Fig. 1.1 The whole choir with Ms Lim at Milan
Yo.. this is what i have written for reflection that i have to submit.. ahha.. sunbian can upload here :)
Reflection: NJChoir Trip to Verona, Italy (17/4/2006 – 24/4/2006)
I always enjoy singing. No matter where I go, I sing. Singing is in me.
Last week, I have spent one whole of week of my time with a bunch of people who shared the same passion with me, the NJChoir, in a land far, far away from Singapore, the land of gelato, pasta and pizza – Italy J. This is my first time visiting Europe. At first, I thought that spending a week in a foreign place, with a bunch of people whom you like doing things that we love to do is exciting and enjoyable. At times when we are high, we can be like the Muppets, making all sorts of noise even at places that we are supposed to keep our voices down and it is up to the committee members to shush or sometimes scold the choir so that everything will go back to the normal reference point. This resembles that of a biological process called homeostasis.
However, I asked myself, do I really need to do all the shushing? Must I be the ‘hormone’ that
has to bring the body’s condition back to its reference point? Why is it that the choir does not have the self-discipline and self-control that Ms. Lim has always wanted? Throughout the whole trip, I tried very hard not to be myself at appropriate times because I believe as leaders, we have to discipline ourselves before do so to our members. Also, we leaders should, in any case, never be affected by negative emotions during setbacks. There was a setback. It happened on the day before the competition and this worried Miss Teo, Mr. Chia as well as the committee. Ms. Lim was so angry with the choir that her scolding has deeply affected many people, especially to the girls. I felt scared, too. We had a meeting immediately after the unfruitful practice to discuss how to bring out the best of the choir in the worst of their condition.
Fig 1.2 The NJChoir EXCO (Prashanth & Tammy not in photo but we never forget you!) + Music Com + Ms Lim
I do agree that even though our type of choir is not the type that works best under pressure, we should give our very best using the correct method even during practices at the basement of the hotel where the acoustic was terrible. I firmly believe that this choir can do wonders if we can focus better in terrible conditions. I think Ms. Lim’s way of making us to become independent singers is rather effective even though the price we paid was emotions. Knowing that Ms. Lim’s mood is like a see-saw which oscillates unpredictably, I was glad that in the end Ms. Lim calmed the choir down and lifted their morale high up once again. I can sense Ms. Lim’s deep love for the choir. Despite her age and her physical condition (she was down with cough), she gave all she had – scolding, harsh guidance and patience. I adore her perseverance.
On the day of competition, a Thursday, the choir seems to remember what Ms. Chua had said before we left for Italy: to sing with head, body and everybody. It was amazing enough to pull through all the 5 songs (in order: As Vesta Was Descending, Ave Verum Corpus, El Hambo, Lay A Garland and finally, Janger). When we were on stage, I can sense the focus that Ms. Lim has even wanted. When we open our mouths and start singing, we cannot really hear ourselves due to the terrible acoustics in Teatro Nuovo. We continued and we tried, to communicate with Ms. Lim. I could not tell whether we sang well as a choir on stage but when I was singing, my mind was only focusing on one thing: that is to make music and enjoy together. The anxiety that I had went away instantly.
After the competition, we were relieved instantly. We got into holiday mode after that until Saturday came. Seated at the balcony of Teatro Filarmonico, I was longing to see Ms. Lim and Cheryl to coming up onstage to receive the gold award. The participating choirs were being called up to receive their award in the order of increasing merit. First it was Bronze, then Silver and then Gold. When the Silver choirs were being called up, we were hoping and praying very hard that we will not be called. Eventually, our prayers were answered. J We are the 1st runner up of the competition with a Gold Award. In addition, and also to my surprise, we obtained the distinction award for the set piece (Ave Verum Corpus). I thank God for everything that has happened.
Fig. 1.3 The Gold award that we have been longing for...
As soon as the competition has ended, we got to perform once again onstage and we performed ‘El Hambo’ which has earned us the trademark of a cute Asian choir and our authentic ‘Janger’ which stirred the audiences.
There is more for me to say but words alone can never express my feelings. This trip has such a huge blessing to me. There are many things that I have learnt both consciously and unconsciously and I am still exploring them. I am thankful that I am in NJChoir, singing with this bunch of lovely people and being conducted by a wonderful conductor. Singing with NJChoir in Italy is a memory worth keeping for eternity.
Louis Lim (Tenor)
27/4/2006
