Salut Salon Competitive Foursome

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=268457760002594&set=vb.182521798596191&type=2

Salut Salon "Competitive Foursome"

what did i just watch !!!

incredulous. cant believe my eyes, so much fun watching these insane ladies play!

brings me back to the days of messing around in rehearsal haha. my earliest memories are probably in Sha Tin Junior School Orchestra ... this boy Mike (who's now a final year Geography undergrad at U of Southampton in the UK) used to sit just a bit in front of me as a Violin 3 (lol yeah the best u can do without any violists ... remember this is just primary school and international schools aren't competitive, we never went to MusFest or other competition crap. basically if u knew how to play an instrument and you could do the most basic score reading (not even sight-reading, mind you...), then basically you'd get invited into Orchestra. Still rmb I spent the first three years of junior school sulking and becoming progressively more and more jealous of all the kids who got "invited" into the Orchestra hahahhaha. Since you couldn't just "join" it as an extra-curricular activity, you had to be "invited". ew.

Anyways, in P4 ... i'd just learnt cello for a year in Music Office, i think. And somehow or the other my music teacher (the dear old lovely Ms Chiam ... one of the kindest and nicest and biggest hearted teachers I ever had the pleasure of knowing!!) found out that I played cello, and invited me to Orchestra. (YES!!!)

Ofc at first I didn't know what to expect. And having always been an introvert, and shy, and nervous, and socially awkward ... I was so lonely that first day at rehearsal. Scared out of my wits. And I think there were only 1-2 other cellists only. Can't rmb who the second one was. But the first was my senior by 2 years, a lovely lady, Audrey, who eventually also played with me in YSO for 2-3 years. (lol somehow she was also a student of Ngai sir ... somehow over half the cellists I met in junior school, high school, JCE, and YSO were at some point or other his students ... coincidence?! Though not really ge ... as he did teach a lot of cello in Music Office before he left to go freelance and eventually open his own 琴室 Cellistizzimo~ and as an alumni of YSO ofc he'd recommend his students to go for orchestral training there~).

ah. watching music clips on FB and YT always trigger good memories and I just go ranting on and on about how great my musical experiences were growing up. Though it was not always smooth and successful ... it was most definitely always happy. :') and even if others weren't happy, I learnt to be happy through my own playing. :) though it wasn't always "good". or up to "standard". LOL. yeah i was a happy kid as long as i got to play.

oh anyway. back to that kid Mike. anyway he was quite naughty and used to play bow fights with all the other kids who would oblige to play with him. and somehow one day he started a bow fight with me and somehow I was feeling a bit mischievous too and so we started a massive bow fight. Thank goodness in those days I still used a cello rented from MO and so it didn't really matter that much if I caused a lot of damage. (sorry ... i know it's wrong, but as a kid you dont really think much about these things xD). And we'd switch bows. And at one point instruments.

And after that my first few years in YSO with my other high school friends. (3 violinists and another cellist).
We even switched mutes one time HAHAHAH. and we'd play high up on the fingerboard and get the rosin dust smeared all over the neck 五把位 area and had a hard time clearing up the mess. Got our fingers all sticky but it was fun haha~

and we'd hold our bows the way bassists do. or erhus.

and afterwards, in high school, there was a period i think in Year 10 (Form 4), for GCSE music coursework we had to create our own composition. The topic was "experimental music". We could choose between minimalism and this, I think. And i rmb i didnt like minimalism. Even though the music as a product could be pretty cool (ref Jade Kim's "Raindrops" wow at that time I didn't appreciate it that much but after a while, and listening to it a few weeks ago really made me smile again!)

Anyways, experimental music. If you've ever watched Ethan Winer "A Cello Rondo" ... you'll get what i mean. This was the demonstration video shown in class. And I decided that I'd give it a go. I even performed it in the "Composition" category of the annual Young Musician's Festival. Even though it turned out terrible. HAHA. Cos I believe I mixed in too much, trying to fuse in everything, from baroque to classical to 20th century to Ethan Winer to chopstick slapping to glissandos to harmonics. to. everything and anything you'd ever imagined possible on a cello. haha, though the techniques were fascinating and i had the time of my life creating that composition!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ve4cBOnSU9Q Ethan Winer "A Cello Rondo"


And after that. just jamming during rehearsal. or one of our own ensemble rehearsals. can't rmb. either way, we started messing around as we always do ... multiple bows on a single string.
guitar strumming.
playing my cello like it was a violin, and never fearing that it would be too damn heavy and drop LOL.
screeching the notes out beyond the bridge and trying to figure out what note it was.
bowing ON the actual bridge.
at one point i was also obsessed with col legno.
and for a while i never got around to figuring out what senza sordino meant. HAHAHHAHA. even though i knew what con sordino was. eek. stupidity and ignorance at its finest.

yeah. basically this vid just suddenly activated a whole FLOOD of memories. and reminded me that you can legit mess around with your instruments. not just as kids. :') thanks girls for reminding me~!

Michael Spencer, young cellist with a twist

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=745857952123878&set=vb.100000990414527&type=2

WOW. so much inspiration. this kid is a blessing. :')

First Nick Vujicic. and now this guy Michael Spencer. My heart is soaring. Invaluable life lessons that keep the flame burning alive in me.

RC Choir 2013-14 #3

10.04.2014 0220
After choir rehearsal.

Currently listening to: Pictures at an Exhibition (Stokowski orch.)
Already in my youtube searchbar: Abbado with Lucerne Festival Orchestra

(writing this down so i dont forget and so i have a reference for future encounters...)

Wow. the Stokowski orchestration ... I can't say I dislike it, but ofc I still much prefer Ravel's orchestration. It is strange in some senses, but wow in some places it really strikes my heart right "there".

... okay wow I just had a few mins taste of Abbado with the Lucerne Festival Orchestra. Mahler 1. Just the beginning, not so much action yet. But dude I have goosebumps already, came out from nowhere, and an instant connection of this ethereal entity. I can see everything through Maestro Abbado's hands. Such magic. Such a flow. And his smile :) "a smile that could melt glaciers" ... haha what a fitting metaphor!

--

So late night free blogging again. A lot on my mind, don't really wanna go there. Better to neglect the thoughts that are tied up. Crush it. Suppress it. Negativity. Get out, you don't belong there. lol trust me I'm not a mad psychopath. Just hate it when it creeps in and silently attacks you. I feel that everyone must have felt this way at some point or another. More than once definitely. But this is happening to me on such a regular pressure especially when I let the stress get to me. Stress is not necessarily a bad thing, I watched a TEDTalk last night on how stress actually helps you find meaning in your life. And that's a good thing. But it does get crazy frustrating when it all accumulates and punches you in the face in one go. Multiple goes, in fact. Tis not a boxing fight.

Again thought of another Bible verse I stumbled upon during the previous Joint Class Medic Fellowship with CUHK medic guys too.
There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens. - Ecclesiastes 3:1

so is it exam season right now?
can they overlap?
can music season span the whole year and never end?

back in high school. i always treated music as a hobby. my top passion, outside of academics. Along with basketball.

My basketball coach said, if you're gonna get your head in the game, and gonna stick with it, then be sure to make basketball your top priority. after academics, of course.

So what now? Music has become my top priority. On top of academics, in fact. But it is no longer a hobby or a passion. But my life. In essence, life would be nothing without music, ofc. Music has so many diverse forms. Not just notes and scores. Not just melodies and harmonies. Rhythms and beats of everyday life. Pitched and non-pitched alike. How many times have you tried to mimic a funny doorbell jig? Don't lie. There used be one at Honeymoon Dessert (dunno if they still have it anymore, was a few years ago, the one in Shatin on the second top floor opposite the Starlight Garden, next to the CD Records store).

My memory is so bad I can't even recollect what the actual tune was, but I remember it only because I was with a few YSO friends (the same ones from high school), another cellist and three violinists, and we were arguing about a Eb being slightly out of tune hahahah! The violinists couldn't hear a difference, but my fellow cellist and I were insistent about it being flat. It was very very very uncomfortable to our ears (not to the extent of making us leave the place, but cos it kept repeating ... it did kind of kick us in the stomach every time it played lol).

Anyway ... the point being. Music is everywhere. Silence is music too. Silence is my greatest comfort.

Again welcome to the world of an introvert.

Want to write so much more but study beckons.

Laterz~

Fragments of memories of music @ high school.

原本想短短地post @ Twitter 不過驚覺有中同follow我account, 而我又唔係特別想俾還在那裏讀書的師弟妹看到此post lol ...

anyway... (btw 一直以來都是用英文寫blog post, 今晚突然想寫中文, 原諒我中文差~)

http://www.shatincollege.edu.hk/sites/shatincollege/files/SpringConcert2014Poster.png

我間中學今年 Spring Concert 居然邀請到一隊 HK Welsh Male Voice Choir! 仲有上年新成立 ge Sha Tin College Chinese Orchestra lol... 一定係今年新上任, 從 KGV 跳過黎 ge 音樂系主任做的好事. 當然還不少得不死的 Choir, Orchestra, and Dance.

突然間好掛住由中一一直到會考教我的那位音樂主任 ... 我中七那年他跳左過去 Kellett School (Pokfulam/香港仔附近好似有一間, 不過那學校近幾年才建立, 亦有好多個細 campus 分佈港九新界, 已經忘記了他在那個 campus 任教~). 此後, (在 KGV 轉過黎的音樂主任上任之前) 中學的音樂系差不多倒塌了. (苦笑). (dead serious).

不是說還在堅持搞好音樂的那兩位老師沒有心, 只不過他們能力有限, 又沒有太大的説服力, 學生們也開始漸漸失去對校内音樂活動的那份支持、熱情、信心、堅持.

那年, 我經歷了最差的一個 STC in Concert (Annual Concert involving Drama, Choir and Orchestra, with a few solo/ensemble performances splattered on top just cos Choir and Orchestra were too mundane) 還有 Spring Concert. 排練居然可以有半數缺席. 而每當籃球跟排練相撞的時候, 只要我跟老師說半句道歉她便非常輕易地放我走... (對不起, 在年頭大多時候我都選擇了籃球因爲那段時間正正是學界加英基學校聯賽再加上全港國際學校聯賽, 而我是隊長, 爲了留在學界甲組以及衛冕英基+國際學校聯賽冠軍 (去年的師姐們太強勁了, 三個聯賽不是排第一就是第二, 讓我壓力超標~)

Anyway, off topic~

總之, 我中七那年校内音樂活動非常黑暗, 很遺憾不能夠為我們心醉于音樂的一群畢業生留下最美好的回憶. btw 我中學一向都比較少 student-run activities, 音樂呢家野更加只是兩位音樂老師負責, 想幫都不知道怎樣幫 :'(

啊, 除了一年一度的 “青年音樂節" (haha, Young Musician's Festival直譯). 那年我跟兩位好朋友想演奏一彈勁野 show hand (話曬都係final year), 一個小提琴兩個大提琴可以怎樣呢. lol. 有想過String Trio, 但係咪玩 ofc 唔work, 結果我提出 Piano Trio (另外一個大提琴手也是鋼琴好手). 我們始終對於非string quartet ge ensemble music 很陌生, dum了很久我才找到玩得過而風險不會過火的 Brahms Trio No.1. 第一次上 YouTube 聼好震撼, 因爲那時我們還是比較無甘成熟的樂手.

雖然話曬我們三個都 (叫做) 考了演奏級, 亦在 YSO 拉了一段時間（我2007年開始）, 無懼睇譜視奏, 甚至ensembleship, musicianship 都有某程度上的認識 ... 但是始終也是第一次以Piano Trio這個組合表演, 好像有點保留、不太自在的感覺.

回溯, 這些想法實在太好笑. 那時爲了練習, 給師生和觀衆送上一首美麗樂曲, 為我們的最後一年畫上完美的句號 ... 我們瘋狂到隔日早上上課前半小時練習（還試過得到老師批准后走堂練習 -- NB we only skipped registration and tutor period - 就是早上集會聼老師講bulletin, 派通告那些零碎野才會走 xD）... lunch break 不吃飯練習, 學校樂團和YSO排練一放break也練習, 周末去他們家里練習 ... 果然, 爲了趕在 比賽 表演前連成這首很棒的樂曲, 真係好顛, 去到好盡.

那些日子也許是我中學生涯裏最懷念, 最愉快, 最美好的一段日子.

結果我們真的獻給所有人很動聽的表演. 雖然比賽規則只能夠讓我們表演短短的四分鐘（那樂章應該是七/八分鐘左右吧！）, 但是. 在我們三個人的心目中, 我們成功了. :D

比賽還是比賽, 最後拿了 "Best Senior Ensemble" 同埋 "Ensemble of the Year", 錦上添花.

其實呢個 blog post 原本是講我中學下周舉行的 Spring Concert, 但是突然又引起中學音樂的回憶, and then really got carried away. far, far away.

然後驚覺原來已經淩晨三點, 這三小時在發白日夢跟寫此post, 又無溫書, gg.

點都好, 又再次證明 music is my life, it will be my first love, and it will be my last.

沒有音樂我想我真的不能真真正正地活著. 要繼續為音樂堅持、奮鬥. 一定要.
想起高中讀 IB philosophy時, 的名句 "the unexamined life is not worth living" (Socrates)
雖然現在的balance非常差, 基本上是 predominantly music --> then sports --> then medicine --> then friends --> then family ............................................................. --> then sleep.
不過 ... 我真係全部都放唔低. 點算.

--

所以便讓音樂繼續帶領我人生吧。
Let the music of my life lead me to newer paths, greater heights, and seemingly impossible dreams.

Let's go~

Hillsong United - Aftermath (+playlist)

My current study buddy. Even though it has lyrics ... and I do get high on it ... but it helps a lot with concentrating.

Though aftermath is not my favourite track out of the album, it is probably the one with the most impact and one to leave the biggest mark.

My favourite tracks in this album - Like an Avalanche, Awakening

Hillsong United ... probably one of the few bands I actually went to see live when they toured HK. As a Christian Worship Band it is even less likely that I'd pay so much money to go see them. But damn it wasn't just a show. It shattered my previous experience of listening to them. Crap.

Carly's Café - Experience Autism Through Carly's Eyes

Since when did I have an obsession over autism. The correct term, "ASD" (Autism Spectrum Disorder) should be used, but for the sake of writing and time, and as everyone refers to it, it's just autism for me.

I don't remember my first encounter with the term. Probably something on TV.

Ah. I remember. A movie. With my dad. Or rather, one of my dad's weekend movies which I happened to catch. Something about mercury. Mercury Rising. With Bruce Willis. And an autistic kid whose name I'm sorry I will never be able to remember. Really fascinating plot. Top secret NSA stuff. And somehow the kid solves it. Or knows about it. One way or the other, I remember clearly for aaaages after watching the movie I was engrossed with the minute details of his speech and actions. Everything he did in the movie. Though of course this must have been at least a good 5 years ago so no more recollection, apart from Autism.

It still remains as much a mystery to me as it is to the world. Especially the world of science and medicine. If possible I wish to make it one of my life goals to study it, understand it, reach out to autistic kids. Just what is happening. Why are they trapped. How we can burst the bubble and break through to their intelligence. Because as you may have heard, autistic kids are often the brightest, just that they have problems expressing themselves.

By no means am I comparing autistic kids with myself LOL. Though I have trouble expressing myself at times ...

Anyway. Loved this short clip. Really says a lot. Don't judge a book by its cover. And every story has 2 sides.

Much respect. My heart goes out to all autistic peeps.

Oh and did you know, they recently found that not only kids can have autism, but adults too. Scary, huh?
It's kinda like. Late onset. Like MODY (mature onset of diabetes in the young) or type 1.5 diabetes aka. LADA (latent autoimmune diabetes in adults).

Ah. sorry for bombarding you with details of my study. Exams just around the corner and it's being a pain in the ass. Either I can't remember it. Or I only remember a few things and it nags at me begging for attention so I can't digest other information.

Anyway, autism. You guys really got a lot of guts to be able to bear with ignorant people who don't understand you! I don't mean to say I understand you guys a lot either ... but I really feel for you peeps. Just be yourself. Hold your head high cos you guys are amazing. Just wanna let u know! If any of you guys ever read this haha. :')

-peace out-

RC Choir 2013-14 #2

26.03.2014 0320
After choir rehearsal and work (PCP readings ... damnit finally last tutorial tmr, good riddance!)

So tonight for some reason I feel much more spirited and less clogged up with depressing thoughts, absolutely no signs of complicated thoughts, uneasiness, or drifting off into a pool of muddy chaos.

My head is still heavy and to some extent, spinning. Been treating my body not too well lately, and as a result it has had enough of me and started producing cold symptoms. Nose has been stuffed up all day yesterday and today ... couldn't stop blowing noisily during PBL this morning (sorry...) and have had to pop my ears with the occasional cough. Took some of Yeung Wing's dextrochlorpheniramine pills (decongestants) and one of my old anti-inflammatory meds (lysozyme). Don't think my old Strepsils work too well (never trusted those buggers ...)

But ... anyway ... I feel as if work has been tapping me on the shoulder lately, I have put it off for too long, and Finals are fast approaching. I don't feel the doom that many of my classmates do ... yet ... but I know if I want to pass up into Year 3 next year I will have to work my ass off. Soon. Damnit.

Being busy with school is good. Takes my mind off things. Though those crazy accumulative thoughts I previously typed for Coach are still stuck at the bottom of my head. Just wanna crush it and kick it out of my brain. Stupid brain. Always thinking pessimistic thoughts not worth paying attention to, and not creating enough space for actually useful knowledge! Oh, the life of an introvert. >< Is that why I always tell people to be optimistic, tell them I'm optimistic ... but deep down the devil in my head keeps throwing pessimistic ideas around.

Anyway. So my beloved choir. Had a really good time tonight and thoroughly enjoyed myself. Yep even through my hazy voice and stuffy nose. Didn't expect those guys to be able to sing Praise His Holy Name through without major issues, as many of them said they hadn't looked at it since last rehearsal a week ago. But they did, and I had a lot of fun seeing them through the whole piece. Awesome :)

And a bit of a surprise, as it was only the previous night that Coach had started singing 讓生命圓滿 with CU Chorus. And after they posted it online ... I was mesmerised. The message was so strong it struck home immediately, and the simple yet effective melody and harmonies just moved me so much. Purely as a genuine heartfelt comment I told Coach that I loved it very much ... and very unexpectedly ... Coach said, if I would like RC to sing it for Farewell. Wow. I was so shocked at that moment, as I really had no intentions of going down this path when I first made that comment. But as you cannot really express such surprise in a Facebook chat ... our conversation extended and somehow I found myself convincing myself that indeed it would be quite lovely to cover this for Farewell as well. :') thank you Coach!

So all in all, a peaceful day. Feel so much better than a while ago ... perhaps it is because Coach keeps telling me spill so much ... I don't know how much is left in me that's unwilling to come out but still bugging me, but for now I do feel liberated. Why does he always (seem to) manage to do all the right things to pull me out of the mud I'm stuck in?! (haha, just thought of that childhood game "Stuck-In-The-Mud" ... basically a friend of the basic "Tag", but with a slight catch).

I only know that it is my greatest honour and blessing to have such an influential guide in my life. Indeed life is much happier with a good friend. :') just have this tiny gut feeling that I am still socially awkward -_-" and that i won't be able to do much about it in the near future ._.

stop. introverts are awesome too.

in their own way.

:)