Watched: The Complete History of America (Abriged)

Dear JY was very generous and kind to invite me to watch The Complete History of America (Abridged) on 6 Nov 2010. Jubilee Hall has a very Victoria design which appealed to me. Somehow, it reminded me of the many places that I had visited in United Kingdoms.

The performers of The Complete History of America (Abridged) were outstanding in that they sang well, danced, and were in some ways witty. The thing is that I was such a novice to their sense of humour, many of the times, I was still in need of help to make sense of their humour. Nevertheless, it was a good exposure to both the history of America as well as the performers' sense of humour.

Many thanks to JY for the invite and the company for that evening.


*Imaginary photo: Delicious spread of dinner consisting of salad, onion soup, garlic crusted dory fish at Miss Clarity Cafe*

And here's the real photo (uploaded on 8 Dec 2010):

Christmas concert at Esplanade Concert Hall

I saw these at Esplanade and was looking at them with wonder and delight.

There was a performance put up by saxophone players at the Esplanade Concourse before the start of the concert by SSO.

Once again, I am thankful for having won a pair of tickets to the CIMB-SSO Christmas Concert held on 12 Dec 2008. Many thanks to my friend, RL, for being gracious to take time to attend the concert with me and for being very kind to offer me her most appreciated company for the entire night.

It has been a lovely concert to catch. The concert opens with Benjamin Britten's A Ceremony of Carols, Op. 28. The Singapore Symphony Children's Choir has put up a commendable rendition of the work. My eyes were on the harpist, delighting in how different textures and colours of sounds could be produced on the harp simply by varying the way the harpist pluck the strings of the harp. It was lovely.

I realised that music that has been arranged do not quite appeal to my ears as compared to original compositions. Nevertheless, Bruce Chase's (arr.) Christmas Favourites, Paul Bateman's (arr.) Christmas Medley and Mykola Leontovich/ Richard Hayman's (arr.) Carol of the Bells still brought a bit of cheerful festive mood to me, even though I do not celebrate Christmas.

Esplanade Concert Hall.

My favourite was Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker: Suite No. 1, Op. 71a. I was not listening particularly to the orchestra's rendition of the work. I realised that my ears were tuning in the marvellous work of composition that Tchaikovsky has written. I was listening out for the various composition techniques and tools that Tchaikovsky had used to make this work sound so interesting and lovely. I think Tchaikovsky is a genius in his own right as a composer. I am glad that I have found delight in listening to his works.

Here, I have my friend, Emily, to thank. She has inspired me in many ways to listen to music. I thank her for one of her gifts: Aaron Copland's What to Listen for in Music. While I have read chapters from this book during my university days, when Emily presented it to me again as a gift, I have found myself reading it again and more motivated to be an active listener.

Another work that I like at the concert was Leroy Anderson's Sleigh Ride. I do not know why, but I think it was well written. I was listening to it with a sense of wonder and delight.

Worth mentioning was the Carol Sing-a-long at the end of the concert. Members of the audience were invited to sing along, as the orchestra plays the accompaniment. Many sang, and the mood in the concert hall was pretty high. I was listening to the orchestra's accompaniment. I concluded that I have more interest in accompaniment than the melody. Singing the melodies of the Christmas carols did not interest me. I could find not much interest and delight in them, at least not that night. It was in attempting to harmonise the melody, internally, at the back of my mind, that delighted me. I am glad that Western music heavily utilise the concept of harmony.

Whatever it is, the conductor has been pretty encouraging and even told all members of the audience that after the concert, they could go and tell their friends and loved ones that they have sung at Esplanade Concert Hall!

By the way, I have found the programme booklet for the concert to be well designed. One of the pages of the booklet was of good quality card-paper which when 'punched out' from the page, could serve as both a Christmas card and a mini calendar for the year 2009.

Last but not the least, I thank RL for giving me a lift back home, and more so, for being very kind to bear with my rants that were probably results of a mind that was not functioning anywhere near its optimal because of the time of the night. I thank her too for kindly obliging to my many requests. In addition, many thanks to RL for her gifts, photo and for sharing with me donuts from Krispy Kreme which she had brought from Australia. It is the thoughts that came with these that I am deeply thankful of.

I appreciate the kindness that she has shown me. I wish her fulfillment and happiness.

Last but not the least, I am deeply thankful for the many blessings and kindness that I have received, especially during the past few days. Many thanks to my friends for the wishes of good-luck and good-will that they have sent me during the past few days. I am deeply grateful.

Krispy Kreme donuts.

Come and listen this Wednesday

Yours truly will be performing in the following concert: Couleurs de L'arc-en-Ciel (Colours of the Rainbow).

Here are the details:

10 Sep 2008 (Wednesday), 7:00pm (Duration: About 1 -1.5 hour)
The Plaza, The National Library (The ground floor)
100 Victoria Street
Singapore 188064
Free Admission
(Nearest MRT station: Bugis)

For more details, please click this link. Hope to see some of you there.

Verdi's La Traviata

Emily told me that the upcoming production of Verdi's La Traviata presented by the Singapore Lyric Opera is worth watching. Furthermore, generally, I quite like music by Verdi.

"Based on the book by Alexandre Dumas, this opera tells the moving tale of a beautiful young courtesan who gives up her pursuit of money and frivolity for the love of a man, only to discover love has come too late for her."

Bravo!

Last evening, I went to watch Ones to Watch: Rachel Barton Pine in Concert, a concert performed by Rachel Barton Pine, and I have been inspired by her marvellous rendition. Many thanks to Shaw Foundation for sponsoring the concert. I am glad that I had went for the concert even though it took me close to an hour to travel to the concert hall.

She played on the following repertoire on the violin:
-Sonata No. 1 in G Minor for unaccompanied violin (Bach)
-Sonata No. 1 in G Major (Brahms)
-Rush for unaccompanied violin, dedicated to Rachel Barton Pine (Augusta Read Thomas)
-Romance (Amy Beach)
-Deep River (Samuel Coleridge-Taylor)
-Blues: Deliver My Soul (David Baker)
-Carmen Fantasy (Sarasate)

I am not a violinist but as a double bassist and a string-player, I marvelled at the way that she could control the tone of her instrument with masterly. I was fascinated by the virtuosity that she played the harmonics on her violin. She simply played the harmonics effortlessly and so beautifully.

Not only was she technically competent, her sound was beautiful and it sang to the audience. I particularly like her rendition of Brahms' Sonata No. 1 in G major and A. Beach's Romance. All the other works she had performed were lovely too. My ears and eyes were focused on her playing on stage throughout the entire concert. I am sure that the rest of the members of the audience have enjoyed the concert as much as I did.



Rachel Barton Pine performs Nobody Knows the Trouble I See.

To listen to her playing the violin, you may check out Rachel Barton Pine's YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/RachelBartonPine.

If you wish to own a piece of her recording, more information can be found here: http://rachelbartonpine.com/music.htm

Beyond Campus: Fantasie Passionée

Coming up next Saturday.

Beyond Campus
Fantasie Passionée
By the NUS Symphony Orchestra
(a member of NUS Centre For the Arts)
15 September 2007 (Saturday), 3pm
National Library Plaza (Ground Floor)
100 Victoria Street
Singapore 188064
Free Admission

Join the NUS Symphony Orchestra for a relaxing afternoon of flowing melodies from popular opera and theatre. Enjoy music with themes of passion and fantasy, from the fatally seductive Carmen and the deadly passionate Faust, to the royal fantasy of The King and I and the romantic phantom of the opera house.

Also see: http://dbassists.blogspot.com/2007/08/fantasie-passione.html

An evening at Singapore Art Museum: 16th century French Chansons

Last evening, I have had the pleasure to have Emily's company to listen to 16th Century French Chansons performed by Ab Oriente. I am quite impressed by the kind of research that Ab Oriente has done to come up with the programme notes. I felt that the programme notes not only gave me insights to the works that were performed, but they also gave me insights to the historical context in which those works were being written.

Sadly, I realised this afternoon that I had lost my programme notes. I shall learn to do without it.

Anyway, the programme for last night's performance of 16th Century French Chansons can be found here: http://www.ab-oriente.com/cct_070630_FC_programme.htm



When I was in the auditorium of the Singapore Art Museum, I could not help but notice the air vents up in the ceiling. Look at the photo right below, can you see that to the top-left of the chandelier, there is this protruding object with holes in it. If my memory is correct, this object forms part of the building's air-ventilation system. In those days when the air-conditioner was not even invented, the air-ventilation system helped to keep the air in the building circulated and cooler.




I have a love for melancholic music last night, and my favourite item from the programme was Josquin des Prez's Mille regrets. If only I had been more careful not to lose my copy of the programme notes, I would have printed the English translation of the lyrics here.


Photo taken by Emily.

By the way, Ab Oriente has an upcoming performance Musica Transalpina selections held at the Concourse, Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay, on 9th & 10th July 2007, Monday & Tuesday, 7:15 - 7:45 p.m. and 8:15 - 8:45 p.m.

Last but not the least, you may read Emily's account of the performance and her visit to the Singapore Art Museum here: 16th century French Chansons

The Singapore Art Museum's auditorium is a lovely place with an intimate setting. I hope that one day, I would get an invitation to perform there.

Today: Listened to All Strung Up

Today, I went to catch two sets of performances featuring the works of the composers from Les Six du Singapour. As said by the emcee, the works are aural representions of Joshua Yang's Superstring - a series of single continuous line drawings. Meantime, I shall let the photographs do the talking.

Carcar kindly took time to catch the second set with me, and we had supper after the performance. Carcar makes a lovely company.

By the way, I seem to give people the first impression that I look very serious? I am sure that Eastcoastlife would be among the first to say Yes.

If you have missed tonight's performance and you would like to listen to the works of these budding contemporary composers, here are the details of their next performance:

All Strung Out
Les Six du Singapour in collaboration with Joshua Yang
28 June 2007 (Thu)// 7.15 pm + 8.15 pm
Esplanade Concourse
Free admission

Next week: Listen to Emily's new compositions

Emily not only plays the double bass, she is also known for her compositions.

Next week, there will be two free performances at the Esplanade Concourse and you will get to listen to the compositions by Emily and a few of her friends. Compositions that will no longer be just prints on the manuscript, but will come to life and be performed live! Do check this performance out especially if you want to support contemporary music by local composers.

All Strung Up
Les Six du Singapour in collaboration with Joshua Yang
25 June 2007 (Mon)// 7.15 pm + 8.15 pm
Esplanade Concourse


All Strung Out
Les Six du Singapour in collaboration with Joshua Yang
28 June 2007 (Thu)// 7.15 pm + 8.15 pm (Timing to be confirmed)
Esplanade Concourse

Note: The programme differs for each of the four sets of performances listed above.




You will get to listen to two of Emily's latest compositions at the above two performances:

Zero Amplitude
Yuan Peiying (soprano sheng), Emily Koh (double bass) and Diana Soh (piano)

ParaMoebiusDox
Yuan Peiying (soprano sheng) and electronics

And there will be several other works that will be showcased at the above-mentioned performances held on 25 and 28 June 2007.

If you would like company, I will be there on 25 June 2007 for the 7.30 p.m. set of performance. Hope to see some of you there.

Unwind and have fun!

Courtesy of Tony Osborne and David Heyes/ Recital Music.
Tony Osborne's Blues-Style. Performed by Emily, PY and XM from d'Bassists on 31 May 2007 at Esplanade Concourse, Singapore. Esplanade Presents At The Concourse: Basso Bravo!
Video URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6egzs_Rx464


I think I am quite well-known for being quite serious most of the time. While I don't know how to play X-box and many games that my peers may enjoy, I love playing the double bass.

Blues-Style by Tony Osborne is one of my favourite pieces from d'Bassists' recent performance at Esplanade Concourse. Here's to share a recording of Blues-Style with you.

For more information, please visit d'Bassists' official webhome and read: Tony Osborne's Blues-Style (1981)

Thank you for making Basso Bravo! a success

On behalf of d'Bassists, the double bass ensemble based in Singapore, thank you for making Basso Bravo! a success.

It was a very interesting experience to facilitate the hands-on session. Given the limited duration of the session, the challenge was how I can best share with people the fun of playing the double bass. The next thing that I had to be mindful of was to make sure that the double bass did not fall on anyone. Safety first.

Meantime, to view photos of the performance, and what had went on behind the scene, please visit d'Bassists official webhome: http://dbassists.blogspot.com

Mini show-time: Dreams in Flight

In one of my earlier posts, I have mentioned that I went to watch Dreams in Flight presented by the La Fura dels Baus (Spain) on 25 May 2007. Here's presenting a mini-slide show of the photos that I have taken while I was at the performance.

If you are in Singapore, you can still catch Dreams in Flight at the Padang, at 8 p.m. tonight.

PY has watched: Dreams In Flight

At 8 p.m. this evening, I was at the Padang (which means open field in Malay) to catch Dreams In Flight presented by the La Fura dels Baus (Spain). This performance is part of the Singapore Arts Festival's Festival Opening.

I find the music that was played too loud for my ears. After the first 3 minutes of the performance, I had to take out and use my ear plugs. Protect our ears, the use of ear plugs is highly recommended if you would be attending this performance.

I was also quite impressed by the volunteers who formed the aerial 'human net'. They did a pretty good job considering the fact that they only had about two days of training. Good work!

To end the performance, there was a fireworks display. It was pretty beautiful.

If you would like to catch Dreams in Flight, here are the details:

25 – 27 May, 8pm
Padang
Free

Sponsored by OCBC Bank
Supported by Embassy of Spain

Invitation to a double bass quartet's performance

Yours truly will be performing in an Esplanade Presents programme titled At The Concourse: Basso Bravo!. This programme is held in conjunction with Singapore Arts Festival 2007. This programme will be performed by the double bass ensemble, d'Bassists.

Venue: Esplanade Concourse, Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay, Singapore
Date: 30 and 31 May 2007 (Wed and Thu)
Time: 7.30 p.m. - 8.00 p.m. and 8.45 p.m. - 9.15 p.m. on both nights

Admission is Free.

For more details, please visit: Listen to d'Bassists: 30 and 31 May 2007

Hope to see some of you there.

***
I will feel grateful if my readers could give this event a plug on their blog. Thanks in advance.

(Updated on 26 May 2007)

Cheers and more

On 24 Mar 2007, I had a bit of a sun-tanning session at Plaza Singapura while I was there supporting my youngest brother as his team was participating in the Cheerobics 2007 (Open Category) competition. The sun did me good, I hope. I became a little more darker after that day.

Back to Cheerobics 2007, a cheerleading competiton, I found one of the items put up by members from Denvers' to be inspiring and touching.

In most cheerleading performances, most of those people who get to be carried up onto the air (also known as the flyer) would be the lighter ones. But Denvers have proven to us that anyone and everyone can enjoy the fun and joy of cheerleading. Everyone deserves a fair chance. Denvers did so by choosing to lift up a not-so-light member of its team up above ground level. At that moment, I could not help but cheer. The magical moment proved to me that nothing is too difficult to overcome.

Competence and techniques count, not the superficial physical attributes. Cheers to Denvers for showing us the possibilities.

So folks, next time if you think that cheerleading is only for a prescribed group of people, think again. It is meant for anyone, including yourself. Of course, do ensure you get the relevant training before you attempt the stunts. Meantime, please check this clip right below out and you would know how uplifting it can be to be lifted up above ground level. Click on and experience the triumphs, the joys and the inspiration.



Source: Video-clip posted on YouTube by infusedpizza

Also view the entire clip of Denvers' Team A's performance here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1qCbf4R8mw

Here's the URL to catch the entire Denvers' team in their action:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQJ_Y5_kA8A

While searching for related articles, I came across this link. It has some noteworthy reads.

Special words of congratulations to my brother and his team from Denvers. Well done! I am proud of you folks.

**

The very much coveted trophies await their winners.

Also view:
The Electric New Paper: Photo Gallery
http://sports.webshots.com/album/558340200pPowUe
Cheerobics 2007, NTU Aces team (Youtube video of the winning team)
http://www.ntu.edu.sg/corpcomms2/news/CNAonline_24Mar07_NTUaces.pdf

A unique theatrical experience: 0501

Yesterday, I caught 0501, a site-specific play at the Victoria Theatre with my friend, Mystic. Instead of sitting on the audience seats of the Victoria Theatre, I have found myself sitting on the stage, and it turned out to be indeed a unique and interesting experience for me last night.

Taken at the Victoria Theatre

Here's the synopsis of 0501:

A site-specific play on the stage of Victoria Theatre, audiences sit on the cavernous stage as each performer/designer tells his/her tale. This visceral performance fuses lights, sound, storytelling, installation and object puppetry into a unifying experience that is as provocative as it is inspiring. Don't miss this unique theatrical experience as only 200 tickets are available for each night. (view source)

To gain more insights to this production, I am now reading the notes that the performers have put up on the 0501 website: http://www.fingerplayers.com/0501/index.htm

Meantime, if you would like to be one of those privileged ones to catch this production, do so by tonight. Details are as follow:

0501
05 Apr - 07 Apr 2007 (Thu - Sat)
8PM
Victoria Theatre, Singapore
Ticket Price: S$30
(*Real dogs will be used on stage and in close proximity to the audience.)
Duration: Approximately 1 hour
Language: English and Mandarin
Tickets available from Sistic

The miniature battlefields

Simple American has said that he would be keen on catching the Hotel Modern's The Great War if he were to be in Singapore. I have the pleasure of catching it last evening.

The form of this performance is something that I have never experienced before. I read that this performance is an Asian premiere. The programme notes state that the Hotel Modern theatre group invented this theatre form which it describes as "live animation".

It was fascinating to see how the artists of Hotel Modern used tools and props such as mud, beans and plasticine to create miniature battlefields that are intended to convey the cruelties of war. Through the use of cameras, these miniature scenes get projected and magnified onto the large scene placed at the front of theatre. By then, the small-sized battlefields seem like real-life scenes.

War, it seems an absurb game. I would rather people don't find themselves playing in it. Are there better ways to resolve differences and conflicts than through war?

I shall not attempt to write more, if you are keen to find out more, check this URL: http://www.singaporeartsfest.com/Theatre/greatWar.htm. A better choice would be to catch this performance by today.

Do the places in our memories still exist?

That was the question that came to my mind after watching the World Premiere of A Stranger at Home, presented by Drama Box, last Saturday.

It was quite thought-provoking, while being fairly entertaining. Some of the scenes subtly highlighted on the several ironies, but I have a sense that I could not fully appreciate all of these ironies. I still could not comprehend the significance of many of the scenes. In some ways, there were stories within a story. When one finished watching the show, these stories which did not seem at all related initially suddenly felt interconnected to each other.

The entire production was in Mandarin, with English subtitles. While the subtitles and the body-language of the casts were helpful to guide the non-Mandarin-speaking audience understand what was going on, somehow some of the nuances in the script just demand one to understand Mandarin. There was a few passages whereby the script was articulated in Hokkien (a kind of Chinese dialect) and I felt totally lost because I did not understand the language.

**
As the name of this production suggests, it is possible for one to feel like a stranger in one's homeland. Maybe the familiar is no longer easily within reach?

There was a scene whereby the main cast spoke about her meeting of a person whose primary school, secondary school and university which he had attended no longer existed. Demolished, obsolete. The main cast said that this person told her all these in a matter-of-fact manner. Was the underlying tone of acceptance or of resignation, I wonder?

Now I wonder, do the playgrounds that we have spent our childhood years in still exist? Do the places that we had used to frequent many years ago still remain for us to revisit?

It sounds like progress is the supreme word that would give the permission for old buildings and facilities (containing much of our heritage) to be demolished so that there will be space for new ones to be built. But would things be the same again?

I remember that there used to be a playground on the eighth floor of Wisma Atria shopping mall when I was a child. When I was a teenager, I had wanted to revisit the place, but alas, it was no longer there. I remember visiting Van Kleef Aquarium when I was a child, peering through the glass surfaces of the many tanks to see fascinating marine creatures. When I had wanted to take another look of it years later, it had been demolished. The inevitable, because we have to progress? Maybe memories are meant to exist in our mind?

**
Of course, new things can be welcomed. These create new memories for ourselves. It is just that could there be better ways to keep our heritage alive, without sacrificing progress?

**
A Stranger at Home is quite an insightful and sincere production, hopefully it will presented again in the future so that others who have missed it might catch it.

Double bass delights

Thanks to Emily for the information, I got to know of the exact time of the Double bass Junior Recital held earlier today at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music.

It was only this evening did I realise that the term junior refers to third-year students of the conservatory.

The double bass junior recital today was given by Tran Duc Minh. A pretty good recital. Now, I wonder how long it might take for me to play as good as him. Three or four solid years of practising and getting regular tuition from a tutor?