Darius Lim

www.dariusmusic.org

_____________________________

Late last week my secondary school buncha friends planned a 3 day 2 night chalet stay at downtown east resort. Actually, we have been planning it for a very long time and were really looking forward to it!

The three days were extremely enjoyable and fun! We went swimming, cycling and even went to pulau ubin! It was great fun!

However on the first day i had to turn my whole group down by going home to practice for the whole afternoon because of the competition. (thanks for your understanding guys).

On the second day five of us went to pulau ubin to cycle and enjoy the lush greenery and beautiful spots in the island.

In the evening we were joined by more friends and went to fisherman's village for dinner. The games at night were really fun too! but no slapping game for me anymore! hah!!

All in all it was really a perfect vacation with friends and was so enjoyable everyone promised to have another one soon, and i sure do hope we do!

But, i have to admit, no more outings/partying/chalets/clubbing whatsoever during any competition in future. i've learnt my lesson from this one!

Here are the pics of the ubin island:

From Left: Kishan, Daphnie, Kit and Me


Sure does look like malaysia doesnt it?


I didnt know bicycles were so vain


Hmmm....The england


Cycling in the beautiful forest...


Cute... hah


Err... I think i cycled too fast. Natural hairdryer. hah


A drink stall


Me with Shao jun- having a drink at the kampong kopotiam


The beautiful river...


The beautiful river again...



An undiscovered beach in the middle of the forest!!


On our boat in the middle of the sea


What a beautiful day =))

ok, to get straight to the point, I did not win the piano competition. hah.. Its the first time i've not been placed in a local competition. but its an experience to learn from.

I know i played well, and i'm sure the audience know it. However it was depressing to see how resentful the audience were to the results of the prize winners. But then again, I guess all of us expected a different outcome.

I seriously don't know what happened during the judging, but during comps, things like this do happen, and as my teacher said, different jury, different results.

Congrats to my two gd friends jon and andris who were placed for the comp!

After this disappointing competition, it makes me want to practice more and look forward to the much bigger ones coming up! =))


p.s to all those who came to support me, thank you so much! =))

The trinity piano competition semi finals and finals are tomorrow! I really pray that all goes well.

Just hoping for the best tomorrow.

Wish me luck!

My Music

• Listening Bits

Today i'll be sharing with you another piece from the Seasons album; my piano rendition of "First Love" originally sung by the famous Utada Hikaru.





Enjoy!

*Refresh the page if you hear clicks in the sound.

Ok for this entry it'll be a super special for all you viewers out there. haha.. you'll get to hear a really "young" Darius for 'one NIGHT ONLY'. hahahah!



written in 2000 but recorded in 2002,its one of my first songs ive ever officially written and recorded. Its called Dare to Dream. Has a very new age cum pop fusion kinda style.. and i bet you might only start to like it after a few listens. haha..

And oh yes, pls pardon the singing. LOL. i was 15/16? haha!

One night oNLY!!!:P


Enjoy!


Click on the link below for my other works:

• Listening Bits

These past three years have in a way, passed like a quick flash; from the day i entered nafa till today. how time really flies. but in another way, its been such a really long journey. when i look back at these past three years, it really seems like a life time of happenings for me, and i will never trade any other life story for mine.

i've seen what the great sg musicians can do, be it the teachers or performers. and they're realli such an inspiration to the up-coming batch of musicians. people like benjamin loh, shao suan and shao ying, jennifer tham, lynnette seah, nelson kwei, melvyn tan, zach goh, toh ban sheng are fine examples of how great music from singaporean musicians can affect us all.

it is definitely not an overstatement to say that many of us can't live without music. we dont mean it literally, but without it, its like seeing no colours, tasting no food, hearing no sounds and feeling nothing. its the entire combi.

but with music, you look at things differently, and express them differently too. and somehow life has a stronger purpose and meaning.


i'm so thankful i chose to follow my heart to pursue music.

after all theres only one life to live. why live it Your way.

a lot has been happening these past few days. and sometimes i feel its just a bit too much to handle.

while you're looking forward to so many really cool things to come, sometimes its also those little shortcomings which affect you. but i've always told myself to always look at the bright side of things, and i'll never see the shadows.

everyone has probs, its inevitable. its just a matter of how we handle them and how we look at them. and many a times, i choose to look at them with a biG smile. =)) most of the time, it really helps!

Click on the link below to listen to this work:

• Listening Bits

If you like chinese orchestra music, this might just suit you. (i hope). hah



I wrote this in 2004, its called the 'Oriental West' where both eastern and western styles and instruments are used in this piece to create an 'east-west' texture. However i leaned against the eastern chinese style.

The piece contains a very simple theme which morphs into other melodies.

When i write this... i think of mountains. haha.. =)


Enjoy!

Can't believe how fast time flies. The trinity piano comp is this sat! really have to start practising seriously man, have been like taking a slight break the last two days. and am already feeling very guilty! arhhh...

At least i prac quite a bit today..

Going for a concert at nafa later; by the some childrens orchestra from china. the soloist is only 12! and shes playing the yellow river concerto. wow! love that concerto man. somehow to me it feels like the chinese version of rach's concertos. hah..

anyway to those who told me you want to come, the comps at nafa theatre this sat at 2pm. tickets are sold at the door.

prayin all goes well =))

This entry is for all you clubbers out there.

A piece of music i wrote for a club. Its called the World Dance ;and fuses House music with the ever popular dance Techno.




It took me quite a bit of time adjusting the panning and using the different sound filters to morph the sounds. But its one of my most enjoyed works.

After all, who says musicians can't club. ;)

Enjoy!


Click on the link below for my other works:

• Listening Bits

• Listening Bits

For this entry I'll be playing you a piece from my album Voice of A New Age.

This cover was done a LONG time ago. haha...


Its called the Call of Hawaii, and i'll be playing you the 2nd part of the set.


This electro-acoustic piece is inspired by the nature and beauty of the island- Hawaii. It is written as part of a three-movement piece that depicts the sounds, scenes and feel of the island.

I sang it in one of the native languages of the Hawaiians, it was hell learning the pronounciation. However I wrote the text in english, and the lyrics were translated from English by a language forum. The original English texts are as follows:


See the earth beyond the eyes
Feel the winds that blow your mind
Here I stand in the centre of the world
Calling out the fire from the sand

Sun and Sky!
Rise up to show your glory and might!
That all the world might see!

If you want to know the make of true idols, watch this; the Malaysian Idols.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=AWDqLHksBCk&mode=related&search=jaclyn%20victor

http://youtube.com/watch?v=oCYTb6_a08Y&search=malaysian%20idol

http://youtube.com/watch?v=4XGe6VRulXg&mode=related&search=jaclyn%20victor

http://youtube.com/watch?v=4SnqAY2DhoA&mode=related&search=jaclyn%20victor



Simply. Amazing.

Now thats what i call true idols.

It is truly depressing to hear home sweet home displaying her worst singers on national television. period.

My Music

• Listening Bits

Today's piece that I'll be playing for you will be from the movie The Lord of The Rings. I wrote music for this particular scene; the horse chase scene where one of the female elves carries frodo on a horse and tries to escape from 9 dark horseman. The scene is full of tension as the chase is hard and terrifying.



It took me about a week to write the music, and the voices you hear are sung by me. I had no choice but to act as the male chorus because it was quite impossible to find a male chorus at the short time i was given last year.

As for the text, i wrote it with context to Brittens War Requiem. It speaks of death mainly.

Enjoy!

Today had rehearsals with shao suan for the audition, and i felt so bad because i woke up late!! was too exhausted from running all around the place. jeez.. its been awhile since ive been this late for anything.. i bet ss was so upset. although she kept smiling, i know deep down she must have felt "darius lim im going to kill you!" haha.. im really SORRY SS! =((

Ok despite the lateness, the rehearsal was extrremely enjoyable!! ended up laughing many times man.

AND OH MY GOODNESS... you can never imagine the WIERDEST thing which happened to both of us during rehearsal. ok... i shant mention. its too embarrassing. but after it happened i just couldnt stop laughing every single time i think of it! hahahhaha!!! wanna know what>? go ask ss. lol

In the evening the both of us went for an opera preview. the opera is written by john sharley and the nafa chamber chorus. Well is was quite alright, just that some parts sounded a little musical-rish, if you get what i mean.

After that went for dinner at crystal jade and the food was really good! shall bring my other friends there next time. hehe

My Music

• Listening Bits

To listen to this piece, please click on PIANO SEASONS- WINTER at the top of this page and then click on the empty 'play' box below it.

I've decided to play a few tracks from my private albums that i've done the past few years. They're solely for this blog only! And copyright laws are still applicable.

Well, for my first album this week; just wanna play a set of pieces i wrote. Its from the Album The Piano Seasons, and was made in 2004.



These few pieces are soothing moods for you just to play during those calm days when you just need a peace of mind and would just wanna sit down enjoying sipping your cuppa coffee etc. hah..

There are four main movements in Piano Seasons; Summer, Spring, Autumn, and Winter. I shall play you Winter; its simply brings back memories of certain days; especially the rainy ones.

Will bring you more of my albums from the other genres soon! =))

Enjoy.


P.S If music starts have cuts during play, please refresh the page. Thanks! =))

I played in the Mus'Art Wind Orchestra's concert today. It was held at the Singapore Conference Hall. I was very impressed with the performance of the whole ensemble! I think the ensemble sounded the best yet from all the rehearsals when i heard them. REally far better from what i had expected. Bravo.

I am also really proud of myself man! hah. i didn't get lost one single bit during the whole concert and my notes were clean.

In fact, after the last piece that i was playing ended, the guest conductor from japan Mr Shuichi Kimiyama acknowledged me first out of all the other players! haha.. So i just stood up and gave a smile in the midst of the applause and screams. =))

The best thing about this concert is that i met many of my ex sch friends there!! it was such a joy to see them again man.. they were musicians from my secondary school. and during the breaks we ended up chatting and catching up as much as we could!

I also met some nafa players, ying xuan and this flautist who is in year 2 now. cool!

Well, here are the pics! enjoy!=)]

Hwee Lee- My secondary school classmate who used to sit beside me in class! hah..


Two flautist from two different schools i went to


Ying Xuan- We all call him Giant. Its quite obvious why.

Today was the Heats for the Trinity London Piano Competition. It was held at the Alliance Francaise building. There were 29 participants for the advance piano category of the comp.

Met Ivan for lunch in the early afternoon and after that he left for the comp venue while i stayed on just a bit to warm up in school.

Soon after, i made my way to the place and when i reached, i met so many people there!!! Met john chua and karen, who were also with the other participants Xin Ying, Midorie and Ivan. They were all waiting to go in.

When the competition started, the first six players had to get ready and wait for their turn to play. I was no.10, so i had loads of time to kill. Thus I sat down to watch the others.

To me, this was a very special piano competition, unlike from many others that ive seen and participated in, the playing standard in this competition varied A LOT, ranging from practically the weakest players to the extremely strong players. Moreover, All except one of the prize winners from this years Dynamic Works piano competition and the Cristofori piano competition had entered this comp! With the addition of a couple of pianists from last years National piano competition, I couldnt help but feel stressed!

Mid way during the comp, melissa khong came! i was really touched to see her man... (thanks for supporting mel =))

When it came to my turn, my nerves were started to twitch more and more!!! arhgz, i was really nervous. I played ALRIGHT, definitely was FAR from my best, with a few minor slips here and there, especially for my Schumann.

After all 29 participants had played, I waited for the results with Melissa Loh. Shes a friend of mine whos also learning under the same piano teacher as me, Benjamin Loh. And when the results finally came out, 9 of the 29 contestants made it to the Semi Finals, and i was one of them! Yay! =D, I was really glad. Infact, ALL 3 of my piano teacher's students were in the top 9! Woohooo!! Congrats to Jon and Mel! and yea melissa loh was dancing for joy. hahahah

Another 3 of my nafa friends, Ivan, Midorie and Ying Fen also got into the top 9! And i must really say Ying Fen has really improved tremendously man.. really musical and clean playing =)) Congrats Fen!

Ok i guess thats all for now, i hafta go back to my prac!




For those who want to come to attend the Semi Finals and the Finals of the comp(they are on the same day), its on the 29th July (SATURDAY)- the tickets are open to the public, priced at S$10 each (at the door) for the whole day; both semis and final rounds. Do come support! =))

All the best to the other Semi Finalists! =))

Ok... i did major shopping with Ron today man. After practising the piano for the whole morning, i met ron at about 2+ and we started on our hunt for what we wanted.

Never have i shopped for so long in a long long time !!! hahahaha. it was really great fun man, especially when youre shopping with your best friend la eh? hah! not mentioning the girls who were at marina and orchard. lol... i could just punch Ron now.

Eventually i bought a white top because many of my tops are simply getting too SmaLL for me! and i saw this really cool Lava Lamp! So i grabbed that off the counter just for my sis. and i can just imagine her saying "you bought things for me AGAIN???" hah.. of course with a grin. how tired of it. but oh well, who cares.

I didnt really wanna splurge on much because i was saving up, so i only got what i really wanted or had to have.

When we went to the the Pacific Plaza, i signed up for a professional make over with Beauty Box Studios for my future concerts and other gigs! Damn it costed me S$XXX!!!! but i felt it was really important to do this, Especially before i go to ns and get my hair shaved! hah.. The photo shoots starts this Tuesday!

Ron on the other hand, bought a white top too from the same shop, somewhat ALMOST the same as mine but with slightly different design. And when we went to Wheelock place he bought this really sheek Adidas shoe which was so nice man!! it totally suits him. and i think it kinda cost him a bomb too. hah...

Really had a great time today man... but i seriously need a better pair of shoes for walking, these converse i was wearing were simply killing my feeeeet!!! arhgz!

The Trinity piano comp heats are tomorrow!!! I had better rest early man. Good Luck to all others taking part!

Met Melissa this afternoon for lunch. Went to long johns to have a quick bite, i love the chats. soon after we had to rush for a movie; the Pirates of the Caribbean- Dead Man's Chest. It was quite an awesome movie! (ok mel said it was NOT BAD. but i really enjoyed it. haha...) the audience even clapped after the show ended. haha..

In the late afternoon i had to rush home to practice for the rehearsal at night, and also practice for the competition this coming saturday! How crazy a time like this can be. Can't believe i actually sat at the piano for almost four hours straight without standing up.

At night i took a cab down to Jurong Green CC, at the other side of the world; and the taxi fare cost me almost 20 bucks! jeez. lucky for my i can claim them. hah.

The guest conductor is from Japan, who speaks with an American accent. Probably studied there or something. During the rehearsal many weird and funny things happened, lol! of which i shant complain or bitch about. But i was really glad to see my ex sch mates playing there too! What a small world! =))

When i got home it was close to mid night! Jeez... and ended up on the phone with a close friend till almost 2.30am. hah... u know, its really interesting how conversations can lead from one to another without much of a link, its just humourous sometimes. hahahah..

Also, I changed my wallpaper! Well at least it isnt so narcisistic (like my friends always tell me) as the previous one. hahaha. =)) i just hope its re-adable. pls tell me if it affects ur reading yea?

All thanks to Suan for her really CUTE picture of her little nephew's fingers playing the piano. They are simple adorable man! hahahaha.. thanks again! =)) now... i have to find a nice wallpaper for her... its gettng harder to find beauty in the world these days.

Today a lady called me in the afternoon and asked me to play as an orchestra pianist in a concert THIS COMING SUNDAY!!!!

"WHAT?!"

Yes its true.

And although i was quite stunned for a while, i went home to review the scores of the pieces that i had to play, a japanese piece, some other chinese one and the ever famous Rhapsody in Blue!!!

Oh My God.

The pay is extremely good but i was worried that i would not be able to get the pieces in time. however after much thought and trying out the pieces for myself, i agreed to the performance, and you know what, the rehearsal sTARTS TODAY evening(thankfully without the rhapsody)!! My goodness. I had better start practising seriously. Now.

P.S Thanks a lot Suan!

I was invited to perform on the new and improved Pearl River upright pianos which had their official launch this month (using yamaha technology) at Bishan.



To my huge surprise, there were so many people who turned up for the event! Some were piano teachers and many families were there too.

Because this launch was a big event for the Pearl River company, who is by far the largest piano manufacturer in the WORLD, the president of the company himself flew down all the way from China just to grace this occassion.




It was an unforgetable experience and i really enjoyed playing on their pianos. Also, i received a much appreciated token from the president himself, who also gave me really good comments and compliments on my playing.



And i must say that performing on the new pianos, and being the first to so called "premiere the launch" of these upright pianos is really an honour.



The New and Improved Pearl River

Met my Secondary school gang last night for a drink at Arias Esplanade and also to celebrate kish's birthday, although it was a week ago. Happy belated!!

Tonight was one for one at Arias! So everyone just kept calling and calling for more. hahah! suats back in singapore for a few weeks or so but leaving end this week. really glad to see her! =))

The night was young and we just kept chatting, laughing, 'cam whoring' (especially SOMEONE. not me), and drinking!! It was so fun! hahahaha.. anyway we've decided on a date for our chalet, end this month on the 27-30th. planing on going cycling at ubin too! hah.

Anyway i think suat was a lil high, kept laughing and laughing. well everyone was behaving quite high that night, although i think nearly ALL of us were sober. hahaha.. nevertheless we didnt stop those scandalous shots from being taken! hah. lionel was quite bald. Ns lah. =D gd to see him again man. well heres the pics!



We're all quite squashed. haha


lionels finally towering over mua. hah


Those are mine! and mine alone!


i love alcohol. it does things to girls. lol


the beautiful kit...


lionels a lucky guy!. hahahah


Suat and i... heh


Almost..


na and i, and i swear i wasnt high. hahaha. lets just hope her guy doesnt see this.


mel ... and his contacts.


Shao, Daph and Kit... =)) nice shot


Double Joy; and in case youre wondering, yes they are really kissing. lionels girl is so gonna kill him. hahahha.


Caught in the action!!! Thats my bed, and they're... they're... =oP


Us! =)) (w/o shao lionel and suat)


After drinks shao jun and lionel drove us all to my place for supper and to watch the germany-portugal play offs in the world cup! Germany!

"Life in a Music School" - You know, the thought of this was simply non-existent in my mind right up to the day before I entered NAFA. I went into NAFA by a lucky streak of coincidence; My mom and I were visiting the old NAFA campus because it used to be her ex-primary school. We bumped into the HOD of Music, he gave me an impromptu audition and the next day, I was studying in a music school.

Since that audition, my life has taken an unexpected twist. A detour so great and unexpected that it took me quite a while to adjust to "Life In A Music School" instead of being in a poly or jc.

The Straits Times and the New Paper soon interviewed me and another classmate of mine, Gabriel, on why we chose this path when we could go to JCs and Polys. We simply explained that it was the love of music which made us explore this 'unconventional' way.

I went through diploma access as a double major in piano and music technology. And in diploma one I had to chose btwn the two. I chose Music Technology.

Up to this day, I still do not know if I made the right choice. But I must admit that this choice I made has led me a long way. And because I was a music tech major, I had more time to practice on the piano; NO piano performances/ensembles/piano rep or whatsoever which the piano majors do. Thus I took the free time to practice and do my compositions.

I have to admit it was really tough and I was struggling between my piano lessons and my music tech principal studies. It wasn't easy AT ALL. Moreover I conduct so many choirs, AND above that I had my school work to do. Music history was a killer.

Many times I was always late for lectures and even totally forgotten to do my work! Ok in year one I was quite lazy. hah. but year two I simply didnt have the time! What a nightmare! Most of the time in year one and two I was improvising everything in lectures! jeez..

I seriously did not know how I coped with all which was piling on me, but I do remember in year 2 I almost broke down due to the stress that was over whelming me. At that time I had a big concert at esplanade; I was writing music for the heartlanders; and I had two new choirs. It almost drove me crazy!

But through it all, I know I worked things out, pushed myself in the third year and struggled my way through these times. I really owe it to my friends, some of the lecturers, my piano teacher and family who really supported me through these times.

I had this group of friends; mainly pei fang and pei feng (the twins), gwen, and kai er. These were my lunch buddies and fellow pianists (the twins and gwen). Kai er was my fellow music technologist and we did share much knowledge of the tech together. I was closest to the twins (and still am =)), and they always gave me advice on problems or situations that needed attention to. Up to the day I graduated, I owe much to them.

I had another group of friends who were real fun to be with; mainly may, yinsher, minyu. They were my gossip friends. hahaha... but they were real nice people, esp min yu. Really had many serious chats with her during our practice breaks in sch when we were practicing and we would simply slip into each others practice rooms and start chatting like theres no tomorrow. hahahaha... really wonderful memories! =))

I knew midorie on the first day of school, she first struck me as this pretty female pianist from indonesia and was quite lonely. hah. however she found a partner; laurence, another pianist from hong kong. laurence was my buddy when I was in nafa. piano reigned in his mind, and the only thing that he has thinking about 24/7 is just to practice and become a concert pianist. now i hardly hear from him.

Then theres one of the most lovable and fun groups to be around with; Angel, Dorothy, Natania, Sebastian, Hui En and later, Leo. Angels with sebas, and leos with nat, and dorothy,... well lets just say shes with God. hah.. the three girls are MOE music teaching scholars and they have been one of the most amazingly fun people to be around with. I just wished we had the chance to get to know each other better in year one.

Sebastian was my buddy, a close friend in year one, and when he got together with angel the world became invisible to him. hah. In year one he would always come to the music tech room too see what pieces I had composed and give great comments on them. As for the dot and angel, the three of us would always be helping one another sing for each others pieces! hahahahhaa.!!! how hilarious thinkng of it now. and I remembered for most of the exams I would help dot and angel do their mixdown.. hahhahaha :) I miss them man.

Lynn, Ting and Lixing; the ever cheerful ones and the non-gossip club! hahahaha.. u can always trust them on anything confidential man... Because somehow they NEVER gossip! Ting well, we've shared so many memories together, ive seen her laugh and cry... go crazy and go mad. Shes just a really special and different girl to be with, and who ever who gets her... will be a really lucky guy. shes also really soft, and doesnt really talk much to strangers. u have to make the move to talk to her, if not she'll not take the first step. haha.. she likes pink, and only when she was in nafa she learnt the beauty of JEANS. hahahahas... =)) a reali great friend.. =))

Another close buncha friends; Shi Hua, Lifeng, Sebas (again), Rene, Gabriel, and Big Daniel. They're also my lunch kakees, and for almost EVERY single lunch we have together wierd things will happen. im serious!! hahahahaa... I can still remember for one of them gabriel started talking about super HORNY stuffs and all of us just got a freaking shock of our lives! (gabriels a rEALLY decent guy. and I mean it!). and after a while lifeng started laughing profusely like shes doing it to save her life or something... and then all of us just started laughing so hard! and the worse thing is.... we all dont know why we're laughing! HAHAHAHHAAHAH!!! omg thinking of it now just drives me crazy laughing about it man. hahah. =D

-Lifeng, Sebas, Rene and Big Daniel are my mahjong kakees too.. always coming over to my place to play mahjong till the wee hours of the night, or even morning! How fun it was man.. hahahaha... and lifeng would take such a freaking long time to throw her tiles that daniel would always scold her, only to hear retaliation from her and "THERE wE GO AGAIN!". haha!!! Well lifengs a great friend too, and so many times she has helped me in ways I will be eternally grateful for. =)) and I must say... SHE CAN read minds! haha... knws what im thinkn most of the time. well NOT all though. hah.

-Shihua's my fellow choral conductor. a really genuine and close friend. We used to share the same choir together; Haig Girls primary! haha.. and it was such a joy and real fun to do that choir man.=)) She drives a black Volkswagon Golf GTi!!!! freaking hell I want one of those someday. And many a time I would share much with her. a great listener.

Last but not least before I left the school I made a bunch of really close friends; Laurel, Victor, Samuel and Jeremy. Jeremys a singer, and recently I gave him his FIRST choir to conduct! hahaha.. u should see how excited and happy he was man. =) and vics this damn friendly guy who plays the clarinet. It always seems like a smile is STUCK on his face man. hah. as for Laurel, hes a great trombonist and we performed at some talent show togehter at some place (somewhere in the west I think. hah). Love performing with him. simply becuase there is great chemistry and understanding in the music. And hes one of the few buddies whom i'd tell and share almost anything with. Hes also one person who has great dreams to persue, and if he works as hard as he is now I believe he'll make it very far in the industry one day. Well, guess he owes me his gratitude for guiding him and advising him in so much huh. hahaha..

You know, there are somethings in this world that only musicians can understand. Lets take for example...if you take your fist and only stick out your index and middle finger, most of us would take that as a pose for the camera; "say TWIST!!!". But for us musicians, it means a decrescendo or a crescendo! Thats the magic of being in a music school; because everything inside is so different, and the way we percieve and see things are almost in different worlds than the one we're living in. Its a really different experience.

So much has happened in the last three and a half years; simply too much to mention. But now that ive graduated, ive realised that its really hard to keep in touch with those musicians who arent in my specific line of practice (i.e choral/piano/musictech); especially the band players like lifeng, sebas, and the MOE teaching scholars like dot and angel... really starting to miss them man. and I do hope theyre doing very well.

I don't know what path i'll eventually chose; piano, music tech, compostition or choral conducting. But i'll most probably be doing all of them in the future. But although I have the headache of these few paths to choose, I feel fortunate that I even have paths to choose in the first place, for I know some fellow musicians who do not have a choice, especially those who major in a particular instrument only. However the expanding music industry in Singapore is a really great encouragement for all of us.

No matter how messy life in NAFA has been, i am grateful for the people it has brought me; my friends, lecturers, and especially my piano teacher; Mr Benjamin Loh, who has really done miracles to my playing these past few years.

As we go our seperate ways into our own musical fields, i know that i wont be seeing some of you for a really long time. And so i really pray that you'll do great in whatever you are doing, and only pray i'll see you again, in the very near future.


Gonna miss you guys.

Gonna miss the music we've made...

Ok this is funny, Mindef called me up to ask me to enlist for my national service next week on tuesday, and now theyve given me a CHOICE, whether i want to go in next week, or i go in around october /december.

Initially, i was really set on going in next week because i just didnt want to waste any more time b4 ns.

However after much thought through a sleepless night, ive decided to go for the later enlistment in october because for the next three months i have tons of stuffs; competitions, concerts and auditions awaiting me, and i really dont wanna miss out on these opportunities.

It was really great of mindef to give me a choice.

Hope im doing the right thing man.

So NS: Later!~

Mindef just called me today.

I'm going in next week!!!!!!!!!!

What a freaking shock! i didnt expect it to be this soon. usually they would give about 3 months grace after telling you your enlistment date. but jeez... really cant believe im going to be a full time ns man from next week onwards.

Have to start gymming from tomorrow onwards.

NS, here i come!

It was Lee Pei Ming and Valery Kuleshov's Piano recital today; the last day of the international piano festival concerts.


the afternoon recital by pei ming was a rather 'modern one' man. hah.. She did mainly modern works, and even featured a video of her in an interview with george crumb. It was really interesting. However her playing was somehow uninteresting and boring. To me it sounded like she did not have enough strength for the big pieces, and the modern pieces were TOO Long for my taste! After a while I simply couldn't take the length of it! Her liszt was all in a blur!!! I did not know what on earth she was playing.. It was freaky..


after the concert I went with SY and SS to have dinner at swensens at funan... We had so much food!! Me and sy had fish baked rice while ss had a sambal fish and we had so many sides we almost vomited after the meal!! It was really fun! Talked about piano stuffs and concerts etc etc... jeez.. Wished Ben was here man.. He would have loved the food and chats.. =)) but unfortunately he had to bring jons sis home.


In the evening the concert by Valery Kuleshov was indeed quite amazing. He had impeccable technique! And I really really loved his Russian works.. It was so romantic! he really has the strength and sound to pull it all off... really beautiful!

Unfortunately his Chopin went into a horrifying "he bangs he bangs" kinda style, and in my opinion was totally not suited for his music! However the rest of his pieces were delivered with much grandeur and flair! and he played my Favourite piece!!! the Scriabin Etude op.42 no.5!!! ahha.. simply love that piece man.. (besides his D# minor etude.)

As for the Variations on themes from bizets carmen that Kuleshov played, he simply BLEW THE AUDIENCE AWAY by his really amazing technique! i couldnt even see where his hands were going! hahaha.. although there were minor slips here and there.. still very impressive!! =))


.......................................

When i was on the way home in the train, i was standing in front of an old lady who was sitting down on the chair.. and she did the most disgusting thing ever. She started burPing NON-STOP ALL the way from city hall to Simei where i alighted!! Talk about foul gas gadgets! my goodness gracious.. this was some freaky shit man.

And as i stood infront of her i was so utterly disgusted by the way she burped. it was so loud!! and every single time she did it she would purposely open her mouth so wide a mouse could easily crawl in and out of it man. jeez. and i reckoned that its more like a habit instead of like burping on a full stomach or something, because she was burping almost 3 times every minute!! eW!!! gross like mad.


Before i got out of the train, i couldnt take it no more. and so i bent down to her and asked.


"Hi Aunty are you feeling ok?......."


she looked at me,

squeezed her nose and then replied in the loudest possible volume and went:


"BBBBUUUURRRPPPPP."





OH My FreaKINg GoodnEss!!!! The SMELL!!!!

ONIONS!!!!!!! ARGGGHZ!!

I almost yelled out because i got such a fright.

But i simply walked out quickly.

Or did i run?

Todays piano recital was by the first prize winner of the Sydney International Piano Competition, John Chen. He was born in malaysia, but then migrated to new zealand when he was 11.


It was simply Amazing.


He was innately musical, and had a sense of line and movement in the music so flowing it really touched the hearts of many (at least me. hah).

His technique was really almost flawless and his touch was so extremely sensitive!!! Everyone after the concert were saying he is not human. My goodness... his debussy, ravel and the other french works were really magical.


MAGICAL!

and hes only............. 21.


A world class pianist who will definitely make it international very soon.



What an inspiration...

have been attending the piano festival concerts every night...

the first night was rather bad! the pianist was banging and banging thoughout, some of the pieces were WAY faster than usual. and the the whole concert was practically jarring! arhz!

but last night's concert was so much better.. really enjoyed it! went for supper with shao suan and shao ying at this japanese looking mac somewhere at the other end of the island. hah.. and by the time i reached home it was close to 2am!!(guess how mch my taxi fare home cost!?) lol.

am looking forward to john chen's recital tonight! =))

have been looking at cars lately... really wished i could drive (and have a car). Sometimes taking public transport everyday really stinks because its so invonvenient! and although its expensive to own a car, its so much easier to get from point A to B! sigh.. but am thinking of taking my driving during my ns when i have more free time.