3rd day in Oak Glen Centre!
In case I have not elaborated enough about this place, let me try to put the beauty of this place in words.. A isolated "resort" in the mountains, away from the hectic city life where everyone is too concerned about getting their work done and not take out some time to reflect about life. That's what Oak Glen Centre is meant to be. A place for anyone to sit down in the midst of tall magnificent pine trees and thick trunk trees. A place for a person to enjoy the simplicity of life with the serenity of nature. A rehabilation centre for the city people who have lost their appreciation of Simplicity and Serenity..
Well, Oak Glen Centre is in the woods that is built for anyone who would like a rejuvenating holiday and for those who enjoy scenic views and the cool clear air of the American mountains. There are trees with maple-shaped leaves here and large pines with bear tracks everywhere. The land is crisp with tree branches and dried leaves and a few tree stumps dotting the surface of earth. Imagine staying in an enlarged version of Fraser's hills without the dampness and with taller trees.
Breakfast was different again today. We had . During lunch, we had the most Original American meal one can imagine - Chicken Burger! One thing is for sure though, their chicken is Fantastic! Way better than McDonald's McChicken or whatsoever. Salad? You don't need me to elaborate on this.. It's just wonderful and I took a plateful of it again! (That's why I have no reason Not to be Fairskinned.. Haha..) Dinner was a totally different style - Lasagne with Tomato-gravy Beef Balls. It's better than anything you can imagine and impossible to be found in Malaysia.. This is not only the American cooking, but a higher-state-of-the-mountains' delicious recipes.
Wonderful food, beautiful scenery, refreshing air, serene atmosphere.. Who could ask for more?
Great music with great people, that's what it is.
Today's practices were as usual, but everyone was feeling slightly under the weather because of the stuffy and stagnant air in the practice lodge. Although everything here is wonderful, the place was not built for people to be indoors that often. None of the lodges or cabins have fans or any air-conditioning, a good way to encourage those Pampered City Folks to start enjoying life with Nature and appreciate what she has to offer.
There was a Solo Music Evening today. 6 person where in the list, starting from George (LA violinist - Bach Fugue), a Taiwanese girl (violin - Lalo), Ray Aun (cellist), Sze Chiann (Mas Violinist - Paganini), Andrea Chang (LA violinist - Beethoven's Sonata) and a Taiwanese man (violin - something Really Cool! that I forgot..)
The performers all did a great job. The first, George 15 played Bach's Fugue. It was a great piece with lots of harmony and nice intonation. He had a slight stage fright but managed to do a wonderful performance nevertheless. The Taiwanese girl 11 (youngest of the performers) played Lalo, a nice peice with nice harmony and music too. Sze Chiann did great with Paganini's Cantabile while Andrea Chang executed a near-perfect Beethoven in terms of musicality and intepretation of music. The Taiwanese man? He's just too good to be explained. Wonderful technique, impressive showmanship, an awesome performance throughout!
Then came the critic session. We started off with the Taiwanese man's performance. He told us that he suffers from a slight paranoia that makes him wake up sweating everyday because he was afraid one day he would lose his touch in playing the violin.. Or maybe lose the ability to use his fingers to play. Teacher Wen stated that everyone will surely start off with this time of thinking, most will eventually grow out of it as they know it won't do them any good although they may still be making mistakes. After all, no one is perfect. But some (like him) feels very stressed up and afraid at times because of these scary scenarios. The Taiwanese man was a man with great technique, but he did not explore and use his physical part to its full potential. According to the teachers, many musicians make the same mistake - playing without understanding and be into it.
When a person does something without understanding how we can fully utilise everything available, we tend to spoil ourselves instead of getting better. A violinist who plays well but is not able to flex and use his whole arm or body's muscle to bring out the music will end up tiring himself and injure himself after acheiving a certain standard. Using only your fingers to tremolo is indeed more tiring than a circular arc of the whole arm that helps to push and provide more energy to the bow. (That's my own theory! haha.. )
The same thing applies to all instruments, even woodwind and brass. Playing music is not just about playing the right notes and right dynamics. There is always a deeper understanding and greater beauty to it. The teachers also noted that playing music is like understanding your instrument and playing together with it so that It can create music, not you. You are like a teacher, a guide that is sheeperding the right notes and dynamics on your instrument so that it'll sound just right. In order to do so, we must also know how to fully utilise all our body's muscles so that the music produced is not merely a hand gesture but more to a movement that's made by the whole body. The best example was Dr Lin He and Prof Wei (double bassist)'s Bottesini Duo Concerto. Although Prof Wei was smaller in stature and size, she managed to play the bass as if it was as easy as a cello! The sound created had wonderful texture and depth to it.. It's like hearing a combination of both a tenor and an alto-soprano in unison! For a lady like her, it takes a lot of effort to be able to play and master the double bass. Brute strength will not have brought her to such perfection, she said it was because she understand and tries to use all parts of her body to play the instrument. The difference was really significant as she showed to us during the Chamber Music Evening.
Another thing that I learnt tonight during the Solo Music Evening was the phrase :" When you practise, don't play; when you play, don't practise"
When you practise, don't play - It is very true indeed. In everything we do, besides music, we should always prioritise and be able to focus on our short term goal and achievements. When we try to practise a song, or prepare for anything, do not play and not take it seriously. When we play, we try to get the feel and touch and all the emotions in, but during practise we should be focusing on the details and perfect our technique. It is either we suffer during practises or we end up creating a fiasco when we are supposed to play.
When you play, don't practise - When it's time for the real event, and you have made all the necessary arrangements and practises, don't get too worried over it. Enjoy it to the fullest and try to create something that will bring joy to the audience and not focus too much on the details you were practising during practises. You have did you best for everything and there's no use trying to improve at the last minute. Therefore, just sit back (or sit straight) and show the world what you have in store for them after so many practises.
I find it really true because many of us tend to have this type of attitude for everything we do. Just look at the way we study in High School. Procrastinating everyday until the very last moment before trying to perfect it at the 11th hour. At the end of the day, we'll still be in a practising mode and won't be able to enjoy or go through it properly. Taking exams are the same, if we have done our practises and not play around during each practise sessions, there is nothing to worry about during the actual play. You have done your best and you know it so just stand there and show them the best that you have had yet.
This then brings us to the next thing they point out - stage fright. Some people get stage frights whereas some don't, and how do they overcome their stage fright? From my opinion (after listening to all the advices and examples from the teachers), stage fright is something that happens during and even before the actual performance itself. Just take the Taiwanese violinist, he was afraid long before the performance! When we think about it, it is merely our fears of not being able to perform well when the time comes. But no matter how much we ponder upon it, it will never improve things. Why not think on the other side - I've practised all i can, I've tried my best, if I do screw things up when the time comes, people know (I myself will know too) that it was just a wasted oppurtunity but with such determination, I'm bound to be able to do well at the end. With positive thinking and consistent practices, nothing is impossible.
Positive thinking indeed. But sometimes it falls back to the environment and living conditions of the performer himself. If a person is living in a country (like China/Japan) where quanlity is highly regarded, he/she will feel the pressure and at the end get a really bad stage fright because he/she is afraid of the consequences of a failed performance. Such thinking is also one of the reasons why European performers are better in terms of musicality and intepretation of music because they are Unafraid. They have high esteem and are proud with what they are able to achieve. Being more open to critisism and able to accept failure with a more open heart brings better improvement. Being confident and not self-critise is always better than pessimism. And saying ;"I suck.. I'm lousier.. I'm not as good.." isn't going to help anyone.
Unless you choose to be the same till the end and not improve, try changing the sentences into --
"I'm not as good.. Yet. I'm lousier.. than what I can achieve and I'll be better soon enough. I suck.. and that means I have room for improvement."
A perfect man is pitiful, because he can never change for the better. After all.. Stupidity has no limits, but a Genuis has one.
Do you have a limit, my friend?
Signing out @ 1am
~Ray Aun~
Thursday, August 20, 2009
USA Trip - Oak Glen Christian Centre, August 4th
It's my second day at Oak Glen Conference Centre! The air was quite chilly last night and the bed was quite thin.. I was having cramps when I woke up. I was supposed to wake up at 7 and be ready for a morning walk around but I ended up waking at 7.30am.. (my cabin mates were all awake and Mr Chan was preparing for a shower already.) Luckily the place was very cooling and after a warm face wash I was wide awake and ready for today! Oh by the way, I tried out their Infrared lights located in the bathroom after my shower. It was meant to provide additional heat during the winter and since I was quite cold after the shower, I decided to try it.. It was quite interesting!
I then made a big mistake - I decided not to wear socks to save my supply for emergencies.
Seems like I have sweaty palms and feet, causing my shoe to be soaked in sweat just 30 minutes after I wore it. Man.. Those excessive urea is really making my shoe stink right now!
We had breakfast at 8am today. It was a normal tv-show American breakfast, with packets of various cereals and milk. I found out something interesting too -- their milk actually show lots of information on their labels. Li Yen (A cellist) loves to drink the 2percent milk that's fat free! There are also 1% milk and half-half.. Very wide range for different tastes. Besides, their milk does not have artificial taste, unlike the Malaysian's sweet milk.
Practice was from 9am to 12.30pm, with a few breaks in between. Although the air was cooling, the practice hall was not. The developer of this camp ground did not install wall fans or ceiling fans since they thought it was unnecessary to do so. All they have was a radiator for the winter, and it does not work as an cold-air-conditioner. I was wearing shorts and a normal round neck T-shirt but I still made my bottom damp with sweat.. Being cooling but stuffy with stagnant air does make us feel uneasy!
Lunch was quite delicious for today, it was a Mexican styled rice with beef wrap. Finally, a meal with rice! (it's been 2 days without rice as the staple food during meals and some of the members, especially Sze Chiann the Malaysian 1st violinist couldn't survive anymuch longer.) The beef was slightly tought and dry until I realized I was supposed to bathe it in gravy (there is a variety too - Tomato, some sort of white gravy and green ones). Dinner was a slab of lamb/beef and salad (yay!). Once again, my plate had the highest food mountain on it (although it's 70% vegetables and only 30% of the main dish.) and Michael has the smaller portion, but his is 80% meat and potatoes (greens are hard to be found on his plate).
There was practice after lunch till before dinner (2.30pm - 5.30pm) and then a chamber music evening at the sequoia lodge. Practice was as usual but this time we managed to play Botesini with two soloist (Taiwanese Violinist and Double Bassist). The violinist was good, but the double bassist was - Awesome! It's once in a lifetime to see someone play a double bass as if it's a cello.. She was reaching all the way down to the fingerboard and the speed was very very fast!
During the chamber music evening, the first on the agenda was a piano trio by Shirley (germany-based Taiwanese/Chinese, Andrea Chang (unsure.. ) and a pianist. They made wonderful music! The 2nd group to perform was the Malaysian group consisting of Ms Woon Sze Chiann (1st violinist), Mr Chye Guan (2nd violin), Christine Chen (viola) and Li Yen (cellist). They were playing Hadyn's string quartet. The last item was the LA piano trio consisting of Matthew (concert master for this concert) and Cynthia Tan (cellist) accompanied by the same pianist. They all did a great job performing.
But the best part of the chamber music evening was when all the better players, namely the teachers and soloists (Dr Lin He, Prof David L.Wen & Esther Wen, and the Pro Double Bassist!) share their thoughts on how the performers can improve the quality of the music they made. Mr Lin He gave deep insights on how music should be played and how one can produce a better music performance. The Bassist was a very talented musicians that is very peculiar about the how the sound of music should be brought out and she elaborated on Prof. Wen's advice on using the stomach when we play our instruments. She showed us how she created a deeper or lighter texture on the cello (there wasn't a double bass around) and also how we should use all our body muscles when we play our instruments.
Dr Lin He was telling us about how we should understand the composer before performing any peice of his/hers. For example, he said that Hadyn was one of the person who focuses a lot on the intonation of a peice. Most of his peices has great musicality that can only be performed if intonation correct and proper. Besides, we should also expose ourselves to more of the composer's peices by listening to different recordings. Be it a string quartet, piano trio or even a piano sonata, we should listen to all different categories of the same composer to be able to learn and understand their character and style of writing. Dr Lin He gave an example for pointing out that the Hadyn's string quartet performed by the Malaysian group has a more comical character to it and should not be brought out in too serious a tone. He gave a lot of good advices and examples that are so useful and wonderful.. It was like a masterclass!
The bassist on the other hand was showing the performers (mostly the lower sounding instruments) how to bring out a better sound and quality in the notes that they play. She showed and did bring a lot of improvement to the quality of sound and musicality after each team's performances. Her example of using the whole body's muscles when playing a string instrument really made a great improvement to the playing of Li Yen and other musicians. Although she stated that different people have their own different character and unique style when playing a music, we should still try to bring out the music the way composer wanted it. Therefore, it is always advisable to try to understand and intepret the peice properly before trying or performing it.
Prof. David L.Wen allowed the other two teachers to do the talking. But he did made some changes to the sound and acoustics because of the way the room is designed. It was very interesting to see him instruct the performers to change their sitting positions to accomodate to the acoustics of the room we were in (it was a rectangular hall with wooden walls and carpeted floor, it seems like the acounstics were quite undesirable in that room). As a Proffesor of Acoustics, he told us some of the things that can affect how we bring out music, besides those stated by the other 2 teachers. He talked about body posture and also the Background of the performer himself. Body posture is very important because we need to use the whole of our body when we play music to bring out the best in our instruments and ourselves. We showed us how and why violinist should sit with both legs firmly on the ground and with the bottom properly placed on the chair. He was elegant and moved with a natural fluidity when playing.. A man who was at one with his music instrument!
As for background, Prof. David Wen told us that our own background and living environment brings great difference in the way we play. The most drastic thing he told us was the living environment we Malaysians were living in. Thanks to our ability to converse in many different dialects and learning 3 main languages, we have degraded ourselves in more ways than one. The term Manglish is indeed a deragotary term after listening to his explanations.Just imagine.. When we mix all our languages together and use it as it is one language, don't you think we're actually messing up and not focusing on a particular language? We have heard of the think British Accent and quick Afro-American accent. What makes the Malaysian accent so hard to be understood by the rest of the world? It's actually very simple - Our accent is not an accent at all, it's more to a jumble of different words from different languages with different slangs and slightly different slangs as compared to the original languages. Therefore, we tend to accentuate the wrong words and pronounce a word wrongly when saying a sentence.
This greatly affects our music too, because some (especially those with a weaker will and mind power) will be mixed up in terms of rhythm and musicality. It's very hard to get a good tempo when you have been speaking with some weird rhythm and tempo throughout your whole life! (thanks to the different words and -lahs we put at the end of our sentences.) Unlike westerners, they learn English and maybe one or two other languages only. Although they too learn different languages, because they converse mostly in one particular language and with people who speaks similarly, they achieve a more steady rhythm thanks to their constant verbal communication. Malaysians on the other hand, have different rhythms and tempo if they learn different dialects (eg. cantonese, Hokkien). Some even learnt many of it and end up assimilating everything into english!
That's just some of what I have learnt from day 4 in USA, my 2nd day in Oak Glen Centre where music experience really starts. Looking forward to meeting all of you in Malaysia soon! I hope what I learnt here benefits you too.. haha.. Thank you very much!
Absence do make the heart grow fonder.. Once again, Goodnight from LA and Good Afternoon in KL!
*There's lots more to talk about but I'm going to have a solo tomorrow night so I better get some rest!*
Signing out at 10.51pm (LA time) & 1.51pm (KL time)
-Ray Aun-
I then made a big mistake - I decided not to wear socks to save my supply for emergencies.
Seems like I have sweaty palms and feet, causing my shoe to be soaked in sweat just 30 minutes after I wore it. Man.. Those excessive urea is really making my shoe stink right now!
We had breakfast at 8am today. It was a normal tv-show American breakfast, with packets of various cereals and milk. I found out something interesting too -- their milk actually show lots of information on their labels. Li Yen (A cellist) loves to drink the 2percent milk that's fat free! There are also 1% milk and half-half.. Very wide range for different tastes. Besides, their milk does not have artificial taste, unlike the Malaysian's sweet milk.
Practice was from 9am to 12.30pm, with a few breaks in between. Although the air was cooling, the practice hall was not. The developer of this camp ground did not install wall fans or ceiling fans since they thought it was unnecessary to do so. All they have was a radiator for the winter, and it does not work as an cold-air-conditioner. I was wearing shorts and a normal round neck T-shirt but I still made my bottom damp with sweat.. Being cooling but stuffy with stagnant air does make us feel uneasy!
Lunch was quite delicious for today, it was a Mexican styled rice with beef wrap. Finally, a meal with rice! (it's been 2 days without rice as the staple food during meals and some of the members, especially Sze Chiann the Malaysian 1st violinist couldn't survive anymuch longer.) The beef was slightly tought and dry until I realized I was supposed to bathe it in gravy (there is a variety too - Tomato, some sort of white gravy and green ones). Dinner was a slab of lamb/beef and salad (yay!). Once again, my plate had the highest food mountain on it (although it's 70% vegetables and only 30% of the main dish.) and Michael has the smaller portion, but his is 80% meat and potatoes (greens are hard to be found on his plate).
There was practice after lunch till before dinner (2.30pm - 5.30pm) and then a chamber music evening at the sequoia lodge. Practice was as usual but this time we managed to play Botesini with two soloist (Taiwanese Violinist and Double Bassist). The violinist was good, but the double bassist was - Awesome! It's once in a lifetime to see someone play a double bass as if it's a cello.. She was reaching all the way down to the fingerboard and the speed was very very fast!
During the chamber music evening, the first on the agenda was a piano trio by Shirley (germany-based Taiwanese/Chinese, Andrea Chang (unsure.. ) and a pianist. They made wonderful music! The 2nd group to perform was the Malaysian group consisting of Ms Woon Sze Chiann (1st violinist), Mr Chye Guan (2nd violin), Christine Chen (viola) and Li Yen (cellist). They were playing Hadyn's string quartet. The last item was the LA piano trio consisting of Matthew (concert master for this concert) and Cynthia Tan (cellist) accompanied by the same pianist. They all did a great job performing.
But the best part of the chamber music evening was when all the better players, namely the teachers and soloists (Dr Lin He, Prof David L.Wen & Esther Wen, and the Pro Double Bassist!) share their thoughts on how the performers can improve the quality of the music they made. Mr Lin He gave deep insights on how music should be played and how one can produce a better music performance. The Bassist was a very talented musicians that is very peculiar about the how the sound of music should be brought out and she elaborated on Prof. Wen's advice on using the stomach when we play our instruments. She showed us how she created a deeper or lighter texture on the cello (there wasn't a double bass around) and also how we should use all our body muscles when we play our instruments.
Dr Lin He was telling us about how we should understand the composer before performing any peice of his/hers. For example, he said that Hadyn was one of the person who focuses a lot on the intonation of a peice. Most of his peices has great musicality that can only be performed if intonation correct and proper. Besides, we should also expose ourselves to more of the composer's peices by listening to different recordings. Be it a string quartet, piano trio or even a piano sonata, we should listen to all different categories of the same composer to be able to learn and understand their character and style of writing. Dr Lin He gave an example for pointing out that the Hadyn's string quartet performed by the Malaysian group has a more comical character to it and should not be brought out in too serious a tone. He gave a lot of good advices and examples that are so useful and wonderful.. It was like a masterclass!
The bassist on the other hand was showing the performers (mostly the lower sounding instruments) how to bring out a better sound and quality in the notes that they play. She showed and did bring a lot of improvement to the quality of sound and musicality after each team's performances. Her example of using the whole body's muscles when playing a string instrument really made a great improvement to the playing of Li Yen and other musicians. Although she stated that different people have their own different character and unique style when playing a music, we should still try to bring out the music the way composer wanted it. Therefore, it is always advisable to try to understand and intepret the peice properly before trying or performing it.
Prof. David L.Wen allowed the other two teachers to do the talking. But he did made some changes to the sound and acoustics because of the way the room is designed. It was very interesting to see him instruct the performers to change their sitting positions to accomodate to the acoustics of the room we were in (it was a rectangular hall with wooden walls and carpeted floor, it seems like the acounstics were quite undesirable in that room). As a Proffesor of Acoustics, he told us some of the things that can affect how we bring out music, besides those stated by the other 2 teachers. He talked about body posture and also the Background of the performer himself. Body posture is very important because we need to use the whole of our body when we play music to bring out the best in our instruments and ourselves. We showed us how and why violinist should sit with both legs firmly on the ground and with the bottom properly placed on the chair. He was elegant and moved with a natural fluidity when playing.. A man who was at one with his music instrument!
As for background, Prof. David Wen told us that our own background and living environment brings great difference in the way we play. The most drastic thing he told us was the living environment we Malaysians were living in. Thanks to our ability to converse in many different dialects and learning 3 main languages, we have degraded ourselves in more ways than one. The term Manglish is indeed a deragotary term after listening to his explanations.Just imagine.. When we mix all our languages together and use it as it is one language, don't you think we're actually messing up and not focusing on a particular language? We have heard of the think British Accent and quick Afro-American accent. What makes the Malaysian accent so hard to be understood by the rest of the world? It's actually very simple - Our accent is not an accent at all, it's more to a jumble of different words from different languages with different slangs and slightly different slangs as compared to the original languages. Therefore, we tend to accentuate the wrong words and pronounce a word wrongly when saying a sentence.
This greatly affects our music too, because some (especially those with a weaker will and mind power) will be mixed up in terms of rhythm and musicality. It's very hard to get a good tempo when you have been speaking with some weird rhythm and tempo throughout your whole life! (thanks to the different words and -lahs we put at the end of our sentences.) Unlike westerners, they learn English and maybe one or two other languages only. Although they too learn different languages, because they converse mostly in one particular language and with people who speaks similarly, they achieve a more steady rhythm thanks to their constant verbal communication. Malaysians on the other hand, have different rhythms and tempo if they learn different dialects (eg. cantonese, Hokkien). Some even learnt many of it and end up assimilating everything into english!
That's just some of what I have learnt from day 4 in USA, my 2nd day in Oak Glen Centre where music experience really starts. Looking forward to meeting all of you in Malaysia soon! I hope what I learnt here benefits you too.. haha.. Thank you very much!
Absence do make the heart grow fonder.. Once again, Goodnight from LA and Good Afternoon in KL!
*There's lots more to talk about but I'm going to have a solo tomorrow night so I better get some rest!*
Signing out at 10.51pm (LA time) & 1.51pm (KL time)
-Ray Aun-
USA Trip - 3rd August 2009 (Monday)
It's the 3rd day I'm in California, USA. After waking up half-frozen at 6.30 in the morning, I took a nice hot shower before dressing up for the day - the same pair of clothes from yesterday (a striped t-shirt and a 4-day-old unwashed long pants).
Today's quite an interesting day, there was no practices since we have to move to Oak Glen Christian Conference Centre and stay there for 3 days. This is because the Clap and Tap Chamber Orchestra's main office is located in a business building and it'll be bothersome to the workers there if we created our Heavenly Melodies just below them on the lowest floor.
We helped pack things up and sat a extra-large bus (Everything here is ExtraLarge, even their Burgers!) to Yucaipa. It was a 1&1/2 hour journey.. the bus was so smooth and comfortable that I fell asleep throughout the whole journey without getting a headache! That's what we call.. the American Technology.
And we arrived.
The bus was too large it couldn't send us all the way up the mountain to the camping ground. Luckily the bus driver decided to try it out and managed to squeeze the bus through the narrow road, with a Steep fall on a side.. So much for being ExtraLarge.
Imagine living in the woods, staying in a little cabin with 3 bunker beds surrounded by tall pine trees and a clear blue sky.. That was where we were staying. Just like the Lake Isle of Innisfree, without the setting, just the serenity and tranquil atmosphere.
We practiced music as usual in one of their larger cabins. Somehow I was involved in every piece for both the performances. Mr Chan is an observer and he is only playing for a few peices (Suk, Tchaikovsky and Sait-Saens) whereas Michael is also not involved in a few of the pieces. Li Yen on the other hand, is involved in everything except for one (I forgot what is it). Just for your information, Mr Chan is a Cello teacher as well as performer here; Michael is a 14year old boy who is from Penang and learns underthe PSO conductor. Li Yen is a former MPYO cellist who is currently teaching music.
By the way, we had our lunch at 1.30 in Oak Glen Centre. It consist of a Corndog(hotdog in cornbread on a stick) and fresh uncook vegetables with various addons. The food here is wonderful, especially the salad. There are 3 different sauces, fresh eggs, maceronies for the salad, mashed potatoes and delicious fries too!Dinner was equally amazing. A peice of chicken and salad once again. I'm sure I will always love the salad here! Maybe we can try it out at home too.. it's really healthy. Besides, I found out they aren't really carnivores, they have more vegetables and salads (none are cooked) than meat. Maybe it's because it's high up in the mountains and the people here practice a much healthier diet. The local LA peopel still eat Burgers and Steaks (mostly double our servings for the same size!)
Well.. It's about time I stop for today. It's now 10.55pm and I'm on my bunker bed. The light's off and my other room mate, Tony Chen(from LA) is sound asleep with a slight snore. Mr Chan who so happens to be in my room too is looking at his previous pictures taken throughout the stay in LA.
Tommorow's schedule will be more hectic than today. We had only two sessions of practices in the afternoon till 5.20 in the evening. Dinner is served at 5.30pm! Back to room at 10 and lights out at 11! Haha.. I have only 5 minutes left.
Staying here is indeed an interesting and wonderful experience. Americans are not that rude or bad as we thought afterall. Apart from their larger size in everything (including body mass), they are the same as us. I'm proud to say that at least our country has Culture and it's own Traditions. Americans are a group of people who are more to hedonism and fun.
Althought music is not really appreciate by the majority of the public (as in classical music and learning a musical instrument), the musicians here are very talented and show great passion in their playing. They have a very different learning and living environment which allows you to have full freedom of everything and not much constrictions even in school. Academics is not the main priority for everyone. Although passion brings one to great heights, in America, you need to be Good as well as Passionate to be able to survive. THat's what I learnt from the youth Musicians here. They're good, and they like making music, that's why they're here together for this concert.
Will tell you all more on what i know about them soon.. Goodnight from Los Angeles and Good Afternoon in Malaysia!
Signing out @ 11.03pm - Ray Aun
Today's quite an interesting day, there was no practices since we have to move to Oak Glen Christian Conference Centre and stay there for 3 days. This is because the Clap and Tap Chamber Orchestra's main office is located in a business building and it'll be bothersome to the workers there if we created our Heavenly Melodies just below them on the lowest floor.
We helped pack things up and sat a extra-large bus (Everything here is ExtraLarge, even their Burgers!) to Yucaipa. It was a 1&1/2 hour journey.. the bus was so smooth and comfortable that I fell asleep throughout the whole journey without getting a headache! That's what we call.. the American Technology.
And we arrived.
The bus was too large it couldn't send us all the way up the mountain to the camping ground. Luckily the bus driver decided to try it out and managed to squeeze the bus through the narrow road, with a Steep fall on a side.. So much for being ExtraLarge.
Imagine living in the woods, staying in a little cabin with 3 bunker beds surrounded by tall pine trees and a clear blue sky.. That was where we were staying. Just like the Lake Isle of Innisfree, without the setting, just the serenity and tranquil atmosphere.
We practiced music as usual in one of their larger cabins. Somehow I was involved in every piece for both the performances. Mr Chan is an observer and he is only playing for a few peices (Suk, Tchaikovsky and Sait-Saens) whereas Michael is also not involved in a few of the pieces. Li Yen on the other hand, is involved in everything except for one (I forgot what is it). Just for your information, Mr Chan is a Cello teacher as well as performer here; Michael is a 14year old boy who is from Penang and learns underthe PSO conductor. Li Yen is a former MPYO cellist who is currently teaching music.
By the way, we had our lunch at 1.30 in Oak Glen Centre. It consist of a Corndog(hotdog in cornbread on a stick) and fresh uncook vegetables with various addons. The food here is wonderful, especially the salad. There are 3 different sauces, fresh eggs, maceronies for the salad, mashed potatoes and delicious fries too!Dinner was equally amazing. A peice of chicken and salad once again. I'm sure I will always love the salad here! Maybe we can try it out at home too.. it's really healthy. Besides, I found out they aren't really carnivores, they have more vegetables and salads (none are cooked) than meat. Maybe it's because it's high up in the mountains and the people here practice a much healthier diet. The local LA peopel still eat Burgers and Steaks (mostly double our servings for the same size!)
Well.. It's about time I stop for today. It's now 10.55pm and I'm on my bunker bed. The light's off and my other room mate, Tony Chen(from LA) is sound asleep with a slight snore. Mr Chan who so happens to be in my room too is looking at his previous pictures taken throughout the stay in LA.
Tommorow's schedule will be more hectic than today. We had only two sessions of practices in the afternoon till 5.20 in the evening. Dinner is served at 5.30pm! Back to room at 10 and lights out at 11! Haha.. I have only 5 minutes left.
Staying here is indeed an interesting and wonderful experience. Americans are not that rude or bad as we thought afterall. Apart from their larger size in everything (including body mass), they are the same as us. I'm proud to say that at least our country has Culture and it's own Traditions. Americans are a group of people who are more to hedonism and fun.
Althought music is not really appreciate by the majority of the public (as in classical music and learning a musical instrument), the musicians here are very talented and show great passion in their playing. They have a very different learning and living environment which allows you to have full freedom of everything and not much constrictions even in school. Academics is not the main priority for everyone. Although passion brings one to great heights, in America, you need to be Good as well as Passionate to be able to survive. THat's what I learnt from the youth Musicians here. They're good, and they like making music, that's why they're here together for this concert.
Will tell you all more on what i know about them soon.. Goodnight from Los Angeles and Good Afternoon in Malaysia!
Signing out @ 11.03pm - Ray Aun
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
He who has never learned to obey cannot be a good commander.
~Aristotle
He who has learned how to obey will know how to command.
~Solon
So.. it's time to Relearn and be Self-aware..
Who'se the one whose Never learning?
~Aristotle
He who has learned how to obey will know how to command.
~Solon
So.. it's time to Relearn and be Self-aware..
Who'se the one whose Never learning?
Friday, August 7, 2009
A leader needs no recognition,
A champion needs no acknowledgement.
But to achieve either?
We need only to learn to have passion.
Being passionate is having selflessness,
It's putting your goal and aims first.
But to achieve either?
We have to maintain something important - Commitment.
Being Passionate,
Being Responsible,
Having Enthusiasm,
Maintaining Friendship
creating an Entity with a Unique Identity,
Commited to a Common goal
accept and Tolerate other's critism. Because that will finally
allow you to Shine and be successful.
So you see.. Being a Passionate prefect starts from oneself.
Being commited to anything depends on yourself.
Did Edison complain about not being able to Light a bulb?
You never know, you never will.
Unless you choose to try it.
Try Complaining,
Try Whining,
Without personal commitment,
Not even God can support you.
Did Eistein blame his parents for that hairstyle?
You never know, you never will.
Unless you choose to try it.
Try blaming,
Try pleading someone to make you better.
Without your own heart's passion,
Not even your Parents can help you.
Did Mother Teresa curse for helping the poor?
Did she complain for not being acknowledged?
You might say she was acknowledged,
Oh yes indeed, she's so famous now.
But Did she do it for fame?
Because if you aim for Recognition,
You work to attain Attention,
But failed to love it with Passion..
What is passion again?
(We'll go to that later..)
Stop pin pointing the negative side,
Look at the Rainbow instead.
Einstein didn't complain about his hair,
That's how he got his ingenuity.
Had Prefects not complain about the lack of acknowledgement,
Then maybe.. Just maybe they will soon get recognised.
But it starts from the very bottom, the very worst.
Unless you choose to go for it,you will never know..
Because..
Leaders need have recognition,
For true success needs no acknowledgement.
A champion needs no acknowledgement.
But to achieve either?
We need only to learn to have passion.
Being passionate is having selflessness,
It's putting your goal and aims first.
But to achieve either?
We have to maintain something important - Commitment.
Being Passionate,
Being Responsible,
Having Enthusiasm,
Maintaining Friendship
creating an Entity with a Unique Identity,
Commited to a Common goal
accept and Tolerate other's critism. Because that will finally
allow you to Shine and be successful.
So you see.. Being a Passionate prefect starts from oneself.
Being commited to anything depends on yourself.
Did Edison complain about not being able to Light a bulb?
You never know, you never will.
Unless you choose to try it.
Try Complaining,
Try Whining,
Without personal commitment,
Not even God can support you.
Did Eistein blame his parents for that hairstyle?
You never know, you never will.
Unless you choose to try it.
Try blaming,
Try pleading someone to make you better.
Without your own heart's passion,
Not even your Parents can help you.
Did Mother Teresa curse for helping the poor?
Did she complain for not being acknowledged?
You might say she was acknowledged,
Oh yes indeed, she's so famous now.
But Did she do it for fame?
Because if you aim for Recognition,
You work to attain Attention,
But failed to love it with Passion..
What is passion again?
(We'll go to that later..)
Stop pin pointing the negative side,
Look at the Rainbow instead.
Einstein didn't complain about his hair,
That's how he got his ingenuity.
Had Prefects not complain about the lack of acknowledgement,
Then maybe.. Just maybe they will soon get recognised.
But it starts from the very bottom, the very worst.
Unless you choose to go for it,you will never know..
Because..
Leaders need have recognition,
For true success needs no acknowledgement.
A poem by POOJA NATARAJAN
Passion Of Life
To achieve something great in the world you need Passion
To fulfill vision, a great leader’s courage comes from Passion
Whatever it may be, you must find your Passion
If passion drives you, let reason hold the reins
Follow your passion and success will follow you!
Never underestimate the power of passion
Without passion religion is spiritless
Without Passion history is meaningless
Without Passion art is useless
Follow your passion and success will follow you!
When you take up a mission with passion
There are no dreams too large
No innovation unimaginable
No frontiers beyond reach
Follow your passion and success will follow you!
Our passions are the winds that propel our vessel
Our reason is the pilot that steers her
Without winds the vessel would not move
Without a pilot she would be lost
Follow your passion and success will follow you!
There is no end and there is no beginning
There is only the passion of life
Passion is universal humanity
Passion is the genesis of genius
Follow your passion and success will follow you!
To achieve something great in the world you need Passion
To fulfill vision, a great leader’s courage comes from Passion
Whatever it may be, you must find your Passion
If passion drives you, let reason hold the reins
Follow your passion and success will follow you!
Never underestimate the power of passion
Without passion religion is spiritless
Without Passion history is meaningless
Without Passion art is useless
Follow your passion and success will follow you!
When you take up a mission with passion
There are no dreams too large
No innovation unimaginable
No frontiers beyond reach
Follow your passion and success will follow you!
Our passions are the winds that propel our vessel
Our reason is the pilot that steers her
Without winds the vessel would not move
Without a pilot she would be lost
Follow your passion and success will follow you!
There is no end and there is no beginning
There is only the passion of life
Passion is universal humanity
Passion is the genesis of genius
Follow your passion and success will follow you!
Friday, May 1, 2009
The Life Bomber's lesson
Life for me was never great,
I had always thought that it’s my fate.
A normal life of a normal boy,
Life to me was but a cheap toy.
When my age was still small,
The years I lived were still few,
They, my parents, brought me to a hall
To learn and try out something new.
Thus music it was, when I was four,
Those notes really do make my fingers sore!
Had to learn the piano, forcefully,
And Not able to love its melody!
For I was sad, too sad to love,
Too depressed to saviour,
Too heartbroken for its grandeur.
I’m just not gifted,
Too stupid to learn its ways.
I’m just not talented,
Too slow to master in days.
Then came the day,
Another normal day,
I befriended a boy,
Another normal boy.
He too learns the piano,
And is interested in the Cello,
But his grades are slightly lower,
Compared to me? He is much slower.
The funny thing though,
Is that he seems very happy,
For he treats his piano,
Like eating a luxurious candy!
His secret to contentment?
Well... The lack of any resentment!
And so he said to me:
“My friend, you ought to learn
To be happy in what you have,
And be contented with all you see!”
In case you're curious,
And is thinking who is he..
He's a Life Bomber,
Wai Leem, the WhyLamer!?
I had always thought that it’s my fate.
A normal life of a normal boy,
Life to me was but a cheap toy.
When my age was still small,
The years I lived were still few,
They, my parents, brought me to a hall
To learn and try out something new.
Thus music it was, when I was four,
Those notes really do make my fingers sore!
Had to learn the piano, forcefully,
And Not able to love its melody!
For I was sad, too sad to love,
Too depressed to saviour,
Too heartbroken for its grandeur.
I’m just not gifted,
Too stupid to learn its ways.
I’m just not talented,
Too slow to master in days.
Then came the day,
Another normal day,
I befriended a boy,
Another normal boy.
He too learns the piano,
And is interested in the Cello,
But his grades are slightly lower,
Compared to me? He is much slower.
The funny thing though,
Is that he seems very happy,
For he treats his piano,
Like eating a luxurious candy!
His secret to contentment?
Well... The lack of any resentment!
And so he said to me:
“My friend, you ought to learn
To be happy in what you have,
And be contented with all you see!”
In case you're curious,
And is thinking who is he..
He's a Life Bomber,
Wai Leem, the WhyLamer!?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
