It's been a good five years since VSCO last had a concert, and we were all eagerly anticipating tonight. The concert in general was a rather light one, and I am pleased to say that they pulled it off way better than the disaster that was 雅声琴韵 2007. =.= The pieces weren't "hardcore" CO pieces and were easy to listen to, making it a very appropriate repertoire for the largely homogeneous audience of parents and lower sec CO musicians. There was a lot to be done in terms of logistics, though! The stage and lights were an absolute mess! Having a casual, informal atmosphere doesn't equate to being lax and unprepared!

《牛车水》 Chinatown

Gu Guan-Ren's signature touch of down-to-earth folk flavour was penetrating and distinct in this composition, and the orchestra presented the tableaux in a well-balanced and carefully rehearsed performance (at least to my ears LOL). Not sure if it was the CO itself or the acoustics of the PT, but some of the crescendoes and climaxes could have been played up more.

扬琴独奏: 《双手开出幸福泉》 Excavating a Spring of Happiness | Soloist: Ong Wei Da

Ok, so when I first heard that VSCO was having a concert, the main reason I wanted to go was to hear 酒歌. Having a YQ solo in the repertoire was a bonus, and despite the several minor and couple of major mistakes he made during the cadenzas (HMM?! SCREWING UP PENTATONIC SCALES AND TRIPPING OVER YOUR OWN MALLETS?! Slap you), I think Weida managed to do this classic piece justice. I was probably more nervous than he was - I was trembling in my seat and impatiently anticipating the opening chord (but then again this always happens when I watch YQ solos). The ensemble helped a lot with the joyful atmosphere at the beginning and end, but the dolce and cantabile sections demanded more sensitivity to phrasing, articulation and dynamics. The microphone needed some adjustment, too - the yangqin's sound wasn't amplified enough and was consequently drowned and suffocated at many places in the piece. Excessive echoes also blurred some running passages. Yangqins' soundholes are on the underside of the soundboard, so I suggest placing microphones above, rather than below, the instrument to minimize this.

Also, I can't believe some stupid girls sitting behind me started gasping and shrieking in surprise at the 拨弦/glissando part. "OMG I didn't know yangqin can do that!" Are you idiots or retards?

My flower-presentation plan went smoothly. Shoved past a lovey-dovey couple beside me, dashed down the steps and gave the bouquet to Weida before quickly running back to my seat without making eye contact with members of the audience.

I AM SO PROUD OF YOU, DADA. HOW YOU HAVE GROWN FROM THE LITTLE SEC ONE BOY DURING VSCO DECEMBER CAMP 2010 TO THE FRINGE-LESS, FRENCH-SPEAKING LIBRARIAN YOU ARE NOW. :')

*proud senior-junior/mentor-student/father-son moment*

笛子独奏: 《春到湘江》 Spring Arrives at the Xiang River | Soloist: Alvin Shi

This piece brings back memories of stuffy afternoons spent at Yin Zhi Yang's house, rehearsing with Bing Hong for his performance at NAFA. The piano accompaniment really transformed the flavour of this piece, making its slow sections poignant and tender and keeping its faster sections somewhat reserved. Loved the effect this had on the intro, although I'm still fonder of a yangqin/ensemble accompaniment in general, and for the extra energy it adds to the 快板. Alvin and his pianist needed to work on their synchronization and awareness, though, especially towards the end! Issues with rhythm and volume really detracted from the performance because of the lack of coordination and balance, despite Alvin's technical prowess.

Sidenote: I am very touched that Mr Yeo Siew Mong still remembers my NAFA performance and originally considered "hiring" me as an accompanist. A NAFA LECTURER AND MUSIC ARRANGER REMEMBERS ME EVEN THOUGH HE SEES HUNDREDS OF PROFESSIONALLY-TRAINED MUSICIANS ON A DAILY BASIS. :')

唢呐独奏: 《打枣》 Plum-Picking | Soloist: Darren Ther

Probably the most memorable piece of the night. I've always wanted to see this piece performed live, and it was HILARIOUS. Darren pulled off the technicalities of the piece really well, and he's a GREAT performer - you could see it in his smile, his eyes, and even in the way he trotted back and forth between the microphone and his little table, resting his weight on one leg and casually picking up the kaqiang or whatever that weird instrument is called.

And the squealing. Oh my gosh the squealing was DAMN funny. And this performance was the first time I heard it done IN TUNE. All the videos I've watched show the performer either randomly squealing or going off-pitch, but Darren managed to stay pitch-perfect throughout. The ensemble support was just right too. Strong enough to maintain the piece's lively spirit, yet maintained at a level allowing the suona's voice to project and uplift, without being smothered or overpowered. The ending of the piece was perfectly done, too. Everything ended powerfully, in sync and with a huge grin on the soloist's face. *applauds* SO PROUD OF DARREN AS WELL. :')

Typewriter | Soloist: Soh Jing Kai

When I first heard of this piece several years ago, I had no idea that a real typewriter was actually going to be used as a solo percussion instrument. The piece itself was very simple, and although the use of a typewriter was novel and ingenious, the constant clicks and dings from the machine got rather old, predictable and boring after the first eight bars or so. -.- The ending was visually arresting, though, what with Jing Kai standing up and throwing the paper into the air. =x

In general, this and the preceding piece went down well with the audience because of their creativity and the "surprise" factor.

《月亮变奏曲》 Moonlight Variations

Never heard this piece before. No wonder, because it wasn't actually a CO piece, but an arrangement of some Russian folk song. The melody was strangely familiar, though. I didn't spend much time evaluating this performance - my mind usually starts to wander by this point in time (i.e. halfway through the concert). But from a casual observer's point of view, I'd say it was performed reasonably well, though dynamism of expression and mood could've been brought out more to fit the nature of the piece as a series of "variations".

打击乐齐奏: 《马灯舞》 Lantern Dance

Not the most captivating percussion piece, but a thrilling one nonetheless. Christopher's stage presence more than made up for the simple rhythms and [sometimes] over-repeated ostinatos.

And I was a bit shocked when Lai Ang made a mistake by hitting the cymbal early and proceeded to facepalm on stage. -.-

Cello Ensemble: Scherzo

TWO WORDS: 音准!

笛子齐奏: 《卖菜》 Selling Vegetables

Once again, I was not paying much attention to this piece. Mr Yeo's arrangement was very effective in bringing out that "marketplace mood", though. It toed the line very well, managing to be active and full without crossing into chaotic and messy. Should congratulate the performers on meeting that demand, if only because I don't really have anything else to say about this piece. =x

弹拨乐合奏: 《拨弦波尔卡》 (Pizzicato Polka)

ARGH PIZZICATO POLKA I'VE LOVED THIS PIECE SINCE I WAS LIKE FOUR, WHEN I PLAYED MY STRAUSS CD OVER AND OVER AGAIN IN MY DAD'S CD PLAYER.

The ensemble did an exceedingly good job with the dynamics, contrast, articulation and expression of this piece, although there were little breaks in the momentum that detracted from the performance. Coordination and synchrony between instruments was generally good, with relatively few instances of that unwanted "acciaccatura effect" you get when people pluck their strings split seconds apart from each other.

There were two passages in particular that needed more work. These were long passages of running quavers in scales atypical of Chinese music (and hence unfamiliar to most of the musicians), and it was clear the performers had trouble keeping up because their volume dipped significantly and their articulation got muddled as they fumbled with their frets. A little more rehearsal time and this would've been a great performance!

弹拨乐合奏: 《新春乐》 Joy of Spring

Typical cheena song. Didn't pay attention. Also, one of the idiotic girls sitting behind me obviously plays guzheng, because she squealed "GUZHENGGG!!!" when Baogang walked on stage carrying his zither. =.=

二胡齐奏: 《奔驰在千里草原》 Galloping in the Vast Grasslands

Couldn't really connect with this piece. I have never been a fan of erhu ensembles. Technical aspects of the piece were handled somewhat adequately, but expressivity had much room for improvement. The accompanying ensemble also seemed a bit unsure of itself - either that or their playing was too weak and sometimes tentative. The amplification problem surfaced here again, because both the erhus and the accompanying ensemble seemed too soft!

《酒歌》 Drinking Song

This must have been a rushed concert, because JG had lots of room for improvement! Not sure why the conductor cut out the second xiao/dizi in the intro, because that "echo" effect seems really important! Dynamics and mood could have been much better, with clear yet subtle changes in mood emphasized and played up. The ending sections (Part M onwards) were VERY messy and could have been a lot better handled, although the TBY and cello entrance at Part L was well done. The piece requires very smooth transitions between the orchestra's sections because the entire piece basically revolves around four main themes and their variations (in both instrumentation, mood and style of accompaniment). This was not accomplished well; the sections blurred, rather than flowed, into each other.

ENCORE: 《世间始终你好》

Umm... we've been playing this piece for every single performance since 2008. No comment.

ENCORE: Nobody

I feel so ashamed saying this, but VSCO's rendition completely owned VJCO's. Maybe it's because they had Christopher on the drum set. Or because they played the whole piece, unlike us.

[on hindsight, I am thankful I did not make the rash decision of including a perv face in my CC. If memory serves me right, this was supposed to show my character breaking the fourth wall (in the style of Commedia dell'Arte) by means of a lecherous glance directed at the audience.]

[this was supposed to show the Professor's attitude of egotism, vanity, self-assurance and arrogance.]

[lol @ hole in my sock.]

[this moment was very physically demanding...]

[... as you can see in this photo. =.=]

*ahem* After reading through my CC again, I am relieved to announce that my previous judgements of it being "uncritical" and "oversimplified" are quite inappropriate. I think it was just the fact that Mr B forced us to use extremely simplistic and boring sentence structures, and made us delete and replace as many polysyllabic words as possible. I still remember the agony and indignation I felt when B did not seem to know what "officious" meant and forced me to remove it. The smartest-sounding phrase I can find in my CC is "dilettantish rhetoric" (which I surreptitiously slipped in under the radar for the final submission so B wouldn't notice). Now, I must admit that beneath the childish syntax lies quite a lucid piece of work. *apologetic sinking of head*

*Because everybody thinks an Egyptology degree only teaches you how to dig around in tombs and get cursed by dead pharaohs.