RICO concert '07

YAY! oh my gosh! we've done it! After 4 months of hard work, 1 month of harder work and 1 day of hardest work, we've made it through. The rehearsals were great and fun, the concert was brilliant, and rico simply rocks. (:

This week has been a totally great week for me! Monday to Thursday was practice after practice but it was neither boring nor tiring. We played cards at any chance we got, we practiced our pieces and tried to perfect them... It was fun! We had fun crashing the cymbals, we had fun polishing the cymbals, we had fun playing lame games (火车火车... ><)... We had great fun seeing BL and WY suanning each other, we entertained ourselves with the 感怀 and the 3 random notes... We had fun suanning those taking the ACCA exams... (kweky:"临时抱佛脚是没用的...")... It was also great to have rico alumni back with us. Bing Liang, Boyi, Ackerley, Ziming, Zongjin, BenAng, Ming Quan, Jason... It was just wonderful. not to mention all those fun times we had eating dinner together, stepping on Jason's shoe, listening to Boyi and his motivational speeches... haha...

It has been a long time since I've been so committed to RICO. I would never have thought of going around with Eugene and Gilbert and go into all the shops in Bras Basah Complex, even some in fu lu shou, chinatown point and random shops to look for sponsors for our concert... I would never have thought that I would actually bother writing down an instrument list and doing stage plan... I would never have thought that I would take a piano part for the concert... But with the support of all these great CO friends, I achieved what I thought I would never have achieved. Renyan may not be here, but his email really got me started. Cytam may have been away, but his speeches to the entire orchestra has been great. And of course, Gilbert and Eugene and all the others...

It's been a totally great experience... the card games we played after practices with Ackerley, Gillian, Fiona, Esther and BL... The fun we had with the synthesizer and how erhu sounds so horrid on it... I'm really very thankful for all these... Somehow, i feel that now that CO has gone back to the original RICO, i will never ever be able to do all these again. How i wish that we were all in the same batch, in the same orchestra, playing music together every week... Hmm... I guess it's impossible. But for these few weeks and especially the last few days, practices and post-practices have been immensely fun. Who can forget the times when BL scolds WY for ending a roll on the timp late? Who can forget the laughs we all had when BL screwed up his solo or when i put a piece of tissue on the snare instead of a pack of tissue? all these will stay as precious memories of my days in RICO, just like how last year's concert did. How I wish we could do this all over again. How I wish concert was a little later and we were still having practices. How I wish I could still be going around looking for sponsors with Eugene and Gilbert.

Concert day itself was fantastic. Rehearsals were entertaining as we were entertained once again by 感怀 and the 3 famous notes that I'll never forget. matinee concert was ok as we did average. There were screw-ups here and there but we all did well. Lionel even said that the matinee concert was really good! the rest times were all used to take photos, talk cock or play cards. We took every single minute that we had and made it count. It was after all the last day that this unique orchestra made up of people from various orchestras would be performing together.

The evening concert was even better. We rocked the concert hall with all our pieces. for once, our 莱佛士铜像前的遐思 sounded really good. for once, percussion played with such enthusiasm and confidence that has been so lacking since thomas's batch left. for once, the entire orchestra really worked hard together for our late conductor. 青年进行曲 was great as percussion did really well and I'm sure all the other sections did too. I was so glad I didn't screw up my first two notes. The triplets, which were changed from the semiquavers during concert day rehearsal was also really well done by me and i'm sure that's the case for Janice too! (: Everything sounded great and we were on a good start! 家家乐 was also a great job by everyone and it sounded really good. The 木鱼 sounded great and so did the perc solo parts. 划船舞曲 was also good as we improved a lot from the matinee concert. Qi Hang did a great job on the tambourine! (: 欢欣 was great too. It sounded much more lively as compared to the matinee concert. I myself was impressed with our performance. The xylophone played by BL sounded great as usual and I thought my bongo was rather well done. A good job to Wen Qiang as well for his lead in this song. And 莱佛士铜像前的遐思 was really great. The crash cymbal played by Amelia was great and much better than the matinee concert when one of the crashes made a "pop" sound. BL's solo sounded great and so did Esther's. Wenyun did a great job on the timp solos and most of all Ziming and Kweky on the tambourine were fantastic. haha. I'm really impressed how Ziming manges to prac so many pieces that he's playing in only 3 practices of which none were extensive ones. Of course, I was happy with myself for being able to play the middle part correct for once. Although not really perfected, it sounded great. 心贤 was touching according to many cuz I wasn't performing so it must have been a great performance too! 小城故事 and 月亮代表我的心 sounded all right for a sec 1 piece and the singing added variety to our concert, as Ackerley mentioned. 感怀 was great as well! The 3 notes which always sounded awkward sounded all right! And of course the last piece, 激流, was the best. 问天 was great. Ziming and Wenyun were great at the starting parts with their continuous rolling. BL's solo was great. Kweky's vibe was also great! 征海 was fantastic and percussion, after the sectionals under BL, did wonderfully well. Janice and Ziming managed to play through without any major screw ups although this must only have been their first few times playing this song. On my part, I think I did well with the suspended cymbals. The crash went really well as well. Gillian's 木鱼 sounded really good too! Wenyun's timp was once again good and it really seems like BL made a right decision in setting such high standards for us during that sectionals. 游龙戏曲 was great too. No screw-ups anywhere by anyone. 传灯 was the best as we managed to evoke the emotions and almost made BL cry while playing the piece. Kweky's glock sounded really great. Janice and Ziming covered for each other's mistakes for the snare part and so it sounded all right. Wenyun's timp on the 2nd last bar was totally fantastic and we all ended it on a high note. And then, just as we thought that it was time to prepare for 家家乐 as our encore, Mr. Lim tells me to tell everyone that the encore shall be changed to 青年进行曲 while walking off stage after 激流. I was really surprised why he only told me then because I wasn't exactly prepared to shout it out to everyone to tell them what was the encore piece. But later I realized why he did it and was truly amazed by his brilliance. He knew that I had to go back to the percussion section and I was on the right side of the stage (the cello/bass side). So, while I was walking back, I told a few people (like only 1 person from each section), that the encore's changed to 青年进行曲. and such was the brilliance of Mr. Lim as we changed the piece immediately without much movement or disturbance to the going-ons of the concert. So we began the piece and that must have been the best piece I've ever played on stage. Even better than last year's matsuri. I really admire how Mr. Lim can turn an encore which was going to be so boring because it was a repeat of the first piece in to such a nice piece. It was like a totally different song. There was audience involvement. Clapping sounds sounded like roars through the concert hall... And what makes me admire Mr. Lim even more is his ability to stop and start audience involvement so brilliantly. Suddenly, as we entered part E of the song, which was the soft part of the march piece, the roaring sounds of the clapping suddenly stopped. Looking up, I saw Mr. Lim signalling the audience to keep quiet. Then, in part F, the audience started clapping loudly once again and I saw Mr. Lim conducting the audience. Woah. It was totally cool. Then, during the last part of the song when there was a rit. and a change in speed, he signals to the audience to stop once again. And at the 2nd last bar, which was supposed to just be a rest bar with no rit. or anything signalling the change of speed, he stops there and silence fills the air in the concert hall. We wait in suspense for a few more seconds before he finally conducts the last bar and we end on a really high note. It was a brilliant performance by the orchestra, but it was an even more fantastic one by Mr. Lim. No wonder he's such a famous conductor...

And so it was it. The concert ended, the audience's applause was simply deafening. There were shouts of "Patrick" and I really thank my classmates and my brother for supporting me so much. I've not done much for them. And at the end of the day, I think that all of us, from RICO, to RICO alumni, to the RGCO and RJCO people, all the way to the conductor, the teachers, the instructors, the audience... All of us have made this concert such a great success. In my opinion, no concert that I've ever gone for has been more meaningful than this one. We may not be as professional as SCO or CCO or 星海. We may not be the best musical group in RI, and nor do we have the most musically pro people in RICO. But there's a reason why RICO remains to be one of the best when it comes to concerts. RIGE was really fantastic with their concert and I must say their innovation that won them such a great concert. RIMB has a really great conductor and a bonded band, and it was this that made their concert a success. RISE and RV have really pro people in their CCAs and their conductors set really high standards for them and it is this that make their concerts a success. We may not have all this. But I guess it's once again the amount we commit to our concert, the believe in ourselves that we can make it a success and ultimately the sense of pride of this CCA which helped us to make last year's concert and this year's concert a success. Practices from 9am to 3pm were carried out. People stayed back after 3 to practice although it wasn't necessary and was actually against the rules because there were exams from 3-6 at RJC. People went for dinner together to increase our understanding of each other. People go around thick-skinned together to sell tickets and find sponsors. People spend their time and efforts making a video and concert booklet. I guess it's all these and many more which make us stand as one of the musical groups in RI. It is also this that makes us unique as compare to all the other chinese orchestras. I hope this tradition will continue. I hope that a few more Ackerleys, Boyis, Bing Liangs, Ming Quans come to RICO because it is the spirit that these people have that really make RICO successful.

Concert has ended. No more RICO alumni, no more RGCO or RJCO people to help us. It's really up to us now to get ourselves back to where we should be. I really hope that the percussion section of RICO will become the section that we had during this concert...

And so ends yet another chapter of my RICO life. It's my last year and it's coming to an end. I'm not sure whether I'll change my opinions later on, but for now, it seems like me missing out on RV auditions was a good choice. CO's been such a good experience for me, from sec 1 syf to sec 2 voices of the dragon concert all the way to the changing of conductors, the passing away of our former conductor and our most recent Spring of life concert. Not to mention all the small performances along the way we made in hospitals and the experiences I had with various seniors like Zi Ming, Bing Liang all the way to the not-so-likable Darren and Victor. I am thankful that all these have happened because it's really benefited me.

Lastly, I would like to thank this whole lot of people for making this concert such a great success:

Renyan:
You're indisputably the right chairman for rico and I can see how committed you are to this orchestra, giving your all even when you knew from such an early stage that you would never benefit from it.

Cytam:
Your leadership was a bright torch for the tanbo section and all the rest of us as you led the way especially towards the end of our journey.

Jeremy:
You may not be the best player around, but don't worry, cuz i'm not too! But you've shown your passion for this orchestra and together with the other 2 chairmans, you've led the way.

Ms. Lim and Mr. Chong:
It's hard to hold a concert esp. when it comes to SCH, where lots of money problems (esp. with 2 concerts) come in the way. It's been a hard time for you and i hope i haven't made your jobs harder.

Mr. Lim:
Your conducting has inspired me and I'm really thankful that I can be taught by 2 of the best conductors (in my opinion) in Singapore. You're nice but commanding at the same time and I admire you for your ability to think on the spot and execute it without hesitation.

Mr. Ngoh:
Once again, I'm really thankful to be taught by 2 of the best percussion teachers (in my opinion (once again)) in Singapore. Your jokes always makes mundane practices much more lively and I must say I've learnt loads from you.

Gilbert and Eugene:
Thank you for following me to get sponsors. Without you two, I would never have done it. We all went, thick-skinned, to ask for sponsors and exceeded expectations with the $1450 we made from sponsorship. It's not an easy task and I thank you all for that. All the travelling on MRT, calling of each other, eating at random coffee shops... It was really nice to be going around doing such random things with 2 nice friends! Of course, I would also like to thank all the sponsors for sponsoring our concert! (:

Bing Liang:
You've proved time and again that your passion for the orchestra is undying. You've helped us not once, but twice now and the high standards you placed upon us together with your own brilliant perc skills have benefited all of us. Thank you for all the time spent practicing with noobs like me and thank you for all the efforts you spent together with noob sectional leaders like me to create song lists, instrument lists, stage plans... Thank you for helping me with the moving of instruments and another big thank you for being so pro during the concert day itself. You've been a great addition to last year and this year's concert and you'll be dearly missed when you go for army! I really wonder whether you can make it for the august 31st concert next year... haha. but for now, good luck in the future and have fun in army! (:

Ackerley, Gillian, Fiona, Esther:
Thanks for all the fun you added into the mundane practices with all the card games we played. I hope this concert wasn't a waste of time for all of you. Many thanks to Fiona and Esther for being such nice seniors (don't worry, i don't mind shuffling poker cards! (:)... And to Gillian, you've been a great addition to the concert and you definitely look great playing perc instruments, whether it's the timp or the concert bass or the 木鱼。And you sleep very easily too! haha. First time I'm seeing someone who can sleep in such a noisy practice room. I hope you have had fun for the concert like I had, laughing at Wenyun and BL or Wenyun and Amelia for things I'm sure you'll know of... And finally to Ackerley, I've never known you too well but I've always been sure you're a nice person! You've been really nice to me whether it's during card games or during concert hours or even on the lorry back to RJC. Wishing all of you the best of luck in the future and I definitely hope that we can meet some time in the future again.

Zi Ming:
it's the first time i've played side by side with you and it's been a great experience. I've always heard from my seniors that you're pro and indeed you are! And not only are you pro, you're a very nice person too! Thank you for all the motivation you gave me! Without them, I would never have pulled off all my snare rolls. Wishing you all the best in the future too. Hope we can perform together some time again.

Janice:
Thanks for taking time off your busy schedule to come down and helps us out. I'm still unsure whether your job is to count fish, kill fish or to count people but whatever the case, thanks for doubling up all the snare parts. It took me 5 months to learn them and it took you 5 or even less practices. So you've done a great job! Thanks for covering all my screw-ups too. mm... hope to work with you again if possible for syf 2009!

Kweky:
Hmm... so much to say, haha... dunno where to start from. I guess I must say that you're one of the best percussionists i have seen so far, someone in the ranks of Ziming and Bing Liang... You manage to sight read vibe and glock scores that I would never be able to play even if I get the scores for a week. Together with Janice, I must say that you all make one of the best pairs of seniors as can be seen from your juniors whom I must say may be a little noisy at times but are really nice. Lastly, you play the piano and sing really well too! I was really sad that the piano wasn't beside the glock for chuan deng... Hope to work with you too for syf 2009!

Amelia:
You're one of the bravest girls I've seen so far! haha... You took up so many crash parts that even I, Thomas, Yin Kwan and many others fear to take up. Not to say the many people who wouldn't even dare to play a note on the crash. It's been a great time hearing you and wenyun talk crap at the table outside rjco room and an even greater time working with you on the many pieces that we played and of course the stage plan. Hope you have a good time being rgdaji sl!

Wenyun:
haha! you're the person who talks the most! you've brought much joy and laughter to the section during lunch, xiaozu and dazu! Not to mention how pro you are when you play the timp. I've only played the timp for syf 2007 set piece which was simple cuz there was no tuning required. You and Amelia make a really funny pair and adding Xue Ling into the picture makes it even more humorous. And who can forget the fun we all had when you argued with Bing Liang over random things like timp rolls or cymbal polishing. Be nice to your brother k? He's a nice person! Hmm... hope you have a great time in rgdaji too!

Xue Ling:
Hey! haha. For a sec 1 who's rather new to the co scene, you've done a great job for the concert for the few practices that you have had. But most of all, your laughter brings about much joy to the section and it seems like you're the best person to look for once we finish our meal! (: haha. enjoy chinese orchestra because it certainly rocks, especially when you're in perc and have seniors like Amelia and Wenyun!

BOYi:
haha. thanks for all the time you spent with me after practices to talk to me. It's been truly enjoyable. Although I'm still not convinced that I should take bio in jc, I'm quite sure I'll take more notice of composers in the future! You're really one of the nicest persons I've ever seen and one of the most motivational as well!

Kwuan Boon:
You must be the coolest senior I've ever seen! Your jokes are soooooo humorous and you yourself are so humorous! The dinner that we had with all the others was such a nice experience!

Jason:
You've been really fun to be with! haha. all the stepping of shoes from the CCO concert to rehearsals to concert day itself to you trying to act as me (although failing terribly xD) on the streets of rj... It was really enjoyable! You're a very nice person to be with and although 我们有仇, it's been a very fun past few weeks that we've spent together! I never feel bored when I'm with you! At least I can step on some shoes! YAY!

Yee Siang and Angus:
You're a cool and very nice pair! How I wish we could all be in the same section. Hmm... Thanks for all the jokes that we had together. Thanks to Yee Siang especially for chatting with me during boring dazu practices especially during gan huai. You're one of the pro-est people I've seen whether it's in singing, guzheng, erhu, japanese, korean, singing, ticket sales... Hope to get to know you even more next time!

Jun Sean and Shaun:
Thanks for helping me out with all the perc logistics work. It must have been hard on you guys cuz perc has so many instruments and is so confusing but you guys have done a fantastic job!

Qi Hang:
It must have been hard for you. joining COerhu from RISE, you suddenly find yourself stuck with the not-so-fantastic RICOperc section. I hope you've had an enjoyable time here and i must say you've done a brilliant job. In fact, your first rehearsal was the rehearsal on the concert day itself. You've exceeded the expectations of many and you've just become the quickest performer after joining RICO! Hope you carry on to enjoy this CCA and I apologise for all the problems I may have given you.

Bi Ran and Edmund:
You two certainly seem like a pair to me! You all always stay back after practices right till the security guard comes to lock the door and this has been the case ever since I worked with you two for the blazer problem last year and probably even earlier. Hope you all have a nice time in JC and I'll hope to work with you guys again for SYF 2009!

Cheng Hang, Chek Hoe, Li Wei, Zhao Lin, Yi Zuo:
You all had the most mundane of jobs as stage helpers and had the most unfortunate of events as you got your cards confiscated and had to suffer even more scolding after some stepping of flowers occurred... But I must say that you all have done a great job! Hope that you all will continue working hard for the orchestra!

Jie Min:
You're the most humorous concert master I've ever seen on stage and I always laugh when you stand up to tune the orchestra. You're talented in music, whether it is in erhu or gaohu or drum set... haha. and i'll never forget how you describe yourself!

All the others:
From HongBo, Yiheng, Sng Zheng, Shi Heng, to Zongjin, Ben Ang, Joewie, Chang Cheng and all the others that I have yet to mention, you all have made this concert a great success. I really want to thank the whole orchestra for the efforts that we have put in! Together, we've made this concert such a great one and together, we've made Mr. Yeo proud! I must say that we have all done a great job!

3B friends (Keng Chee, Eugene, Huiyao, KENNETH YONG, Junsheng, Dennis Chew), Dewei, Emma, Zhuoyang, Wanen, Xinyi, Qiu Rong:
THANKS FOR THE SUPPORT! haha. Special thanks especially goes out to the 3B team for their spirit that they have shown! I really thank you all for that! You all made the concert an even better one!

and most importantly...
DAD AND MOM AND MIKE:
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR COMING DOWN! YAY! (: You all definitely made the concert a much more meaningful one!

And so it comes to an end. The Spring of Life. RICO concert '07. It rocked SCH on 14th dec 2007 and left us and many others with happy memories of our late conductor. I've really benefited lots from it and certainly had much fun practicing and performing. And I guess it all comes back once again. All good things come to an end but that doesn't mean that there aren't any more good things. There's much to look forward to and I'm sure that with more enthusiasm and commitment, we will be able to scale even greater heights in the times to come. But I'm more than certain that the Spring of Life '07 will always be one of the best memories of my CO life.

Patrick
Post-concert syndromes... ):