Xinfony VII

Xinfony VII happened last evening. MZ, YZ, RF and Carol came to watch us. This is the first time I have played without YZ, Pearl and LY. This is also the second time I have played with Jiaxing and Zhiwei (I think) in this alumni.

I don't know how we sounded because I don't know how to listen anymore. We got through with no major mishaps, although after a few years of performance, one's idea of a "mishap" alters considerably and nothing is really a mishap anymore. If it happens, then tough luck, get over it and go on to the next note/section already. According to YZ and MZ, X-winds sounded good, better than the rest, in fact. I asked them if we sounded far too loud because even during rehearsal, Daniel our conductor, told us that the hall cannot stand our volume. However YZ said that we were loud but rich. On a personal level, I guess I screwed up some and covered most parts adequately.

I got the impression from them that they did not really enjoy the concert because of various reasons. Firstly, the band was not that good, with being out of tune, being messy and simply the disappearance of the melody. All these points to one very obvious thing, that the band is not listening to each other. If everybody were listening, they could spot being out of tune, they would know to come in together and they would watch out for the melody, lowering their volume when necessary.

I will not say that the alumni was listening to each other. When you are on stage with hundreds of eyes staring at you, combined with insufficient practices (or inattentiveness during practices), all you can pretty much concentrate on are the notes on your scores and ensuring that you do not screw up the parts you previously had no problem playing.

Everything flows, from one section to another, one note to the next, one dynamic to the other. There is a reason why musicians find themselves physically, mentally and emotionally exhausted after a concert or rehearsal. There is much to concentrate on, there is a lot of multi-tasking. (I often wonder if anybody realizes this, that musicians multi-task constantly. Once I lost the ability to listen properly, I gradually lost my ability to multi-task as well.)

The second reason they did not enjoy the concert was the fact that the pieces were all long and slow pieces, very much typical band pieces. This was a vast difference from the last concert where there were a number of pieces the audience could identify with. However, that is not to say that the pieces should be only those the audience know, or that all band pieces are long and slow. Perhaps there should have been more exciting pieces. Now I wonder if our concerts in the past were also of this genre and if the audience fell asleep while listening to us. Interesting that only 4 years after graduation do I realize the importance of engaging or entertaining the audience. I am oddly pleased, though, that the band is venturing once again into these band pieces. In my opinion, these are the pieces that truly challenge the individual player and the band as a whole.

Thirdly, there was a problem with the air-conditioning in the hall. Hall was stuffy.

Fourthly, wrong placement of percussion ensemble, featuring Mr. Pan Huei Yuan and percussionists from the Singapore Wind Symphony, in the programme, especially when great changes in instruments arrangement are needed. Gap in programme while re-arranging instruments back before X-winds went on stage resulted in audience being noisy. Not to mention that I was not exactly happy when I went on and found no stands in front of the vibraphone or the bells. My ratchet was also squashed beneath the Xylophone leg. Took the next 15 seconds to re-arrange quickly but ended up having to do some squeezing and instruments moving during the pieces itself, which is not a good visual image for the audience.

Did I mention that the alumni had to give up our seats backstage to the percussionist guest players? We ended up standing around or seating on some chairs placed around backstage. I am aware that I sound grumpy and calculating, but if I do not remember wrongly, it is the band which requested for the alumni to play in the concert because they did not have time to prepare enough pieces to cover for the whole concert. If it is as such, then I am irked that we are placed 2nd class. I am also extremely irked that the assistant band conductor referred to the guest players as VIPs - Very Important People. Alright, alright, I know, formality and politics in the real world. Fuck the real world. I suppose that the alumni are not important enough.

Ok, I am just feeling dissatisfied. Am fully aware that it is not the guest players' fault, for they are the guest players and guests should always be treated with respect.

One thing I do not fathom though. It is the band's concert, their (our) Xinfony, why do they have to invite guest players, to play an entire percussion ensemble at that. There is probably a good reason behind it, but I simply do not like the idea at all. Like what YZ said, it made things look as if the guest players were the highlight of the concert instead of the school band. But oh well, it is their era, their concert and their Xinfony.

The 5 alumni percussionists:

Biing Yih, Jiaxing, Zhi Wei, me, Bao Zhen

Yiang Shan, Man Shan and 2 other juniors joined us in playing but we were unable to take a picture with them. Many thanks to them for their help!

The uh, don't know how many generations of percussionists, all graduated:

Jiaxing, Yizhen, Rui Fang, Bao Zhen, me, Zhi Wei, Biing Yih

Saw Alvin too but he didn't drop it for the concert itself, just the rehearsal. He was saying that the band has become commercialized and running like an organization. The band members don't look happy playing. Things are happening because the teachers want it, not because the students want it, which should not be the case.

A look inside VCH. Of the many times I've played here, I have never showed you all how it looks backstage.

These are the steps to stage right:


This is how it is like, looking down from the steps:


This is Frankie:

This is how it looks like after entering the door towards backstage (i.e. the door in the 2nd picture of this series):

Shuping giving me that look

And this is how the corridor behind Shuping looks like:

Juniors thinking I am taking a picture of them

The other end leads to stage left.

This is Han Yong and Ray:

Han Yong's head is very interesting

Have I mentioned that one of our oboist came in for rehearsal wearing the no.4. I was very happy looking at the uniform. He was very exhausted though. Wondered how many girls stopped him on the way to the hall.

Am just kidding about the girls.

I was toying with the idea of just playing an ensemble with the percussionists we are close with, not too many people, just a few. No proper instruments, no practice place. Feasible?