Wednesday, September 29, 2004

Man U & Mozart

First of all,

MAN U TRASHED FENERBAHCE 6-2! WOOHOO!

Wayne Rooney scored a hat-trick on his debut. How amazing is that? I don't think it gets any better that, scoring a hat-trick on your club debut, a Champions' League at that! No wonder they paid 27 million pounds for him. I was initially a bit skeptical about that price for an 18 years old, but now it looks like that it's money well spent.

I won't say exactly that I'm a die-hard fan of Man U, but I'm not a fair weather fan either, considering that I've been supporting this club for nearly half my life (I started supporting them in Sec 1, which was 1995). I'm not one who buys all their jersey replicate, home and away. I used to be able to identify every single player and their numbers on the first team and reserves but not now. Why? SCV's taken the monopoly of Premiership broadcast and I don't have SCV at home.

Irritating. Should I subscribe to SCV? Hmmm...

***

Mozart Festival: A Date with Double Reeds
It was actually the first time that I've heard double reed concertos "live". The only closest I've ever came across was just an oboe-bassoon-piano trio. Frankly, I think I suffered from indigestion of Mozart after sitting through the entire programme which included 2 concertos, an overture and a symphony!

Both concertos were played by the respective principals, and I thought that both players had totally opposite style. Rachel was conservative whereas Zhang Jin Min was flamboyant in his playing.

Well, I think it's already quite an accomplishment to play through an entire Mozart wind concerto without any major glitches. Take the Mozart Oboe Concerto for example, it start with a trill motif which links to a running scale up to high C which you hold for 4 bars. By the time you get to the second theme, it's already very tiring and it's not even half of the first movement yet!

The second movement was fine and the third movement was taken in a somehow very conservative tempo. I would have preferred it slightly on the faster side.

Some people commented that her sound was rather tense. Perhaps that was because they were watching her play. If you had closed your eyes and listen, it not only didn't sound tense but on the contrary sounded great! It not only about sound in music, your posture and actions on the stage tells a lot about what kind of player you are.

I've always liked Zhang Jin Min's sound since the time I heard him playing the Poulenc Trio. I was just so impressed by his high notes. Amazing. Anyway, I found his Bassoon Concerto highly entertaining. I think the stand takes away a bit of his virtuosity, but as his student puts it, he's getting old and cannot remember all the notes in the long cadenzas that he wrote. So I think the stand is still quite ok with me.

That pretty much ends the concert cycle for me this year. I wonder what the programme is going to be like next year.

Anyway, some exciting news for oboists! I heard from my friends at the YST conservatory that Gordon Hunt and Albrecht Mayer might be coming to town next year! My idols can!

If you still don't know who they are, click on the links in this site!
fjozn at 11:20 AM

Tuesday, September 28, 2004

New design!

Noticed the new design?

I didn't intend to change my design but due to an accident which resulted in the fatal lost of half of my previous template, I decided to change everything. In the process, I have added a referrer and hit counter (which was what I wanted to add initially when I lost my template).

Hope this is pleasant enough. I need some sleep. See you all guys again!
fjozn at 2:49 PM

Saturday, September 25, 2004

Talking big

Now I know what Melvyn meant when he said someone only knows how to talk big.

I was reading this particular person's blog just now and it just struck me that most of the things he said doesn't make sense, especially when he was talking about things that I was pretty sure of.

Let me quote some examples to make my point, I'm feeling bitchy now. Heehee!

He spoke of the present Tanglin band room being "dry" and "absorbs well" because of the "low ceiling" and "new parquet". Excuse me, parquet doesn't absorb - it reflects! And for a fact, the Tanglin band room is extremely loud; there is just not enough padding to absorb the sound. In fact, I don't believe there is any padding at all! I got a headache from playing in that room. Perhaps there was too much ear wax in his ears? And it absorbed all the sound from the band? It's a pretty good idea though, personal ear plugs! Although it is a bit unhygienic. =P

May I also mention here that a low ceiling just reflects the sound back to you even faster than a high ceiling? The end product is just a louder sound which makes you want to play even louder because you can't hear yourself. Imagine the whole band doing that? It's deafening I tell you. It's good that some people have thick ear wax and are not bothered by the noise. I am so jealous.

Anyone looking for a dry room should have seen the old Central Band studio at Tanglin Camp (no relation to Tanglin Secondary) or the present studio at Nee Soon. That's what I call dry. Well, it's just too bad that mere mortals like him won't get a chance to play there at all.

I can't really say much about the NIE-Westwinds concert, simply because I didn't go. It would be unfair for me to make a statement regarding their standard of performance but generally I heard from people that it wasn't very good. It wasn't just one or two but quite a few. So I trust that a few ears can't all be coincidentally filled to the brim with ear wax and all of them making similar biased statements.

I didn't think the SP concert was very good either. The hall didn't help in making the sound nicer. I won't say much about the standard of solos, because as I cocked up my entire solo in my 3rd year's IBM in my first concert playing the oboe. As such, I don't feel I should say too much about the freshmen solos. But I must say that generally the solos were all fine.

The hall was just horrible. There's nothing much I can say about it. Yes, there's one thing that I agree with him. The auditorium is much better. Imagine that I was sitting in the middle of the hall and I had problem hearing some of the softer instruments like flute and oboe.

Ya, I know the oboe solo was bad. But hey! At least I know that the girl is willing to learn. I don't think it's a crime to be a lousy player. We were all once lousy players. As long as you are willing to learn and accept comments, you'll go far. Unlike someone I know who is totally resistant to comments and egoist who thinks highly of herself even though she's just an average player (some might think below average). Ego is good, but too much is destructive! One must learn to balance the dosage of ego and being humble. Having confidence while playing is good, but at the same time please do remember that you're not the best player around.

One can be never be perfect; we can on try to be among the best.

It is no wonder that the band scene in Singapore is going nowhere with conductors like him around. We need people who know what they are talking about. We need people who know how to play. We need people who know how to teach!

One who is a good player may not be necessarily be a good teacher.

Having said all these, the uninformed Reader might just think that: "Wah, This guy also talk big, what!" My rebuff to this ? I know what I'm talking about and readily back them up with facts. If I ever am not sure of myself, I will say "I think..." If anyone finds anything wrong with my argument and has a good and valid reason. Fine! I'll accept it.

So if anyone is feeling argumentative, presumably the person in discussion, please do some research before rebuffing me. Don't embarrass yourself unnecessarily. I believe that it's already quite embarrassing to state so many wrong facts in the presence of the online community which include students! For the greater good of education, please do some reading before teaching.

Put your brain into gear before putting your mouth into motion.

How true.
fjozn at 2:18 PM

Friday, September 24, 2004

Work

The Jazz Delights was good!

For those who didn't go, you missed a good show once again!

Tonight is ACPC dining-in. Don't ask me what ACPC stands for, I have no idea either even after having done it for nearly 2 years. Heehee.

I think most of you should know what a dining-in is by now if you have been an avid reader of mine. Tonight's one of the four every year held for graduating officer cadets from the Officer Cadet School (OCS) at SAFTI-MI. Again I have no idea what the TI stands for although I do know that MI stands for Military Institute. =)

The one thing I don't like about ACPC dining-in is the lack of air-conditioning. Sitting in an open hall in our No. 2 is no joke! It starts to get all hot and stuffy. Sucks.

All right, I shall need to get ready for work soon. See you people online this weekend. =)

By the way, anyone going for the "A Date with Double Reeds" this Saturday?
fjozn at 10:37 AM

Wednesday, September 22, 2004

Many things

There are so many things to write about!

First of all, Man U won!

Haha! This match reminds me of a match between MU and Liverpool many years ago. The score was similar: MU 2 : 1 Liverpool. That match was kind of 86 minutes of pure rubbish. Owen scored in the 2nd minute and it took MU up to the 88th minute where they equalized and won the match in the very last minute of the game. Familiar eh? They are not known as the "comeback king" for nothing. Remember the European Cup 99? The heart-stopping final minutes?

Anyway! Speaking of Michael Owen, my friends and I had a good laugh the other day about him. No, it has nothing to do with his height (I'm taller than him). It just happened that my stumbled upon pronouncing the word "micro oven". Somehow he made it sound like Michael Owen. Heehee.

Ok. I need help from my readers. Anyone has any idea for souvenir items apart from the usual stuffs like tee-shirts and key chains? I need some help from YOU. I'm contactable from my shoutbox or email, both on your right.

Some background for your information. I need some ideas to produce a new series of souvenirs for the SAF Bands. Their souvenirs will serve as publicity and awareness for the band. It doesn't have to be restricted to just one type of merchandise. I just need fresh ideas for new type of souvenirs. Who knows, if your idea is implemented, I can even give you a sample of the finished product.

Why are there so many recent deaths on the MRT? Is this a trend or what? I don't see how by installing barriers on the platform, the problem can be solved. Unless of course if they decide to build something similar to what they already have in the underground stations.

Statistics had shown that only one death occurring on the track was accidentally. The rest occurred plainly because people climbed down onto the track or throw themselves onto an incoming train in an apparent (or should I say obvious) suicide attempt.

Suicide is already considered a cowardly act, even though there are people who think it takes a lot of courage to end their own life. On the contrary, I think it is that they have no courage to face their problems. Since you already decided to end your own life? Must you do it in a way to inconvenient everyone? To jam up the whole rail infrastructure for a few hours to announce to the whole world that you've died?

There is never joy when someone passes on. So please value your life and keep it intact.

After reading Xiaxue's blog, I had this thought: "If you have a good friend who everyone think is a bastard/bitch, would you acknowledge him/her?"

Likewise, would you be influenced by what others think and say about a person?

Hmmm... food for thoughts.
fjozn at 11:55 AM

Monday, September 20, 2004

F major, D minor

I had a weird dream last night. I dreamed that I was in the examination room and somehow whatever I play could not go out of F major. No matter what I did, I was still in F major and somehow it later became D minor and modulated back to F major again. My exam pieces, one of them coincidentally in D minor, kept going on through my head. So weird! I was too worried about my exam today perhaps.

Anyway!

Thank you all who left me messages of encouragement. They are all appreciated. =)

The exam went off well except for a few minor glitches. The examiner was rather kind. He tested me on A, Bb majors, F# minors, etc. I didn't get anything beyond 4# I think. My sight reading piece was in Eb major in common time with an occasional 3/4. Luckily it wasn't anything like what Natalie the Goat got (6b in 5/8).

On the down side, I think my sight singing was plainly a gone case. My identification of chords was ok, I hope. Otherwise, I think I should pass without any problem. With a bit of luck I might get a Merit. =P And now for my diploma next year!

It's now time to go into retreat! I need to form a new embouchure and work on my reeds, so probably I'll disappear from the playing world for a while until next year. My blog will still be there though.

Ok, time to ZZzzzzZZZZzzz? see you people later!
fjozn at 2:10 PM

Sunday, September 19, 2004

Sound

It's Sunday, a typical rest day for me.

Rather, I'm bored.

I'm surprisingly calm right now, considering that my exam is tomorrow. I hope I'm ready!

The forecast for the day: Nothing.

All right, I have to go through my pieces and scales at least once today so that will probably take up an hour or so.

Hmmm... I was so bored that I added some new links to my blog. If you notice, there are now 2 new links to oboists and one more to an instrument.

I like Mayer for his cantabile style. His phrasings are just so nice and musical. I don.t know how else to describe it.

Hunt is a XL user like me, or rather; I.m a XL user like him. The only difference is that Howarth pays him to play their XL and I have to pay Howarth to play their XL. Heehee. Ok, I know his playing and mine are quite un-comparable at the moment but that.s not the point! Hunt has a big broad sound, very typical of the Howarth large bore oboes.

Their sounds are somewhat very different. Mayer has a sweet sound which is just right whereas Hunt has a bigger thicker sound. Had I ever mention that I don't like the oboe sound most people here in Singapore like?

I think most people have this impression that an oboe sound should be thick, dark, mellow and sweet sound. I.m sorry but you will never find that kind of sound emitting from my oboe!

Must a good sound be dark? I don't agree and think so. Then again, what exactly is a dark sound? I have had many people asking me what it is. There are so many opinions that I dare not say which the correct school of thoughts is. Still, I think there should be a form of standardization throughout the boards of the different schools of thoughts.

So what is a dark sound? I'm still not really sure of the correct definition but I will define it as a sound which is not bright. Oops. Did you just fall off your chair? Heehee. Someone once asked me how to get a dark sound and I asked her back: "And what exactly is a dark sound?" She couldn?t answer me.

A dark sound to me is some a timbre that doesn't rings a lot. It tends to be a bit less projective and the centre of the sound is much more focused as compared to a "bright" sound. I hope this is correct, someone please correct me if I'm wrong. I don't really like dark sounds anyway so I don't do much research on it. Heehee.

Why dark when you can get bright? I just like the sparkle in the brighter sound. It?s more like an oboe sound in my opinion. There was this comparison on the "bright" French oboe sound and the "dark" German sound. The writer describes it as French croissant which is very light in taste and German chocolate cake. I thought that this was a very good and accurate description!

An oboist friend of him simply adores this oboist called Martin Larsson (I hope I got the name correct!). It's exactly the dark and sweet sound which I'm talking about here. I didn't listen beyond 4 bars of his playing. For a closer example in Singapore, listen to this girl called Zhong Xuan (again, I hope the spelling is right!), she plays a bit in Philharmonic Winds and Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra. Hers is too those off the sweet and dark.

While I have nothing against these players, I must state once again that I don't like that type of sound only. It's just not me. =)

I think I'm really going way off point. Why am I talking about sound? Boredom.

Somebody entertain me!
fjozn at 10:45 AM

Saturday, September 18, 2004

Update!

Ah! I finally managed to download a trial version of Microsoft Word!

Yeah! I've never been so happy for technology in my life before! So here's my new update!

Sorry to all fans (if any) who had been checking this site regularly!

The past week or so have been filled with preparation for my exam on Monday. I?m more or less ready I think! Ready or not, here I come!

I just hope that my sight reading piece won't be something like what Natalie the Goat got. 5/8 time with 6 flats! I probably would just tell the examiner to fail me on the spot. And I hope my aural parts will be easy. If you still don't know, my aural is atrocious. Oh well! I only can hope that I will have an easy time on Monday.

***

At the SP Band's I Believe in Music concert last night, I saw 2 people whom I would have rather not seen. But since they were there, oh well!

This certain lady I saw was sitting with my friends from secondary school. The moment she saw me as I approached my friends, her expression changed. Why? I don't know and have no wish to know. I'm not interested in what she does anyway. It's not like I had done anything too. So who cares about her opinion of me? I have my friends that are more important.

Let's not be too mean. I sincerely hope that she will cross the road safely, eat well without choking, walk without falling. I'm not mean ok!

Ok, enough about lousy examples of the human race.

The concert was ok. I know that the sections were probably all using their sectional competition pieces, BUT! If anyone from the committee next year is reading this, please do not have a programme with so many slow pieces can? I was quite bored.

And yes, I attended a concert. So some people out there who thinks I'm stuck-up and don't attend concerts. I do, ok? It's just that I hardly do so anymore.

I will perhaps go to concerts for the following reasons:

The band is good. Since no local bands are good to me, so I don't bother going.

I have someone whom I want to support. It doesn't happen often anyway. If I'm not attending a SP Band concert, it probably means that I'm playing in it. And yes, I wanted to go to the Phil Youth Concert to see my student in action. But someone loh, didn't want to go with me. So ended up didn't go in the end. Sorry Rachel!

The band is playing a piece I want to hear badly and I think the band is of reasonable standard. Speaking of which, I haven't really hear Phil Winds in concert before, although I have played with them before. They are supposingly the "best" band in the land, right? Still, I don't like some people there. So full of themselves. Of course not all are horrible people. Kaitze and wife, for example, are nice people. So perhaps I will go see a concert with them inside one day.

I want to save money! Haha. But then again, I didn't go to a concert even though I was offered free ticket.

Hmmm, maybe I really am stuck-up. =P

***

An advertisement for the SAF Bands!

There will be a jazz concert this coming Thursday at the Singapore Conference Hall at 1930 hrs. Tickets are free, as usual. The first-ever Jazz Delights will consist of the SAF Big Band and SAF Combo Band. There will be guest appearances by some soloists and vocalist. I forgot the names, but I think they are good. For Reader's info, NO, I'm not playing. Oboe in a big band? Are you kidding me?

Anyway, I think the concert will be good so pop along if you are free. Call 6450 5895 during office hours to reserve your tickets ya? At the last check on Friday, there were 300+ tickets left. So please lift that butt out of the chair and use your itchy fingers to press the above 8 number on your phone.

I think I sound weird. Very uncharacteristic of me. Hmmm... good mood perhaps. Haha!
fjozn at 1:31 PM

Saturday, September 11, 2004

100th Posting

My computer was down over the last few days. My brother had to reinstall Windows and hence, I lost my Microsoft Words in the process! I just realised how hard it is to type without a word processor, without any red lines to remind me of spelling errors and green to remind me of sentence structuring disagreement and so on. I want my MS Words back!

***

Today is 11 Sept 2004. Let us all take a moment to remember all those fallen in the terrorists attack 3 years ago. May terrorism be snubbed out soon!

***

I once look back at all my entries and thought: "Hey! I wrote that?" It's somehow so different to me when I writing and reading my own entries. It was perhaps in a way refreshing to relive the past few months of my life albeit the angrier moments that happened recently.

Through this blog, I had made new friends. I have people who read this blog every or every other day. I had met someone whom I think is special to me. I have people who tell me reading this blog is a refreshing experience for them although I'm not sure how true it is. I have had arguments which I wished didn't happen with people whom I hardly know.

Blogging. Why do we blog? Some people blog to update their friends on every single thing they do every single day. Some blog to share their thoughts. Some blog for fun. Some blog to bitch. Some blog to complain. What about me? I think I blog for a bit of every reason which I've listed out.

I wrote about things in my daily life. I wrote about what I think and feel about certain people, good and bad. I've condemned people while praising others. I've had a wide range of topic. I wrote about the highest building to the lowest form of organism in the world. I wrote about politics. I wrote to complain about a general group of people. There are just so many things I can write about in this world but some are taboo like when it gets too personal. A mere speck in the entire universe, not considering other even larger universe. It sometimes makes me feel so insignificant. The size of a human in ratio to everything that exists is just so small. Tiny. Unnoticed.

Perhaps in a way, I write to please whoever is reading this blog although not all entries are exactly very eye-pleasing. Perhaps I write to remind my friend of my existence? Perhaps I write to share my life with others?

I enjoy reading my friends' thoughts when I do visit their blog. Some messages sometimes just can't seem to be able to be passed across vocally. Instead, you need to do it in writing. Is it easier to understand this way?

Through my friends' blog, I've got to know some of them better. A person's blog and writing style can just reveal so much about a person. I hope by reading this, my Readers would feel the same. =)

To end off, allow me to copy an idea from my friend Sue Anne, who helped me set up this place.

***

Hi, my name is Liang You. Some people pronoun my name is Liang the 2nd sound. It's actually the 4th sound but I'm ok with it. The letter Liang which means strength or unit can be pronounced both ways. To those who don?t understand Chinese, I'm sorry but I don't how to put this across in English. Some people know me as fjozn, which is my nick.

Many people had asked me this: "What does fjozn mean?" The word "fjozn" doesn't belong to any language. It doesn't mean anything. In fact, it was created from nothing and pure accident. I just accidentally brushed my hand across the keyboard a long time ago which formed this word f-j-o-z-n on the screen. Hence, the word "fjozn".

Fjozn is pronounced as FEE-YONG-Z. You pronoun "jo" as "yo" which is the European way of pronouncing. I prefer to spell it in lowercase for everything including the "f" as I think it looks nicer this way. The word "fjozn" is unique. Try doing an internet search on it, you will probably get linked to me. NO ONE else in the world has the name or nick "fjozn".

Fjozn is me.

I am fjozn.

I was born on 25 Oct 1982 which makes me a month shy of my 22nd birthday as I write this. I was born in KK Hospital which is the birthplace for most of us who live in Singapore. I have a brother who is 5 years younger than me which completes my family of 4. I spent my early years in a kampung in Chua Chu Kang. I don't really have much memories of living there as I shifted to a HDB flat when I was 1 1/2 years old. I only remember visiting my late grandfather there when I was still 4-5 years old. I remember how my aunt will pluck rambutans from the tree for me to eat.

When I was 5, I went to Kindergarten for 2 years, followed by Primary 1 in Bukit View Primary. Sadly, I don't have much memories of those days. I can't remember much about what I did in Primary School. I do remember playing Zero-point and rubber wrestling which was the trend in my school. I remember sneaking over the Bukit View Secondary which just next door to catch spiders. I ended up being caned by the Principal for that. I remember that the Principal was called Mrs Wong and everyone was terrified of her as her weapon of choice was the cane. These are all distant memories to me now. Perhaps my most distinct memory from primary school was my form teacher, Mrs Elaine Chin, in Primary 6.

I was still a blur kid when I got into Tanglin Secondary at the age of 13. I was so blur that I wore my badge on the wrong place on my first day of school. I joined the school as I had already wanted to join since Primary 5. By a stroke of luck, I was placed in the Saxophone and hence began my journey of 4 years in secondary school and 10 years in music. The people from Tanglin Secondary Military Band are still among my good friends these days.

I had a memorable class in Secondary 3 and 4. It was an all-boys class. Yes, we were all naughty but we were also united as a class. We had fun as a class cracking dumb jokes with teachers who were sporting enough. Secondary school was filled with great teachers who taught and inspired me.

Soon after, I graduated and went into Architectural Technology in Singapore Polytechnic. It was a fun-filled 3 years course of study for me although I lost my interest in it at the final semester. I was so depressed that I actually though of quitting school with 3 months to go.

Today the Diploma in Architectural Technology certificate sits in my cupboard doing nothing but collecting dust. Nevertheless, my poly days were great. I went reluctantly with the Band to Sydney only to end up enjoying myself and had a great time. I have friends from my class whom we meet up regularly for a game of mahjong. Ditto those whom I see a few times a years for a class gathering.

In the year 2000, I got bored of playing the saxophone. I realised everything I learnt was wrong. I decided to start all over again on a new instrument and chose the oboe. I started off with an old Hans Kreul open hole oboe which I got in late 2000. It wasn't until Jan 2002 when I started having my first lesson with my teacher, Elaine Yeo. It was a totally new experience as I had to totally relearn everything in my playing.

Time flies and the day came when I had to enlist for Basic Military Training. It was a totally new experience for me. They say a boy only becomes a man after going through National Service. Perhaps this is true for me? I've come to be more appreciative of my family during the 3 months in BMT. I was never so happy in my life before to see my mother coming to visit me on Visiting Day. It was just so different.

Towards the end of BMT, I decided to sign on for the SAF Band to make my career as a musician. Why? I decided at that time that sitting in front of a computer drawing my life away was not the way I wanted to live my life. I will do something I like.

I'm very lucky to have parents who are very supportive of my decision to take a path in music. They paid for my second oboe which I got second-hand in 2002. And now, they gave me a loan to pay for my third and finally first-hand oboe which I got 2 months ago. It's an inspiration to play well to repay their faith in me.

This is the longest thing I've ever written about my life up to now. Hopefully, it offers Reader a deeper insight on me. =)
fjozn at 11:12 AM

Tuesday, September 07, 2004

Today

Today was basically tiring.

We had this Welcoming Ceremony early in the morning at the Istana. Ok, I was wrong; it was the Chief of Defense Forces of Australia and not some King and Queen as I said earlier.

As usual, there was this routine short sequence rehearsal before the actual timing. I don't know if the fella was late or what, we stood in the sun for what seems like ages before he actually came. It took so long that the Parade Commander had to Sedia and Senang-diri the parade to get some blood circulation.

My exams are coming! As of today, it's like 13 days away. *sweats* I'm beginning to feel the pressure kicking in. my scales!!! My reeds! I still have many reeds to make. I just hope my reed don't die on me on the actual day. I can just effectively kill myself on the spot.

Maybe I should visit a bomoh/priest/witch-doctor whatever to bless/cast a spell on my reed. Haha!

I'm quite hooked on Butterfly Lovers Concerto now after listening to Gil Shaham play it last week. It's just so beautiful! My favourite part so far is the second theme when Liang Sanbo realized that Zhu Yingtai was actually a girl and when the music describes his furious journey to her.

Let's see, the next concert I'm attending is the Mozart Double Reeds Concertos on 25th Sept. There are no muted trombones in the programme. Anyone interested?
fjozn at 8:38 PM

Monday, September 06, 2004

Beautiful life

Today was rather unproductive.

I spent my off-day sitting in front of the computer chatting away with my friend. 6 hours! Oh well, it was fun. She's a nice person to chat with. At least I considered it time well-spent albeit the unproductivity.

One of the topics covered was: "What is the thing you wanna see most in this world?"
There are many things in this world that I want to see one day in my life, but perhaps the item at the top of the list would be auroras, otherwise known as the Northern Lights.


Nice? 

It?s really beautiful right? A kaleidoscope of colours. Find out more about this phenomenon here. Any kind soul with extra cash to sponsor a trip for 2 to Norway? I like beautiful things, who doesn't?

It now turns out that I don't have to teach at the NCO Camp tomorrow after all. It's quite disappointing; I actually enjoy teaching quite a lot provided that my student is willingly to learn. Seeing them learn and progress is just one feeling of satisfaction which I just don't know to describe in words.

Instead, tomorrow I shall have to go to the Istana for a Welcome Ceremony. I forgot who is coming, probably the King and Queen of Some-country-that-I-forgot. This also means that I will have to go back to camp to sleep tonight as the reporting time is 0700 hrs.

See you all online soon!
fjozn at 8:00 PM

Sunday, September 05, 2004

Yesterday

Yesterday's performance was ok.

Huifen, for your info, an oboe was never meant to be an outdoor instrument. There's no way I can project my sound or rather I can't do it. Anyway, I was half sight-reading so never mind about the standard of the performance. Haha! And yes, you never said hi to me! =(

That was my outdoor lousy plastic oboe anyway, if you want to hear my concert oboe, then go to any concert that I'm playing!

Dinner was taken at this steamboat place at the basement of Golden something Complex or whatever it is called. It's just beside Golden Mile. There were surprisingly a lot of people there when I thought that it was quite an "ulu" place to have a birthday dinner. Oh well! The food wasn't too bad for the price and it's air conditioned! An alternative to the hot Marina South steamboats.

There is this place at East Coast which is at the Bedok end called Fisherman's Village or something. It's quite a nice place to chill out, with the sea breeze blowing onto your face. It's a pity though that the beach is not exactly a pretty sight. Still, you can't see much at night so it doesn't really matter.

I need sleep. Later!
fjozn at 3:44 PM

Saturday, September 04, 2004

Shaham and more

Gil Shaham is great!

Violinist Gil Shaham is internationally recognized by audiences and many noted critics as one of today's most virtuosic and engaging classical artists. He is sought after throughout the world for concerto appearances with celebrated orchestras as well as for recital and ensemble appearances on the great concert stages and at the most prestigious festivals.
Gil Shaham won a Grammy Award for his 1998 recital album "American Scenes" with André Previn at the piano. His most recent release is "The Fauré Album" on Artemis Classics, featuring the first violin sonata (with pianist Akira Eguchi) and several shorter works. Other recent releases are "Schubert for Two" with guitarist Göran Söllscher; a Brahms disc with Claudio Abbado and the Berlin Philharmonic; John Williams' "Treesong" with the Boston Symphony; Messiaen's "Quartet for the End of Time" with Myung-Whun Chung, Mischa Maisky and Paul Meyer; and "Devil's Dance," a disc of showpieces with pianist Jonathan Feldman. His 1999 recording of Bartok's Second Concerto with Pierre Boulez and the Chicago Symphony earned two Grammy nominations.
During the 2003-04 season Mr. Shaham will tour Europe with the Philadelphia Orchestra and Christoph Eschenbach, perform with the San Francisco Symphony and Michael Tilson Thomas (both at Davies Hall and Carnegie Hall) and with the Philharmonia and Bavarian Radio orchestras, among other ensembles. His recital schedule features performances in Paris, Milan, Brussels, Madrid and New York (Avery Fisher Hall), as well as performances with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.
Gil Shaham has recorded concertos by Mendelssohn, Bruch, Paganini, Saint-Saëns, Tchaikovsky and Sibelius with Giuseppe Sinopoli leading the Philharmonia Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic; Wieniawski's Concertos Nos. 1 & 2 and Sarasate's "Zigeunerweisen" with Lawrence Foster and the London Symphony; and solo discs devoted to music by Schumann, Richard Strauss, Elgar, Ravel, Franck, Kreisler, Paganini, Saint-Saëns and Sarasate (for Deutsche Grammophon). Other recordings include two collaborations with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Vivaldi's "Four Seasons" and "Romances for Violin and Orchestra"; "Paganini for Two" with guitarist Göran Söllscher; "Dvorak for Two" with his sister, Orli; "The Fiddler of the Opera," transcriptions of opera arias; two concerto discs with Andre Previn and the London Symphony, the Barber and Korngold concertos and the Prokofiev concertos, both nominated for Grammy Awards; and "Meeting in Moscow," a pairing of the Kabalevsky and Glazunov concertos, with Mikhail Pletnev and the Russian National Orchestra.
Mr. Shaham was born in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, in 1971. In 1973 he moved with his parents to Israel, where at the age of 7 he began violin studies with Samuel Bernstein of the Rubin Academy of Music and was immediately granted annual scholarships by the America-Israel Cultural Foundation. In 1981, while studying with Haim Taub in Jerusalem, he made debuts with the Jerusalem Symphony and the Israel Philharmonic. That same year he began his studies with Dorothy DeLay and Jens Ellerman at Aspen. In 1982, after taking first prize in Israel's Claremont Competition, he became a scholarship student at Juilliard, where he has worked with Ms. DeLay and Hyo Kang. He has also studied at Columbia University.
Gil Shaham was awarded the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant in 1990. He plays the 1699 "Countess Polignac" Stradivarius and lives in New York City with his wife, the violinist Adele Anthony, and son, Elijah.

His rendition of the Butterfly Lovers Concerto was great. I need say nothing more about his Tchaikovsky Concerto in D. The thunderous applause, loud cries of "bravo!" and 5 curtain calls said it all.

This is bad, I had have dinner at Café Cartel for 2 nights in a row. And there is still a birthday dinner to attend tonight! My wallet is growing thinner and my tummy is growing fatter. Haha!

I will be going out soon for the 50-hours Music Marathon at Orchard Greens (right besides Orchard MRT). The Central Band slot is 3-4pm for the big/combo band and 4-5pm for the main band performance. If so any reader is bored and free, do go down. There will be music in the name of charity all the all way until tomorrow evening!

I shall be there back for more soon. Take care all!
fjozn at 10:30 AM

Thursday, September 02, 2004

Memory

Life can be so fragile.

All it takes is just a second of misjudgment or error and a life can be snubbed out in that small fraction of time.

I had a friend who I knew 3 years ago. She was young, sweet and with a life full of promises. I actually didn't know her that well; it was only a period of about half a month of which I knew her. And that was all I had.

I remembered chatting to her online because all her band mates were all in China. I had just finished tutoring at her school band at that time. Since both of us had no one to chat with, we were chatting each other for a few nights. I learned many things, her crush, her band life and more.

I remembered on 1st Sept 2001 how I visited her school to see my students. I remembered how she saw me and acknowledged me with a smile. I remembered how we didn't say hi to each other. It must be one of the biggest regret in my life so far by not talking to her. I didn't have another chance to do so.

She passed away in an accident the next day.

I remembered how shocked I was upon learning about her death. I remembered attending her funeral wake. I remembered seeing her for a last time. There are just too many things to remember in spite of the short time I knew her.

For now, let all of us who knew her take a short and quiet moment to remember this girl who left us so suddenly 3 years ago.



In memory of Agnes Teo, 1988-2001




fjozn at 10:25 AM

Wednesday, September 01, 2004

Tribute

Teachers.

The other mentor in you life other than your parents. There's a Chinese saying that goes: Teacher for a day, father for life. I've been lucky enough to have a few memorable and inspirational teachers so far in my life.

They are Mrs Chin from my primary school; Miss Chee, Miss Koh, Mr Sim, Mrs Tang from my secondary school; May and Idris from polytechnic and not forgetting my current music teachers, Belinda and Elaine. Of course there are many more that had in one way or another taught and inspired me. Thank you all!

Many of you had been the source of inspiration in my life. I sincerely wish the best in life to all of them who had selflessly given so much to see their student progress and grow into a better person!

Once again, I salute all teachers on this special day of theirs, Happy Teachers' Day!
fjozn at 7:19 PM