Thursday, January 11, 2007

Campus concert - A Journey Through Time

I read about the Campus Concerts on oceanskies' blog and that she was going to perform the double bass, so I decided to go watch to give her support.

I bought 9 pink roses (I dun know if that's one of her preferred colours) and did the wrapping myself. Why 9? Because 9 in Mandarin sounds like 'forever', my wishes to her are : May she have joy in her heart forever, and may her performance be in the hearts & minds of the audience forever. And if the roses represent hearts, and with my heart, it makes 10, may the concert be perfect ( 十全十美!)!

It was my first time to NUS Theatrette, Chris told me how to get to NUS. I looked up the map and tried to remember the way. As I was in Raffles City area, Chris told me to take a bus and it would be a 30-minute bus ride.

I overshot the place and ended up in PSA Building! So I had to take a cab. Luckily the cab driver knows the way because his daughter was a graduate of NUS and was studying at the Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences. He used to send her to the U everyday. Now his daughter is a vice principal in one of our primary schools. This father was so proud when he mentioned that! I was happy for him too.

I wasn't too late when I arrived, 7.40 pm. :)

A Journey Through Time by NUS Symphony Orchestra features flute quartets, string quartets, double bass quartets, duos and violin solos by Bach, Mozart, Mendelssohn, Tchaikovsky, Bizet, Saint Saens, Smetana and Sarasate. There is also a composition by a NUSSO member, Emily's Suicidal Tendencies.

I love Passacaglia (Duo for Violin and Viola) by Halvorsen. The duo played very well, especially the violinist. Whew, you should have seen her play, the fluid movement of her bow, so beautiful! And she is a beautiful girl too!

The double bass quartet was something new to me. This hill-billy doesn't know the double bass can 'make' wonderful music too! It was fun to see them put party hats on their double bass & play the 'Happy Birthday' song for their tutor!

I enjoyed myself at this concert. The theatrette was almost full. It was a great performance by all the members. PY should be happy.

Looking at all these talented young performers, I wish I had let Jaymes learnt a musical instrument. I should have exposed him to more classical music when he was younger. He had wanted to learn the violin when he was 10 but I turned him down, thinking he was just fooling around. Then he wanted to take piano lessons from his music teacher because she plays the piano beautifully. That was not good enough reason for me to spend that money, so I turned him down too. He then learnt to play the guitar from his friends.

And was I surprised, when he told me he likes Cats, Phantom of the Opera and The Sounds of Music. He watched the DVDs in the school library. Oh!

And I thought he only likes Jay Chou. hehe......

12 comments:

  1. *off topic*

    i just noticed that your userpic.. looks abit like xu chun mei..

    omg dun kill me plssssssssssssssssss :(

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  2. Now that you know my secret..... I cannot let you live!!!!!

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  3. Very sweet of you ..ECL.. to attend the concert.. :)

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  4. Thank you very much for attending the concert, and for your compliments. Thanks for allowing us to share the joy of music-making with you.

    Yeah, Phantom of Opera is cool. I like Music of the Night etc. If you are not intending to watch the opera this year with your son, it is still quite affordable to buy a CD of it, and listen to it for an entire lifetime. :)

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  5. whahahaaha! just make sure ur life is not as happening as her =x

    *sings* he's there.. the phantom of the operaaaa...

    i was in the choir last time *wahhahaa* and sang this song.. when i hit the AHHHh... my voice BROKE. dammit -.-"

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  6. Hi simple american,
    From Texas!!! ahhh, cab fare to Singapore is a little expensive...

    Thanks for your kind comments, I gain new knowledge from the concert and it is truly enjoyable.

    Nice 'meeting' you, see you around.

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  7. Jayne, that was quite a concert, ya? Too bad I missed it. Fyi, Elaine can sing very well. I've heard her sing one of Teresa Teng's voice from one of her MP3 found in her blog. No kidding...

    About Jaymes' love for classical music. It's never too late to let him pick up an instrument, Jayne. I love music and I tinkle with the piano myself. Both my boys learned it too but sadly, they lacked the passion and gave it up. But I've no regret giving them the opportunity to learn. At least they can't say Daddy never let them when they grow up! Remind me of an episode of "Everybody Loves Raymond". That man grew up and blamed the mum for not pushing him hard enough to learn the piano when he was a kid. Funny. And I can foresee that happening to my kids. Hee.

    Music, some say, is the window to our souls; juz like our eyes... I'm trying to pick up guitar.

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  8. err..Oh, is there a cab that drives from Texas to Singapore?

    anyway, I don't know why, it feels great to see my blog-friends 'meeting' each other on the blogland.

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  9. Chris,
    There will be more concerts coming up. But dunno oceanskies is having any more performances or not.

    My son doesn't get angry with me whenever I turn him down, he's mad probably....hahaha.....

    He's just like his Dad, 'ok lor', then walks away. And he would try to pick up things by himself. I was surprised one day when he played the guitar for me. He's a good kid..... I'm the tyrant Mom.

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  10. oceanskies - where got taxi from Texas to Singapore wan? joking lah!

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