Planet Earth

I'm glad that I stayed on to play for the concert even though I met with a lot of objection from my family. The concert was simply fantastic to me as a player, and even though there were some hiccups, hey, if there were none, it wouldn't be considered as a live performance. We aren't robots, we are human and humans are not infallible.

For the first half, Crescent and Stars was really memorable (THANK YOU JIIN JOO!) and brought back the old school feel of the 1960's. Nice march tempo and plenty of spirit! yay NUSWS! and of course to Ian, for stepping up to the conductor's stand to take the piece.

English Folk Song Suite had lots of spirit too! and plenty of vigor. Thanks Martin for being an entertaining conductor (quoted from my friend) and everyone for playing the march with your hearts out.

Cartoons really became larger than life. Great solo from lizi and the percussion section for showcasing all the fantastic effects. Crystal, all my friends said that your drums were the best! Great feeling and great tempo. Simply the heart of the piece. ^^

After a really quick intermission, the 2nd half was the eagerly anticipated PLANET EARTH! I really felt that we did a really good job of premiering the piece! Kudos to the flutes, the clarinets, the saxophones, the bassoons, the trumpets, the trombones, the euphoniums, the tubas, the string bass, the cellos, the harp, and the piano sections! The audience was simply blown away by the transition of viewing our Earth through music from outer space and back again. ^^ We even got standing ovations! How cool is that? Even Mr Tan and some members of NUSWS teared during the performance of Planet Earth, showing how powerful this piece and this performance is and means to us.

I didn't tear even though I was deeply moved until all my hairs stood up (literally and metaphorically) and also, when we finished the piece, seeing jinxun giving that HUGE smile just made me smile back. haha.. it was a sense of immense satisfaction, knowing that we brought the audience to another plane of existance for the 50 minutes of the piece, and showed them how music can bring out the essence of one's soul.

I didn't bring my camera this time round as I didn't really feel like taking photos. I just wanted to savour every moment I can via my eyes and ears, because they would really stay with me for the rest of my life. And it did and it will always be. And even right now, recollecting last night's memory is bringing the tears that were delayed for so long to my eyes.

Special thanks to the Clarinet section of Ian, Zijun, Francis, Huikoon on 1sts; Xiu Yu, Cheng Huat, Ruixiang, Khee Nguen, Zi-xian on 2nds; Jinxun, Huili, Sharon, Jasmine, Kee Jun, Yuhang on 3rds; Cedric on the alto clarinet, Song Wee on the bass clarinet, Teng Wen for bravely stepping up to the contra alto (which he can play on one chair and not two like the rest of the section!) and Joel on the contra-bass (and for the vibrating effects given to me) for making the entire concert and all the rehearsals super memorable and fun for the past sem.

Now that it is over, I wonder what's going to be left for the rest of the semester. I'm feeling an emptiness now that the concert is over...

For now, the last thank yous must be credited to the following people:
Mr Leng, for your guidance in playing in hwachong really laid down a solid foundation to handle pieces like Planet Earth

and how can we forget,

Mr Leonard Tan, for giving us the opportunity to premiere Planet Earth, for teaching us so much, for showing us so much, for giving us so much without any qualms nor expecting anything in return. For his great heart and spirit, guidance and words that led this 102 strong band to where it is today in only 2 short years. For planning this fantastic repertoire, for being there for us not just musically, but also mentally, despite all his own troubles, which he never brought to us and solving all our problems and more. For without you, and the rest of NUSWS, I will have never felt such a deep regret and a sense of longing when the day comes that I will eventually have to leave. But for now, all I want to say is, Thank You. You really made my day and I hope that we made yours too.

15th March 2008 - InTempo 2008, featuring the premire of Johan De Meij's 3rd Symphony, Planet Earth in Singapore. What a night to remember, what a night to keep in one's heart for the rest of your life.