have some questions!
