One of the least comfortable days so far in the holidays is over. I woke up, had potato chips for the first thing I ate, it rained heavily and I panicked over a pay issue, rehearsal wasn't the most inspiring. But no matter, shall wake up in the morning and strive for a better day!

It was my first time at the MBS Grand Theatre so here are a few pictures from rehearsal:

 This was as the orchestra was first seated and trying to get comfortable. We were then told to leave the stage so that the crew can set up the mics. This took about 1 hour. First impression is of course what a waste of time this is, I mean, the mics could be set up earlier and just do the adjustments. But, Seating itself was a problem and had the mics been there already, it would have created more problems so I guess this was the only way around it.

 This is OMM's showpiece for the night, Mason Bates's Mothership. It is scored for orchestra, electronica and soloists and it is one of the most interesting orchestral pieces I've ever played! The electronics are really cool and the rhythms are really catchy. Here's a link to the LSO's playing of this piece: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0K1kJOins4

OMM rehearses Mozart's Concerto for 3 pianos. The soloists are winners of a Steinway competition and this is their showcase.

So yup, these are shots from rehearsal. I hope tomorrow's rehearsal will be more productive, inspiring and settling because it is the last one before the actual concert! Alright, goodnight world!

Back from another night of rehearsal. It will be another 7 days worth of rehearsing at night! At least I feel that I'm coping well with my current routine of waking up early enough to feel fresh and do my warm ups and routines on the instrument. Rehearsal was fun indeed especially with most of the orchestra present. As usual, the lineup of performances include solos by very young kids who you probably couldn't imagine holding full-size instruments and playing them with technical abilities so high for their age. It really impresses me. I hope these kids will grow to be mature musicians and people who will successfully promote and advance the art.

It has been over a year that I've owned my first Apple product, my MacBook Air and since then I've acquired more products with the iPhone 4S and the 3rd generation iPad. Perhaps it's time I write a small review of my devices. My MacBook Air was bought at a time when my Acer laptop was simply not comfortable to use anymore hardware-wise. It's battery could no longer last more than an hour before it reached its 3rd full year of use, a laptop cooler has to be placed below when I'm watching videos, not talking about games yet. In fact, it couldn't run games better than my old desktop I used as a young boy. So I looked up what other laptops that could be a good replacement for the Acer. I chanced upon the MacBook Air. At that time, my impression of the MacBook Air wasn't really positive. Word had gone around at its launch that the ports are not accessible enough, the performance is not good, it overheats, etc., so the first impression wasn't so good. But after reading reviews, which is something I have not done then because I didn't know they exist, I realise it's a very good computer indeed and the starting price for the 13 inch was below $2000 (which was the budget my dad set when I was shopping for my first laptop; the Acer costed $1200). So then I heard from my classmate that Apple will be releasing an update to the current MacBook Air to feature the latest processors, and quite importantly, a backlit keyboard on the Air. So true enough, they released the update and I got my dad to get me one. When I got it, it was a delight. A laptop this thin, light, fast, and stable and still under $2000. It cost $1638 after the student discount. Till this day, I believe it was one of the best purchases in my life. It probably has, but I do not remember the computer crashing on me. There of course have been hiccups here and there but none that affected me as much as the Acer. I don't need to keep it over a cooler and the battery lasts 7 hours even today. So now, I'm a musician, I don't game a lot (in fact, there are no games on my computer now), I don't often do processor intensive tasks very often; I use the computer to generate essays, music notation on Sibelius 7, presentations and also to check my mail, be a hub for my media (it lives on my external hard drive due to lack of space, I'll get to this later), surf the web and also organise my life and work with calendar, reminders and a note app. So my typical usage is not heavy. Every one of these tasks just operates smoothly on the computer, there hardly is any system lag and I should be right in attributing that to the SSD. That's really great and I really appreciate the speed at which my computer can get things done. However, when I was in the market for it, my storage demands were not high at that time; I used less than 128GB on my Acer not counting the games. So I thought I could live with 128GB that comes on the base model of the Air. Turns out that as I become more serious in collecting music and operas especially, my iTunes library just got really big. Now this would not have been an issue if Sibelius weren't on my computer. Unfortunately, I find it a very useful app to have and it doesn't make sense to have it on an external hard drive so I migrated all my music and videos to the hard drive. Now, that's all fine until you have to sync your iDevices with iTunes and if you forget to plug in your hard drive, it creates a new iTunes folder in your computer and sets the iTunes destination folder there. You would then have to change the settings and wait for the computer to consolidate the library in the hard drive again. My library is probably still tolerable (it's close to 50GB) but if you have anything larger, the time taken will be so long! It's an inconvenience. So, moral of the story is, if you foresee yourself needing more space in the future for whatever reason, please choose a higher storage option. For my next laptop, I'm definitely getting more storage. Other than that, I really have nothing to complain about the computer. I hook it up to a 21.5 inch external display for more screen so that I can be more efficient when I work because sometimes I really need two or more windows open. The trackpad in my opinion is much better than any other laptop I've put my hands on. It is so good that I have never considered buying a mouse. The keyboard is good to use and the backlight (which I'm using now), is really handy in the dark. I also use the SD card slot often as I transfer recordings from my recorders often. Overall, as a computer, it has served me very well for the past year. I do not feel it is getting slower, the battery life is still very good (I don't bring my charger with me usually; only if I know I'm going to do processor-intensive work for a long time), built-in software is really useful and most sync with iCloud and the design and build is really good. All in a very justifiable price tag. I am really happy with my computer and carrying it with me almost everywhere I go because it is so light! I hope the hardware lasts and by the time I feel it starts the downhill, Apple would have made a very good computer with an even more attractive price tag. I'll provide reviews of my other devices soon!

Alright, really sleepy now, so goodnight world!

Does feel nice to be sitting in an orchestra again; but I hope attendance will be better soon!

As I've read a few articles about taking auditions before I went for the final round of the SSO freelance auditions, I realise how much I don't do when it comes to audition preparation. I have been working with a mentality of being efficient and having short preparation times for every project I take. But I realise it should never be the case especially when it comes to auditions and solo performances. I also find myself having a goal in my head but I always catch myself feeling I'm never gonna reach it before time expires. After reading a few articles, I realised I should have gone another way and that is to work on improvement. Having an end target is good but if we focus too much on it, we lose touch on improving things bit by bit. I shall now practise with this mentality and will give myself more time to prepare for upcoming auditions and solo performances.

Alright I'm really sleepy so goodnight world!

What a day. It has been weary. I woke up to find out that my junior, schoolmate, student and friend, Raushan, passed away due to a heart failure. Ever since the passing of my grandfather many years ago and when I was too young and probably too distant from him to feel any mournful feelings, Raushan has been the closest person to me that has passed and for a moment I felt really weak when I read the news. I hope he will be in peace and all his loved ones will have the strength to carry on and celebrate the life of a bright boy.

How apt that after reading that news I was told my aunt is in hospital recovering from heart surgery. So, I traveled to SGH to visit her and she's doing fine by the looks of it but just dreary. After which my mom decided to go to Vivo City. How nice eh? I carried my trombone around while she shops. So after spending a few hours there and 2 servings of food (wouldn't call them meals), I finally left for philwinds rehearsal. I was really looking forward to going back after being absent for 2 weeks due to orchestra commitments and exams. There was a moment in rehearsal that really struck me and that's when someone told me to have character in my playing, not be too classical when playing solos in a pop piece (which I have to for one of the songs). It really struck me. I could interpret it in a raw sense and say he's saying that classical music has no or little character but I decided he meant something else and it's just stereotype. It made me think what I should really do as a musician. I've always loved the orchestra environment; the wide palette of colours from the wide variety of instruments, the masterpieces from the master composers, the big sense of ownership of the part and the section and orchestra sound. The orchestra really gets me going and I have been trying really hard to mould myself into being proficient in that setting. But as musicians sometimes we don't get to choose where or what we play in because in the end, we still need to make a living. Maybe I should pin up a note to myself and be really adaptable and most importantly, to find my voice in everything I play. Goodnight world

Just had a really good day today! Practice was good in the morning; good refresh of my excerpts. After that I went to MBS to catch a musical, "Jersey Boys". It's a story of the band "The Four Seasons" and it was a really entertaining and catchy musical. Really enjoyed it and my thanks to NAFA for providing complimentary tickets for the concert! After that I went to Orchid Country Club for Dunearn's 50th Anniversary dinner. It was really good catching up with former classmates, teachers and to add to that, I gained some new contacts! Was really nice to see that Dunearn has produced so many professional musicians/music teachers. Alright, more practice tomorrow and back to philwinds rehearsal! Goodnight world!

Just finished my technical exam and concerto competition heats today. Phew! 2 down and somemore to go. SSO audition next week and that for me is very crucial. I really want the job and now it's crunch time! Time to iron out the pesky articulations in Die Walküre, the seemingly impossibly long phrases in Das Rheingold and Ein Heldenleben, the demand for cleanliness in Die Schöpfung and the legato in Schumann 3.  One week to do it!

I also just came back from a very nice dinner with the NAFA trombone studio and Fredi along with some alumni. It was really good company and it was a good way to spend the last time with Fredi in Singapore. I hope to catch him in Germany when I go there. It has been a good 3 years and I've learnt so much from him. To be honest I do feel a bit insecure with him leaving but that itself has taught me to start finding my own voice. I need to start getting the hang of it and making musical decisions by myself and producing a good product. Work for me to do!

Alright, I'm quite tired. Guess I'll go sleep. Goodnight world!

It was a good day today! Practice was fulfilling, can't say it was super productive but at least I felt better on the instrument compared to the past few days. Mock exam was really fun and I'm glad people see it as useful! Shows I have stuff to catch up on!

I recently acquired a big collection of CDs from Fredi and it included a CD released by Wang Wei who  is a graduate from YST. His CD contained a solo piece with wind quintet accompaniment and that got me interested so do look out for a performance coming next year hopefully. I also plan to hold fortnightly or monthly mini recitals playing etudes, short solo pieces and perhaps chamber music. Still in the works of how can I attract people and repertoire and also who is available to play etc. but I'd like to see it happen! Opens up more opportunities for me to perform.

This past Wednesday I had my last lesson with my teacher of 3 years, Fredi. It was been a good 3 years I must say and I will really miss his playing, his teaching and the inspiration he provides me. In all honesty he is one of the best teachers I have met and I am very grateful for having the opportunity to be his student. I must say after the last lesson I did wonder how life will be from now on as a trombonist. Sure, I will have another teacher for the final semester, but I already miss Fredi's abundance of ideas, his wealth of knowledge and troubleshooting skills. It now prompts me to think whenever I study a score, how would Fredi play it? He has been a big influence on me and although I do see our differences in musical choices, most of the time we are in agreement. I hope to be able to see him again when I travel to Germany or if he happens to come back for whatever reason.

That brings me to the idea of a German tour next year provided I have the money and time to make such a trip. I really want to use this trip to take lessons, gain contacts and also attend concerts if the orchestras are still playing then. Meeting friends will be a bonus! Yup so over the holidays I will have time to think about it and perhaps do some planning should it be in the right circumstances for me to go.

Alright, that's all for now. Goodbye world!

It has been tough times. I'm just glad it is over now. What happened was unacceptable. All our identities were defaced; the school, the country and our identities as musicians. I'm glad that at the end of the day, at the very least, something was done that values our lives and work. We produced a musical product, although admittedly not very high quality given the circumstances, but we forked out extra time, energy, patience and in return, packet food, another chance to play with professional players among our ranks and that's about it. I do not think this was a fair deal in any sense of the statement. But I guess, all we can do now is move on, know what we are in for in the future and work to make sure we are treated fairly as people who need to make a living or progress towards making a living.

I can really feel the toll on my health now. Something that I so enthusiastically do day in day out is becoming draggy. Orchestra rehearsal was really a wash out. I couldn't play in time AND in tune. It was one of the most horrible rehearsals I've been through in a while. This shall be a reminder for myself that my basics are not second-nature yet. I really need to exercise my aural much more and have it at least at the back of my hand so to speak. I haven't even had much time to practise and I have my penultimate lesson with Fredi tomorrow. I really do hope I can get something back within the 2.5 hours from the time I wake up till the lesson. Well, technically I don't have time to even write this any longer if I want to get rest so I shall stop now. Goodnight world.

Been busy busy busy! Right now I'm typing out a quick post before I should head to sleep so that I can be well rested for my teaching stint at Hai Sing Catholic....which is at the other side of the country! NAFA Orchestra concert went quite well for me! The orchestra really played with good discipline in terms of pulse and rhythm and it was an enjoyable concert! Now one more project on 12 Nov with a different section altogether. Hope to make more fun! Right now I have to work on lots of stuff; exam repertoire; audition repertoire; history presentation; IVT portfolio and theory as well. Lots on my plate! But I'm enjoying it! I feel so much more enriched and I simply love what I do! Now to make myself better at what I want to become: an orchestra musician! Right, time to get some sleep. Goodnight world!