I'll be leaving for Holland in a few hours time! Really excited to go to another European country, hear one the world's best orchestras, learn from top-level bass trombonists and make new connections! Should be a great 4 days! I'm all set and just need to pack up the last few items and I'll be heading to the airport later! For now, get some rest, watch some TV and also bring some movies along with me! Hahaha! Just started downloading Handbrake and should be going to choose some movies to bring along with me later! Yup, so, till I reach Holland, goodbye world!

Has been a busy week and it's coming to an end. One concert to play later in the afternoon and it'll mark the start of a one week break. As I reflect more on life recently, I see myself seeing more sense of purpose and fulfilment. I don't seek non-beneficial enjoyment as much and I really love what I do, be it playing music, academic work, listening to concerts, sometimes teaching. I no longer see myself sitting around, gaming (which I still do but very little and kinda wish I did have time to!), watching much TV, hanging around with friends pointlessly, etc. I pick up my bass trombone and I feel at home because it is where I have fun, where I create, where I spark imagination. I pick up a score or article to study, I feel connected and enriched by its content; it enhances my creativity on the instrument. I really love music. It give me the feeling of fulfilment. People ask me why do I do music. I used to not be able to answer that. But I think now I can. It fulfils my life, gives it meaning and purpose. It lets me say, yes, this is home.

The feeling of playing the last note of the gig just a few hours ago felt really good. It marked the start of proper rest away from the instrument which I'm gonna take for 2 days. This is good time for my shoulders to perhaps get a better chance to heal, for the chops to get rest after many days of tiring repertoire, to have more time for academic assignments and to plan what to do when I get back on the horn. Really looking forward to the next 2 days and getting work done. With my iPad, work just gets more enjoyable to do. It's just a great feeling that when I pull out my iPad or my MacBook Air, I know I can get work done wherever I go. These 2 devices really cover every aspect of productivity I need. I really feel much more productive especially when I really do feel I can be doing work instead of just sitting around. I'm really glad to have these devices. They all serve their purpose well in my life and I'm looking forward to continue doing my assignments, managing my schedules, completing presentations and projects, etc.

I haven't been updating the upcoming performances section recently and I apologise. The section is now updated with the upcoming Philwinds concert details. Do come down! Should be quite a show! Till then, goodnight world!

Almost 2 weeks since the last update! Been really busy keeping up with repertoire preparation, rehearsals, schoolwork, teaching, learning German...phew! Much to do! However, I now have an assistant, and here it is:

Yes I got an iPad! This is the current generation iPad with the Retina display and I absolutely love it! I now do most of my assignments, take lecture notes, read scores, store notes, store pictures and sometimes surf the net on it. It is basically a productivity device and it is serving its function for me very well! Contrary to what some say, my Mac isn't relegated to my desk. It still indispensable as having the power of a full size computer still is almost necessary for me and since my laptop is light, it goes into my bag together with the iPad. Now with a Mac, an iPhone and an iPad, a lot of my work just became so much more convenient to do. Also, I'm now streaming photos to the iPad which wasn't my original intention as I thought the photos would take lots of space but apparently it doesn't so the iPad will also be my photo viewer. Snap on iPhone, edit on Mac, view on iPad; sounds like the real deal! I do hope I get this iPad to last long and perhaps long enough to keep using it when I do an undergraduate degree. It really has been a very useful device so far in the one week that I've been using it and I hope it'll be many many many more weeks of productivity and enjoyment!

Alright, time to get some de-stress time. Need some of it after busy times. Goodbye world!

Tiring day of Philwinds rehearsal! I really feel so unfit physically! Damn! Must exercise!

Yesterday I spent some time at Kinokuniya and came across many interesting stuff there. I didn't buy anything eventually but I did spend some time at the music section and 50% of it was for rock, pop or jazz stuff and it kinda disappointed me that many classical works were left out. It just shows the state of demand when it comes to music. But oh well.

I've updated the information for Tuesday graduating students recital. Do check it out and come if you're free! Till then, goodnight world!

About a week has past since my last post, school is pretty much back to normal. Some new faces but I really am not so keen on knowing everybody. Right now, I should plan for a good year of performing and really polishing up technique. Well for now, lined up for me is a small solo performance next week, some show gig at the Esplanade Concourse, Philwinds with Felix Hauswirth and the Baden-Württemberg Youth Wind Orchestra. Yup, so I should spend less time typing this and more time recuperating and keeping fit to play! Goodnight world!

Man, I forgot to update the upcoming performances section on my blog! Just played a fantastic concert with Philwinds accompanying Yasuto Tanaka in Claude Smith's Fantasia for Alto Saxophone! Fantastic musician from the Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra! Kudos to Dr. Zechariah Goh for putting together the Singapore Saxophone Symposium for a 2nd year!

Just got the score for a gig at the Esplanade Concourse in late August. Looks like challenging stuff! Gotta get the slide arm working! Alright, time to sleep early to get early practice hours. Goodnight world!

What a time I've been having these past 2 weeks! Been spending lots of time in the air and going places that I love seeing, my life is good I, I admit!

OMM's UK tour was a real treat for me. All members of the orchestra had their airfare, accommodation, insurance and most land transport covered. It was a real feat of getting sponsors to provide so much money for such an undertaking! 

We flew on Emirates and we had to go through the inconvenience of having to stop over in Colombo. For that one hour or so, the passengers who are continuing their journey to Dubai supposedly have to remain seated and avoid using the lavatories. The cabin crew also have to do a head count and have passengers account for their cabin luggage. For all those considering flying on Emirates and have to fly through Dubai, do avoid the flight that stops in Colombo. If no changes are done, they are flights EK349 and EK348. These are weekly flights instead of the daily flights that go straight to Dubai daily. Nevertheless, the service, inflight entertainment and general atmosphere were as I knew them from last year's flights to Rome. Service was decent and inflight entertainment is still great!

Everyone was eagerly awaiting to arrive in England and for many of us, myself included, it is our first visit there. Birmingham airport's immigration clearance was quite packed and long queues formed. Fortunately there was free wifi at the airport and many of could get connected to the world and our families and friends after 16 hours in the air. Soon enough, we were all out of the airport and experiencing the cool British summer! It was really nice out there and all of us simply loved the weather. After a bit of waiting, the orchestra was on its way to Cheltenham.

Cheltenham was a quiet and really nice place to be in. Although it rains everyday it isn't heavy most of the time, mostly light drizzles. Many consider Singapore to be a garden city but this small town called Cheltenham certainly is more of a garden to me as you can see in the photos. 

The people in Cheltenham were also really nice! I had no sense at all that we were unfairly treated whatsoever. In fact they happily had conversations with us and wanted to know more about how Singapore is like. I really enjoyed myself in Cheltenham. Rooms were single rooms, wifi was 2 pounds per 24 hours (which we found out later was really cheap!), some food for breakfast and a pantry per floor was also provided and the great hospitality from the organisers and the general public made our stay in Cheltenham really enjoyable. I hope we pleased them with our music! To be honest our first concert wasn't a solid one but the circumstances were hard; it was one day after we arrived and we had 2 long rehearsals before the concert. There were lots of great moments but equally disappointing ones I must say. However, the family concert the next day was a different story. The orchestra got to work with a fantastic illustrator by the name of James Mayhew. Being engrossed in the music to keep my concentration, I didn't pay much attention to his work but at the end of every movement, the artwork I saw was just spectacular! And I found out that not only did he just paint so well, he painted according to the mood of the music! When the music was calm and tranquil, his strokes would be graceful and slow. When the music was violent, his strokes would be aggressive and hurried. Furthermore, he times himself to finish each painting when the orchestra plays the last chord of each movement! I think this is really amazing and he should be commended for his excellent artistry! With the last chord of Scheherazade in the Cheltenham Town Hall, OMM concluded its performance stint at the Cheltenham Music Festival. With half a day left before we head for Lichfield, I wandered around the town with fellow orchestra members and had many pleasant conversations with different people in the orchestra whom I might not have talked to if not for the tour! It was a fantastic time and brought me closer to the rest of the orchestra than ever before. With that, I left Cheltenham behind.

The next day, OMM departed Cheltenham for Lichfield. Lichfield looked like a relatively older town compared to Cheltenham but it was really beautiful! The old buildings, the parks and of course, the cathedrals, contributed to the town's splendor. Here's a shot of the Lichfield cathedral where OMM performed.

It might not seem like much at first but take a look at the people at right foreground of the picture. Bet that was a "wow!" moment huh? Because OMM performed on a Sunday at Lichfield, I was lucky to get to try the local roast at a nearby pub. It was fan…tastic. I honestly have not eaten roast beef so flavourful in my life and coupled with a nice pint of Carlsberg, it made the perfect lunch. OMM's concert later in the evening was really successful and I must say, after that last chord of Scheherazade, I just felt so elated that the orchestra has come such a long way and played music to such high standards. I was really proud to be playing in that orchestra and I loved how I could just do my thing and just fit in with the other musicians, particularly my section mates in the low brass. It was a fantastic time working with them for the past 5 months and I appreciate the opportunities they gave me. This tour has definitely opened my eyes and mind in the orchestral view and it'll be an unforgettable experience. Thank you OMM!

With only a few hours to sightsee in London, we woke up early to maximise our time. It paid off and with some planning, we managed to see Buckingham Palace, St. James Park, Big Ben and the House of Parliament, the River Thames, the London Eye, Westminster Abbey, London Tower and Tower Bridge in a span of about 4 hours! With that, we headed to Heathrow to board our flight back to Singapore.

One day of rest and still feeling jet lagged, I wasn't done. I boarded a flight to Jakarta with my mom and a friend! My secondary school classmate, Michael, was in town and he wanted to bring us around. It was my first time to Jakarta and to be honest, it wasn't a nice place to be in. Air was polluted, traffic jams abundant, traffic itself was a nightmare and generally, you'd need to have quite a bit of money to be able to live what Singaporeans would call a decent life even in Indonesia's capital. The main consolation was that I got to try lots of food and bought some stuff cheaply! The best of which was a Gold class-like movie for $7! (In Singapore, it would be at least $30). It was a nice time with my friends and it has also made me appreciate what we have in Singapore more. We have clean air, we have order, our public transport is useable, we have education. Yes, there are loopholes here and there but we can't deny we have these in our country and we must be appreciative of it. Europe was a really nice place to be in and the people there are generally more courteous and there are many things we can learn from the Europeans! Singapore really is a nice place to be in. So let's be appreciative!

Alright! That covers my 2 weeks of traveling and I apologise for the delay but I hope you have been fascinated by what you've seen and read in this post. Right now, time to get back to bass trombone playing and get ready for school!

The day has come! OMM is leaving for the UK in 12 hours time! Really excited to be there to play music! My bags are half-packed, awaiting some other stuff to go in first f=before they are fully packed. Should be a great trip ahead of us! Not to mention the non-musical things I intend to do. Alright, time to get some lunch, final shopping and a haircut! More updates later!

Last rehearsal before tour is over! Had some fun and now I really get the feel it is on us to feel engaging  during rehearsal. Restricting usage of my phone and just reading the full score just gets me more into the music. I learn so much more and I enjoy the rehearsal more. I shall make this a habit!

I just found out a few hours ago that Lim Yau is our new HOD (Music) at NAFA! Mr. Adams has moved to becoming Vice Dean (Academic Projects - Degree & Professional Partnership). Seems like it's time for a new era at NAFA! Really looking forward to going back to my final year of school!

Alright, time to catch the Euro final! Gonna update the OMM tour concerts before I do so. Check it out!