I have no idea who reads this blog haha(if you are reading this post, leave a tag later on!), but seeing that yesterday was our last performance with the whole choir, I want to make this post a little more.. personal. I doubt you will cry from reading this, but you have to understand that there will be a little David Archuleta, Owl City and Tumblr references haha!
Yesterday was a very long for me. It felt like it was 3 days! The morning was one day, the afternoon another and night yet another!
(yea. listen to the music to get the 'feel' lol)
Coming to school was a little rush for me. I left my house at around 10.45 and promptly left my finished cup of milk sitting on my bedroom floor. My dad sent me to school and I met up with Jerilene and WeiLin. I got the keys from Mrs Chew and from this point onwards, time seemed to speed up. After Genesis came, the three of us started counting money and oh boy! we were rich. Really rich. During lunch, the three of us eat outside the music room and the topic shifted to whether we were nervous.
I wasn't nervous to speak the truth. There's no point in worrying and being nervous. It just makes you feel worser by the second. I was.. somewhat just having fun. And yes, I had fun (:
Changing and practice. I was a little worried (ironic but..). You guys sounded somewhat tired. Ms Yin's last minute correction of things also prodded me a little.
Sleeping session on the bus. Let's not elaborate on that.
My first impression of SOTA is wow. I am impressed with the architecture and then *snap* I knew I had to focus. But the day was already starting to take its toll on me. I was having backaches and thigh aches. (I believe I'm old.) The warm up room was pretty huge and spacey. Somehow I felt Ms Yin was a little.. upset? I don't know. Rush for time I guess. Even in the room, Ms Yin was STILL correcting us. But at this point of time, no point worrying yea?
Waiting to go on stage. At this point of time, I have to admit, this year's SYF was very different from 2 years ago. Maybe it's because of the venue change. Maybe it's the people I'm performing with. Maybe it's because I grew up and matured. There's a different flavor. Being the first person to go on stage, I got the nerves. And then everything seemed to fast forward. I followed the staff to the stage, walked on to the wooden floor, not before doing a double-take. I SWEAR I HAVE NEVER, EVER SEEN THE STAGE BEFORE. NOT EVEN IN PICTURES. That's why. and HECK, THE ROOM IS SMALL. But to speak the truth, the acoustics were much better than I expected.
This is probably the first time I am saying this, but when I sing, I lose awareness of my
surroundings. I just sing and pour everything out, especially when it was a performance. My backaches and muscle aches mystically vanished. I obviously couldn't be a fair judge. So, after getting off the stage, I asked Claris who was in front of me, "How was the performance?" Claris shook her head. I was like oh nooooooo.
Let's skip the part where we were audience.
When we were coming out, I asked for the opinions of others. Erica said it was fine. Evangeline said the jap song lacked emotions. Jerilene said it was fine. It was not until Ms Yin said that we were good and decent despite the sharp, when I relaxed. So yay!
And then it hit me. The Sec4s just had their last performance. (Inserts whole bunch of things that I will reserve for later lol)
In the auditorium again, sitting in the 2nd row, waiting for the results. We were choir 072. The first to be announced was Choir 05_. Waiting and waiting. 5GWHs and 1COP had gone past. Choir 070. The 4 of us, Jerilene, Evangeline, Erica, and Me, were squeezing each other's hands. Genesis had her face in her face. And then, the moe coordinator(she's the moe coordinator for the SYF opening ceremony last year too) announced, "Choir number 72, Nan Chiau High School, Gold." Woah. We gave a slight scream and then subtleness. The first thing that came to me was, "Wow. A Gold. Wow.", not "Dang, we didn't get GWH.) Coming out, we broke the news to you guys. Honestly speaking, I wasn't expecting the reaction you peeps gave. (crying and stuff) I honestly thought you guys will be cheering for we actually got a Gold. And then someone told me that everyone was hoping for a GWH.
Everyone looks at the world from a different point of view. Each judge has their own set of rules and each of them look out for different things. SYF is different from Hong Kong. We only had 3 judges in Hong Kong - 3 judges to please. It's already difficult. We have 7 judges for SYF - 7 hearts to capture. Definitely not easy. WE WERE DEBATABLE. Haven't you noticed the judges took a longer time to discuss about our performance as compared to the next few schools?We definitely got a high Gold. It's awesome already! If our SYF was last year, or even last month, how would you think we have fared? Having grown and improved so much, you girls should really be proud of yourself. Many of us cried. I cried too lol. But, remember we should be grateful for anything we get, this is life. :) (I don't why I say this but..) CHEER UP AND SMILE.
Getting to the buffet was an epic drama. Will not elaborate on this, but I hope everyone had lots of fun! My initial idea was to have a section dinner with my lovely A2s (idea taken from band lol). So I told Erica and asked A2s only or Altos in general. Suddenly, we were planning a buffet for the WHOLE choir. One week to plan, and none of us having organise a buffet before, I must say it wasn't not THAT difficult? It was fun. (If you haven't paid, PAY UP. Dang, I sound like a loanshark.)
This quote is (Y). I truly hope that juniors, you guys can carry on and work hard! Spread the chorister identity with the sec1s. We may not have gotten what we hoped for but at least, we maintained our Gold. In the next SYF, I really hope that you guys can get us that long-deserving GWH and make all the practices and effort worthwhile! No pressure of course. (: Sad to say, us Sec4s won't be there for practices anymore but be rest assured, our hearts will always be with you and we will still definitely visit. (:
So strive hard when practice resumes! Dear juniors, please take the choir to the sky! (:
(just in case you haven't realised, this post is obviously written by DENISE.)
NANCHIAUCHORALEY 11:21 PM
Hey choir! I am so proud that we got GOLD! We shall work harder for the next SYF for a GWH so no more tears okay?
Behind this gold, there were tears, laughter and most of all hard work and no one will understand the amount of effort put in. Miss Yin is very proud of us and we should be very proud of ourselves too!
We shall continue to work hard and the next batch will continue to rock on! :D
NANCHIAUCHORALEY 11:12 PM
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Hey guys! SYF is tomorrow! SYF is tomorrow! I am so excited, how about you?
I am sure that the choir can do it, we just have to imagine that the concert hall is the music room and we sing like we always do with 200% ! Why don't we continue the GWH streak after Drama?! Our choir can do it if we have heart and the brains! Don't get nervous or afraid, just sing like you're singing in the music room/string room and we can do it!
Well, lights out today at 10.30 and remember to report at 11.30 tomorrow. Do not be late. Please bring your scores,water bottles,gowns,make up,shoes and CHOKER! Do not forget to bring these items.
The big day is tomorrow and let's make the best out of it! After so many practices,time spent working on our techniques,hard work and tears, we must do it tomorrow! Let's show the world that we're awesomeeeeeee!
Gold with honors here we comeeeeeee! :D
NANCHIAUCHORALEY 8:25 PM
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Hey guys! There are only 2 day left! Can you believe it? Today was the last practice before SYF and I am so excited, are you? I was very delighted with today's practice, however, Miss Yin said that we sounded tired. Therefore, get more rest and drink lots of plain water. On Thursday,once you come back from school, take a nap before you do your school work. After that, sleep early. Lights out at 10.30!
To achieve Gold for SYF, the 2 most important things are heart and brains. DO NOT forget to think before singing and always remember to put in feeling. For the Jap song, the Altos have to be less clear as the song is about the night rain. Also, for the Sop 2s, do not sound like a 'kaypo' auntie and have direction. For the French song, the Altos need to loosen up and the choir has to remember their dynamics. Lastly, for The Wind, pronunciation is important words as the judges will need to hear the words of the song and the words of the song must sound like English [Not singlish].
Regarding Friday, report to school by 11.30, all girls with long hair will have to bun up their hair before we reach school. The choir should be reporting in their Choir tee and pants. School shorts/shorts that are not super short/pants are allowed. Regarding shoes, we can wear sandals/school shoes/covered shoes.We would be having lunch in the canteen as a choir and only after that then we'll be doing our makeup and change of clothes. We will be doing our warm ups till 2.45 and we'll be heading to SOTA!
I am sure that we can make it and we should not get complacent so let's Gold! Also, be sure to thank our choir teachers for putting effort and time for designing the Owl Bags from Cotton On! They are so cool!
This is the last leg of the race, let's complete it with flying colors!
NANCHIAUCHORALEY 9:17 PM
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Hey guys! It's TUESDAY! Can you believe how time flies so quickly? Well, tomorrow would be the last practice for SYF so I want all our you guys to absorb and retain ALL the information and details taught by Miss Yin and put in your 200% effort in this practice.
In the meantime, please revise your scores and take good care of yourself! Drink lots of plain water and try to take vitamins so as to not fall sick. Also, take out your score to revise them. We're just 3 days away from the huge performance and we can't afford to slide back. We have to constantly improve and become better-er.
See you tomorrow! :D
NANCHIAUCHORALEY 6:24 PM
Monday, April 11, 2011
4days;1 practice!
Hey guys! Well, there are 4 more days left to SYF! Just for 4 days! During this 4 days, hydration and focus is key so do drink lots of fluids and focus on the 3 songs. If you happen to have some free time, simply go through the songs in your head, remembering all the details such as dynamics and pronunciation.
Today's practice was a AWESOME one. Being the second last practice till SYF, I could see that most of our choir mates put in their fullest attention and efforts into this practice. I am so proud of the choir as we have changed and improved drastically from the last 1 month. Even Miss Yin is proud too! Therefore, I feel that we should be striving for even better achievements. As Miss Yin mentioned, we should be ' better-er'. :D
Still, we should not be complacent. Even though our sound is good, we must still have to remember the techniques that Miss Yin has taught us. 'Old habits die hard'. If we do not cultivate good singing habits, we will not be able to achieve a good sound. At least with good singing habits, we would be able to produce a good sound even if we are uncertain.
Finally, Genesis suggests that we have a choir dinner after our SYF. So if you guys have any suggestions, please approach any of the seniors! See you on our final practice on Wed,4.00 in the music room/string room :D
NANCHIAUCHORALEY 9:58 PM
welcome
HELLO, welcome to ncvoices.blogspot.com
enjoy the stay :D
remember to tag!
because we are who we are. OUR AWESOME CONDUCTOR Ms Dawn Yin
OUR RESPONSIBLE TEACHERS-IN-CHARGE Mrs Neewyn Chew Ms Esther Yong Mrs Jaime Ong
&MILESTONES
SYF 2005 BRONZE
NCHS PUBLIC CONCERT@VCH /2006
NDP'06 COMBINED SCHOOLS CHOIR DIVERTIMENTO! 2006 CONCERT
SYF 2007 GOLD 21 Century International Choral Festival@Genting
Awarded Gold B with 86.89 points Most Outstanding Choir Award
Category/Overall Champions
NCHS PUBLIC CONCERT@SCH /2008 Because We Sing concert @Grassroots Club
SYF 2009 GOLD CELEBRATE DECEMBER @ ESPLANADE CONCOURSE
NCHS PUBLIC CONCERT@NYP Auditorium /2010 SYF Opening Ceremony 2010@Singapore Indoor Stadium Winter Choral Festival 2010GOLD SYF 2011GOLD
4days;1 practice!