It's come to an end. Throughout these years, there have been ups and downs. There were times when we were scolded by teachers during every practice. There were also times when we were brilliant and regarded as the best section in RICO.
In year 1, it was fantastic. It seemed all to good for me. Everything went my way. I was one of the two people who participated in SYF. I had a brilliant SL in Bing Liang. I was regarded as a sec one with lots of potential. The only low point would be getting the silver for SYF but I knew I had one more chance.
In year 2, it wasn't as great. True enough, there were lots of concerts that year, including myRIad, Voices of the Dragon, Renci Concert televised on TV, RJCO concert... Those were fantastic experiences. But there was the other side of the story with seniors like Darren and Victor being not so nice. It was tough but I continued to drag myself for practices... Percussion was still pro but we were the most notorious as well.
In year 3, it turned better. Tze Ern was a great SL once again and he did his best to train cui cheng and chu ming. But we were no longer as pro. We started scraping through concerts... Luckily, we still performed well with the expertise of Tze Ern, Yin Kwan and Thomas. But I couldn't see how we would be able to cope next year...
And this year was year 4. It started off bad. Every week there were new members coming in, in a bid to save percussion. But that also meant that we couldn't progress fast and we knew we had to. Percussion was now known as the worst section in RICO and we got scolded nearly every week by conductor, Ms. Lim, Chun Yin... I set out a plan to bond this section in the first term and make sure we work well as a section before integrating this section into the orchestra.
There were times when my plans seemed to fail. Sometimes, my juniors would say that dazu is useless which is true for them cuz they didn't have parts to play. But I told myself to be patient. There wasn't much use in asking them to play in dazu if they couldn't even play properly by themselves, even less as a section.
In the end, we did bond as a section and the Lunar New Year Dinner was evidence of this. In no more than 2 months, we had put up a 秦王点兵 performance. It wasn't as great as last year's but I could tell that lots of effort was put in.
In term 2, we seemed to stagnate. We didn't do much except 秦王点兵. I tried to get people to play for dazu but it didn't seem to work. I guess they needed a certain motivation to work towards playing in dazu...
And in term 3, that came. RICO concert '08. Finally, people started turning up for dazu practices and getting involved in it. It started off slow, but by week 5, more and more were coming. It seemed a little too late for us though. 5 weeks to train 10 people with no dazu experience to play in a concert? Luckily, we got the help of Kweky and Mr. Ngoh who came for dazu practices to help us out. We improved tremondously during those few weeks and it seemed like we had a slim chance of pulling through after all.
And so it came. Voices of the Dragon. RICO concert '08.
Liwei, Zheng Hung, Zhaolin, Chu Ming and I met up early to eat lunch before going off to CO room to move instruments. It was going well. In no time, we were on the bus and off to SCH.
Rehearsals were bad though. Everyone seemed to be screwing up. My snare rolls were horrible, everyone wasn't 齐, basically no one was confident of doing well. Everyone was waiting for that stroke of luck to come to bring us through once again.
And den, concert came. If I had to describe the concert, it would be a reflection of this entire year. There were ups but there were also downs. We performed well overall but we weren't confident of ourselves, we didn't trust each other, in fact we didn't even trust ourselves. We were good players individually and sectionally but as an orchestra combined, we just weren't there. And therefore, the ensembles were all rather good but the orchestra pieces weren't as great. They were acceptable but they certainly weren't the standards that we had last year.
But I guess it was understandable. In fact, given how rushed this concert was compared to last year's and how we had to rely much more on ourselves and not so much on alumni and how perc ended up with only 5 weeks to prac 10 people, it was a good shot.
Eventually, everything went well except for the xylophone solo. Everyone wasn't confident and there were screw ups here and there but those weren't really audible and we picked up the baton again quickly. I was wondering even during rehearsals whether I should change a player for the xylo solo but I knew I had to take this risk. It was a calculated one. And although the xylo solo turned out quite bad in the end, I still don't think that my decision backfired. Everyone needs a first chance. I would rather that first chance be in concert rather than in SYF.
But xylo solo aside, it was great. We had lots of fun during rehearsals, talking to each other, playing concentration, truth or dare... Lots of fun. And in fact, I was really impressed by how Zhaolin played so well in guan zhong for xin xian, how Denny managed to play the glock and vibe so well even though he was only given the scores 2 weeks before concert, how Liwei managed to pull off chu sai qu in the end and how Liwei and Jun Lem managed to learn the starting portion of qin wang so quickly... It was a great effort by all of us. We didn't manage to pull it all off in the end but it's all right. It was everyone's first time on stage for a 2 hour concert (except me and lexus). I remember my first time - I played a suspended cymbal for one song. >< so you guys have done a great job all right?
I guess this year was a transition year. I would have wanted my RICO life to end off with a bang but I guess this wasn't the year for it. But I don't mind either. I've had lots of fun with all my juniors and teaching them or rather failing in teaching them. (: Just wish that all of you would take this concert in your stride, take it as a stepping stone, no matter whether you've screwed up really badly or not, and work towards the more important goal of SYF. It will be very difficult. There's still a long way to go. But I believe that you all will be able to do it.
As for myself, I guess I've done averagely well as an SL this year. I knew it wouldn't be easy but at least I did almost everything that I wanted to do. And I've finally learned how to roll a timp averagely well haha although i still suck at tuning it. >< sighhh. Really got to train harder now that I've got more spare time haha. and my snare rolls omg i didn't know i sucked even more than last year. haixxx. ok nvm haha.
Well, as always, I've got to thank lots of people for this concert:
1. Mr. Lim
Thanks for giving me so many chances after disappointing you so many times in failing to get scores ready or getting people to come. I'm sorry that percussion still isn't really good. But yeah thanks so much for giving us hope and chance. We'd work as hard as possible and we'd treasure this chance.
2. Mr. Ngoh
Thanks for all the lessons you've given us. It's been tough for you getting new students every week, teaching a CO with scores all missing and with members not coming regularly. You've been a great teacher for us and I really want to thank you for all that you've done for us.
3. Ms. Lim, Mr. Low
Thanks for all the support that you've given me throughout this year and all the advice. It's been a great experience being SL of percussion and it'll be an experience I'll never forget.
4. Liwei
HEY LIWEI! haha... Thanks for all that you've done for percussion. You've been really enthusiastic, sometimes even more enthusiastic than me. It'd be hard being SL next year, probably even harder than mine this year cuz there's SYF and there's still a lot to be done before we get reach such high standards. But work hard and continue doing what you've been doing so far and we'll do well. Thanks for helping out whenever I need it and it's been really great having you around. I'll never forget the jokes, the trips to the mrt and lots of other stuff! (:
5. Jun Lem
HEY JUNLEM (a.k.a JULIAN)! It's been great having you around too. haha you're really enthusiastic as well! Thanks for all that you've done for this section and covering up for me when I wasn't around for founder's day celebration. Continue working hard and training your jibengong and do well for SYF. You've done well for concert so let's aim to do well for SYF too! You're the first exco member from perc in so many years and it'll be a hard job for you being a librarian as well. But I hope you'll continue to work hard and the rewards will come along soon!
6. Zhaolin
HEYHEY RENZHAOLIN! (: You've been very courageous in taking so many tough parts for concert. It seemed like I was throwing all the hard parts to you but I hope you don't mind. You've worked very hard and done well. Remember that every part is important and that training hard and making sure that you can do it well before going on stage is very important. It's been hard this year because you only had 5 weeks but for SYF, it should be much better. Keep working hard, make sure that you can play everything well, work on everything from rhythm to jibengong and just keep playing perc. I think you have the potential to go far and that's why I gave you so many hard parts. Take the screw-ups during concert as a learning lesson. It will take some time to recover from it but believe in yourself that you can, will and must overcome it. Believe that you are capable of excelling in perc. Believe that you can do it. It takes lots of courage to recover from it but i've seen such courage in you already. Don't let this concert pull you down, take it as a learning lesson and a driving force for you to do well in next year's SYF. Make sure that you won't make the same mistakes cuz I can assure you that the feeling of screwing up in SYF is much worse than that of concert. But anyway, thanks for all that you've done for me and perc this year. Thanks for all the commitment, the jokes and stuff. Your presence has been a great addition to RICOperc! xD
7.
hey
8. Denny
hey DENNY! haha.
9. Yonathan
Hey YONATHAN! haha. mm. sorry once again for giving you so little parts for the same reasons again. But yeah you've done really well for cymbals in qinwang and I hope you've enjoyed your year in RICO! see ya in RJC! (:
10. Chuming
Hey Chuming. It's been a hard year for you but thanks for not abandoning CO. Thanks for coming back to perform for us for this concert. You've done well for 3 weeks of practices and although you did screw up for laifoshi, I guess it was all right.
11. Zheng Hung
HEY ZHENG HUNG! mmmm... nice knowing you and having you in perc. you've given perc and extra dimension to it's play and haha you always smile when you play >< haha so that's nice... mm. good luck for next year!
12. Lexus
HEY LEXUS! omg. I think I really owe an apology to you. I'm so sorry that I didn't really "care" about you this year probably because you're really so good that there's nothing much I can teach you. I hope you'll do your part for perc next year. You'll be the best in the section and perc really needs you to teach them well. You've been great for the entire year and concert. Hope you'll strive to work even harder and do well for SYF and make sure that perc does well. Perc will really depend on you next year. Thanks so much and here's wishing you good luck in the future.
13. Stephen
HEY STEPHEN! haha. as the youngest member of RICO, you're rather good! I'm sure that you'll excel far in this section. Continue working hard and practicing hard and the rewards will come along. DO YOUR BEST! (:
14. Kweky
heyhey Kweky! haha. I can't believe that I got to perform with you again. >< This year was a lot different from last year's and well it wasn't as fun cuz we had to manage all the juniors and everything was so rushed out. But I hope there will be another chance! I'm sorry that I still cannot confirm that I'll join RJCO but I'll consider (: Thanks for helping us out again and it's been nice performing with you!
15. RICO
A big thank you goes out to everyone in RICO for their work in this concert from all the comm members to all the stage hands. I've had a great time in RICO and I've forged friendships that I'll never forget. Good luck for SYF '09 and do your seniors proud!
16. SUPPORTERS!
omg. haha even i couldn't believe how many supporters i had. >< thank you everyone very much for coming down to support me. Shall list everyone here!
From 4B'08: Kenneth Yong, Jun Sheng, Eugene, Jerald, Ben Low, Erdong, Ben Yong, Mark, Jie Liang, Tony, KC, Yingxiang, Lumpy, Jinghui, Leonard, Ms. Hsieh. THANKS SO MUCH FOR COMING DOWN! haha concert would be so much less meaningful without you guys! It's so much more meaningful when you know that you're playing music for a bunch of brilliant friends. 4B is just so wonderful. The support we give each other... Thank you so much! I really really really appreciate it. Love 4B! (:
From Jiang: Wanen, Xinyi, Eric, Wenrui. so glad that you all came down to support me! haha. special thanks goes to wanen and xinyi for shouting for me haha. no one calls me "ah ting" except in jiang though. haha. nvm. really really appreciate it...
From
From RGCO: Wenyun, Amelia, Nina, Koh, Tien Li, Xueling. haha thanks for taking time off to come listen to this concert. I know it wasn't really that fantastic but I hope that you all enjoyed it. It's really weird how we got to know each other through such random MOE concert even though I wasn't performing or anything. haha I really wonder why you all are so nice to me sometimes but I guess I shouldn't ask so much. but yeah you all have been great friends. thanks for all the nice notes and presents. thanks for the nice never-dying flower ><, the strepsils and SPECS STRING (or whatever you call it) ><, honey stars, candy which is too big to put into my mouth ><, the M&Ms and haha yeah very nice words. I'm sorry that I didn't have time to thank you all but I'm sure I'll find time to do so. you all have very different personalities as Koh said but somehow you all still manage to 混 together! i find that very very interesting haha. have fun in RGCO next year and i'll see you all 2 years later in RJC. (:
From OTHERS: haha ziming, fiona, esther. thanks for coming for concert! i'll never forget the times we had last year during concert and during rehearsals. All the bridge games we had after practices and stuff. oh and thanks for the blue flower. haha really appreciate it. (:
AND LASTLY, MY FAMILY! thanks for coming down to support me again. Thanks for all that you've done for me over the years. Thanks for all your understanding and forgiveness whenever I've done something wrong. Thanks for giving me the courage to do what I want to do and giving me the time and space to do it. And thanks to Michael for cheering me on during the concert! (: Concert would never be the same without you all.
And so i guess it all has to end here. This concert was definitely not one of the best. It was definitely not one that I wanted to end off my RICO life with. It was all rushed out, not as elaborate as last year and more worry than joy. But we put in all our effort. We worked hard together especially as a section. We rocked the stage with our qinwangdianbing. We did our best. We didn't pull through in the end but we'll stay as a team together. No one is to be blamed for whatever mistakes he has made. We work as a team, we make mistakes as a team and we will succeed in SYF next year again as a team. RICO is all about teamwork and team spirit. We lost some of it a few years back but I can see it coming back again. We did our best and we are proud of Voices of the Dragon 14. We'll come back better and stronger next year in SYF.
But for now, it's a job well done for concert. It has been a fantastic year for me in RICO that I'll never forget. Continue working hard and do me and your seniors proud in next year's SYF. (:
Hope I can come back to perform as an alumni next year haha. (: I'm looking forward to that!
RICO percussion ftw!
Patrick
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