Rehearsals Resume

Finally, orchestra rehearsals have resumed for the double bassists, after a period of examinations break. Some of my fellow orchestra mates have started rehearsing about two to three weeks ago because they were involved in some performances requested by external organisations, for example, the grand final of the Singapore Idol. Perhaps it was a blessing that the double bassists had no music part to play, and were hence not involved. I don't think I would have enjoyed being one of the performers in that kind of situation.

I was not sure whether to attend today's rehearsals. Today's rehearsals is meant as a preparation towards this concert titled: "Yellow River Cantata". The concert will be held to commemorate the 100 years birth anniversary of the Composer, the late Mr. Xian Xing Hai. It will be sung by a 300 strong choir comprising of members from Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore, accompanied by NUS Symphony Orchestra. If I understood correctly, the Echo Philharmonic Society has invited the orchestra to play the accompaniment for this concert. If I were to attend today's rehearsals, then I would be expected to consider if I would play for this concert.

However, there is quite a number of rehearsals involved, and I fear I may not be able to commit to every single one. I would probably have to miss some of them. Furthermore, I felt it might be tiring to juggle tight rehearsal schedules, with work and personal life. Yet again, it is a rare chance to perform the Yellow River Cantata, and it is even more rare that our orchestra could perform in the Esplanade Concert Hall. Being a university orchestra, it would have been most reasonable that all our annual concerts would be held at the university's cultural centre. So it would have been a pity if I missed this rare chance to play in the Esplanade Concert Hall, and experience what it feels like to be performing there on its beautiful stage.

The music reminds me of the time when I was playing Chinese music in the Chinese orchestra, as a double bassist. I think I shall play for it anyway despite such a tight schedule, provided that I could be excused for a few of the rehearsals so that I could have some short moments of breaks. Now I am feeling tired. But somehow, playing music has this lifting effect on my spirits which can help allow me to stay up a little longer than I usually could.