This is not a publicity joke.

Colours of the Guitar
Colors of the Guitar
吉他的颜色
颜色 of the 吉他

A concert at UCC theatre by NUS Guitar ensemble. Boasts an evening of entertainment for the old and young. Concert includes:

1. The blockbuster "Electric Light Orchestra Medley", by Singapore's home grown guitarist/arranger/composer Mr. Balraj S/O Gopal.
2. La Partida, by Resident tutor and guitar appassionato Mr. Ng Shuhann, in collaboration with world renowned swedish representative Ian Olof Eriksson
3. Haru Ga Kita, classic Japanese Folk music in Baroque Style by Niibori Academy of Japan
4. America, reprise of yet another smashing hit in GENUS 2003, by Mr. Ng Shuhann, adapted from the "West Side Story"
5. Get Back, a cacophonic rendition of the retro genre by guitarist and recorder player Mr. Donimic Lan. Features chancellor's shield awardee Leonardo de Guzman on the electric guitar.
6. Concerto en Sol, by Telemann, featuring 4 of our young and talented musicians
7. Capricho Catalan, Granada by Albeniz, featuring the jurassic quartet, Guitaresque
8. Tango Pot Pourri, by Seiji Sekiya, featuring upcoming smash hit quintet, Quintessence
9. Streets of London, classic guitar duet, featuring honorary star-crossed duo.
10. and many more encores...

In the event that our music director falls sick or is late for concert, you will be entitled a bonus reward as the concert will then be conducted by our Assitant Conductor, Mr. Alex Lee, renowned guitarist/tutor of young Singapore guitar groups and arranger of billboard charts champions, 流光飞舞 and Overture to the Barber of Seville.

Still hesitating?!?!?! Click www.genus.com.sg and book your seats NOW!!!

Lelong Lelong

I've suggested to Zhiqiang to sell a packaged deal. Tickets to both Jan and March concert for $20 as student concession, irregardless of the 60% percentage attendance clause. Hopefully the idea be helpful to him.

In my opinion, just heck the fund-raising agenda and aim for a full-house.

Recordings

Just downloaded the recordings of the annual music camp for some listening. Must say it's quite ready for the upcoming Jan fund-raising concert, though there could some refinements to make the pieces more tasty.

America
Perhaps the starting speed could mildly resemble the ending tempo eh? 6/8 3/4 inequality prevalent. Prime chords are messy, though Basses help to delineate and clarify only. Overall a bit too harsh throughout for me.

Haru ga Kita
Not cohesive enough. Notes are there, ideas are not unified. Basses have to tone down, sticking out too much. May want to consider double up alto soloists, imbalanced with ensemble strength.

Get Back
Strums and off-beats could be tighter. Sounds melodically repetitive without the electric guitar.

ELO Medley
Some parts of the melody rhythmically unstable. Accompanying chords/bass stick out too much and too long at times. More volume changes perhaps?

Really I'm just being fussy. For the size of the ensemble and number of newbies, we are doing just fine. Anyway, I can't wait to listen to the small ensemble play in the new year 2006!!!

Impressions of China

I always didn’t have a good impression of the places in China, especially after my trip to 北京, 成都 and 天津 in 1993. Always felt that the culture there was odd and the environment not cosy nor authentic enough. Well in 深圳, you get to visit some 7 storey shopping mall with only 50% of the 1st floor shops still operational, barely. The rest have closed down. Seems like the shopping business here is difficult.

This place has newly lined up buildings and classy subways; yet with ladies eating food(rice) from rubbish bin. I saw her at 3p.m. and again at 8p.m. Wondering if it’s just a sympathy show.

Reasons why I should consider carefully before stepping foot onto 深圳 ever again.

1. People spit while walking
2. Hospitable people are hard to find
3. Irritating marketing techniques, inclusive of Sim Lim Square style showering of paper flyers and "follow you all the way" nagging/pestering
4. Roads don't have road signs/names, difficult to navigate
5. A booked car ride for 600 bucks for 3 eventually ends up squeezing party of 7.
6. Nothing to shop
7. Movie tickets are twice as expensive as Singapore's during weekends
8. Begging along roads
9. Queue-ing for food purchase is not in their education system
10. Polluted air

Just yesterday night, Seng Kiat suggested to us about going for a trip together next June, Alvin remarked that his perference is 北京. Gosh... Hopefully not, please. I wouldn't mind India even.

梧桐山,好汉坡

We only visited one mountain in 深圳, ascending via 好汉坡. The "highlight" was the descend, most 45 degrees or more, accompanied by rocky and sandy terrain, minimal vegetation for hand holding... absolutely treacherous.





a 600 step stairway to the heavens



After-stairway-rocky-terrain, still acsending...

麦理浩径

Staying in the city(旺角) and doing treks in the daytime is actually quite luxurious as you can totally forget about:

1. meal preparation
2. rationing water supply
3. tent(carrying + washing thereafter)
4. campsite location
5. and many other more...

So it gives me great pleasure to concentrate on taking pictures and of course enjoy the vast scenery laid before the eyes.

Stage 1 of the trail boasts some good scenery around their largest reservoir 万宜水库.

Some poetry found on rocks

Hong Kong is actually quite filled with highlands

Coastal view from Stage 2

On our rest day, we decided to take a break and found our way to 天檀大佛 and had some vegetarian meal at 宝莲寺

Check out the size of the statue

Some human intervention to prevent landslides

It can get pretty sunny and dry at certain areas. Not hot though. But people were warned of forest fires.

Some of the trails we've been to, notice the meandering trail up the summit?

Locals enjoy BBQ a lot... at 9.am in the morning! perhaps a winter season trend

met a few native bovines

Another relaxing night at 星光大道

colours of the maple

尊前作剧莫相笑
我死诸君思此狂

compliments from watching TV in HK

Opening and Linking

The intro I've decided to use is the opening of FF VII. The one that goes along with showing Aerith, panning of Midgar and the train AVALANCHE was on.

Here's me trying to upload some pics from my 56.6 connection.

Works pretty well, except that they have to be less then 100KB... Oh well, I shan't complain.

Back to sing

It really looks like the guys have not decided to wage a war this every evening, I shall come home and send out invitation signals again a few hours later.

Yes my dear friends, if you'd like to yell "SEPHIROTH!!!" and sing latin/hebrew/german or whatever weird language the piece was sung in, I will consider dumping in that. Well anyway, an electric guit. part has been written in for JENOVA, hopefully Leo and Hansen can jam something out of it.

Having problems with Intro to the medley, and writing Chocobo's theme in 5/4. Yuffie's theme is a good possibility but it's very kiddish...

Yes, the mini-ensemble is not mini at all. It's a small ensemble. well, neither is it small. Actually the hidden agenda is a rebellion, against you-know-the-one-whose-name-cannot-be-spoken. So, who's on my side?

War this weekend?

I recieved a gallant SMS from Hansiang asking about war this weekend. Quite heart-warming/funny I must say, considering I was slowly consuming my hot soya drink breakfast, while experiencing a psuedo freezer morning. Yes, Hong Kong is about 10 to 12 degrees now.

I know my trusty pal Hansen will check on my blog to see if it has died a "slow and painful" death. I'll be back in Singapore in the afternoon. Warfare on Sunday night is definitely possible. Do convey this signal to the rest.

Daokui also just called me(12.pm.), but I rejected his call. Anyone help me find out what's up with him?

I'll be leaving Hong Kong for Shen Zhen today, hopefully there's net connection there.

Final fantasy VII medley

I'm working on a game medley even when I am painstakingly trying to complete as much of the remaining MacLeHost Trail as my knee will possibly allow. Really I gotta reserve some for the trip to Krakatoa. Anyway, Chengru told me that the ascend is probably gonna be only 200m, since the volcanoe blow up itself many years back.

I'm having doubts if some parts of the medley will turn out ok. Well, guitar is afterall not the best instrument to play game music, what's more I've included 2 pieces of boss fights. hmmm...

Discarded the idea of re-writing my original Capriccio Espagnol for small ensemble, quite a colossial piece to re-structure. I also think it's about Gelato's standard or higher, which means that there probably will be bloodbath at the reading sessions.

FF VII will probably be a 8 min (or more) piece, judging from the number of pieces I wanna throw in. (Have the guys even read Farandole yet?!?!) Maybe I'm a bit overly-enthusiastic about this small ensemble. Anyway, I'm glad some of the guys liked the pieces, makes my time spent worth the while at least.

I probably will convert Pictures at an Exhibition over to small ensemble as well. May cause even more bloodshed when they read Tuileries or Baba yaga...

Miracles

Looks like the annual music camp has yet again created another wonder for us all. to have Shuhann actually comment that we're almost at performing level.
It was only last week that he hissed about the juniors unable to play the rhythm for America.

Well, my dear Hansen, spending over 1000 bucks, and choosing ELO or Get Back for encore does fit into my bill of having enough pieces. 1000 bucks should at least secure 2 years worth of repertoire, in my opinion. Besides, ELO is too long for an encore, unless they decided to just play one part, and Get Back is of course yet another best choice.

Collapsing the repertoire of Fund raising concert into R&R would of course mean that we've got a surplus of pieces. I sure hope the ensemble is not moving in that direction. *shivers*

Everyone is to be in a small group!

Reading this in my mail reminds me of the impending danger coming up next week. yes, the once in a year "Let's play guitar" internal concert. I really wonder who still remembers that they are obligated to enter into a small group. I'll bet at least 50% of the people will heck it with this.

Which reminds me I should document how much the ensemble has spent on scores this year. over 1000 bucks! AND, we're still short of pieces for our annual concert.

The incompetence(or incontinence) of my music director has always been a good topic of tea/supper chats. Not to mention his ridiculous behaviour 3 years back; He actually threathened me over the phone that he'll use his relations with Thumboo to get into GENUS whether or not the student committee agrees to it. Hilarious. He must have been masquerading in Piper's shithole and Shitalla for too long to come up with such desperate measures. Anyway, I think this shows what kind of character he is or can become.

MacLeHost Trail

yet another 20 over kilometres completed today. Seriously, I think I am out-doing myself in stamina. As reminded by the trail, Mt.Ophir was only horizontally 6km, and Kinabalu is only 8km.

My feet aches like as if it's walked since 7a.m. in the morning. My right knee threathens to give away whenever I head downslope. The highest peak in the trail is only 900m, yes, lower than Belumut or Ophir... but the horizontal traversing is really a test of endurance. not strength at all.

Well, good thing is that the trail boasts good scenic views and different vegetation/environment/experience in trekking. Walking on the ridges makes me feel that I'm sending a ring bearer to Mordor, although the scenery is not actually equal, but at least 70% in my opinion.

Bright side, I'm getting trained as a professional window shopper with all this leg work. Down side, I've managed to injure my knee for the first time in all these years of trekking.

Dragon Inn

I'm encased in a little hostel in Mong Kok(Wang Jiao). It's really a pity that the original acclaimed network access in the room has turned out to be confined to the hostel manager's main office. Hence, I am here watching Korean farmers wallop Hong kong police on TV while typing this.

The climate here resembles that of Taiwan in march, minus the rain. Well, the part I dread most is obviously bathing, no doubt the hostel has kindly provided a heater.

Trekking in Hong Kong is really quite different from tropical counterparts. most of the paths are all paved, some even with road lamps. You never need to grab any helpful twig or sturdy root to yank yourself up a 1.2 metre step, no bashing through plants as well. It's quite like a walk in a park. Except, this park is really huge and LONG.

On the 1st day, we did around 23km of hiking and my feet was badly petrified in shock, refusing to move faster when urged by its owner to rush for the door closing subway train. It's really quite weird since the highest point trekked on the first day is merely 300m in altitude. I commented to my hike mates that Ophir was SIGNIFICANTLY easier, even if it means heading to the summit in one go without stopping to camp.

Photos are not going to be up unless i find someway to connect my laptop to the internet. unfortunately i forgot to bring my thumbdrive here, else you guys will be able to look at some HK terrain, and my tiny dragon inn room. defintely beats Shuhann's hostel experience in Japan!

How's the music camp? I hope everyone's enjoying!

P.S. Tried to post in chinese, but the hostel comp hangs whenever i try to activate the chinese words...

Blogging tip

Thanks to Hansen, I've learnt yet another trick, to change some stupid settings on that blogger account, in order for everyone to write comments on my posts.

well people, let the comments roll in!

Setting off

Here I am at the airport waiting for my flight, after being introduced by my friend on how to notify MINDEF on my trip. Quite cool, the airport provides quite good internet connection. Do hope that I can update my blog once I get to Hong Kong and Shenzhen, esp. the photos and all.

The guys at Music Camp, have a great time. Kinda miss livin' under the same roof for the week but oh well, can't bear to rehearse Get Back for the entire camp as well.

Cock Eye!

It's really amazing how I can now sit in front of Sibelius and work 4 hours non-stop at my arrangements, till my eyes actually percieve the screen to look a little less bright(or they really are!). For a while, I actually have difficulty keeping my eyeballs straight after I stop looking at the computer screen.

Nontheless, I'm pretty pleased with my recent transcriptions with my newly explored software Sibelius 2.0 which I have recently realised is not exactly the newest of all things around.

In fact, now I'm contemplating on starting with another new found piece, Farandole by Bizet. Oh yes, I have finally braved through Suteki da Ne; that leaves Howl's Moving Castle howling in my drawers of the unfinished. Well, I will still have to complete shifting Capriccio Espagnol over to Sibelius from Noteworthy, easily 3 days on that.

Focus!!! you cock eye!

Previous grumblings

I found this little textfile by my screen's corner that contained:

"After 2 months of pestering by the committee members, that conductor of mine has finally “finished” his arrangements for the fund-raising concert. Get this, he’s supposed to arrange three pieces, on Saturday he arrived LATE for ensemble rehearsal and gloriously presented us with 30 bars of the first piece. The Alto 1 score was highly decorated with mostly rests and some quavers, and the 1st string of the instrument was completely untouched in those measly bars."

Must be one of those saturdays.