Some Notes.

Congratulations to all senior band members who have participated in the highly successful section competition (or so i heard) and to the newbies who have performed in 'my first recital'! It's good to see such high spirits in the Band...

Just a small note, NAFA Wind Band will be presenting Terrence Wong's Threnody and some other pieces like A Movement for Rosa and Symphonietta 2 by Philip Sparke. Also includes some pieces by the NAFA Brass Ensemble. Admission is free, 12.30 pm @ NAFA Campus 3, This Wednesday (3rd Sept)

Since its e holidays, might as well come down to watch a free concert of aspiring Wind and Percussion musicians! Do come if free!

Also, enjoy your holidays :P

IMPORTANT!!Section COmpetition stuff

All SLs and senior section members, please do a short writeup on what your section is presenting next friday. THIS IS OF HIGH IMPORTANCE, as the emcees (me and yuchen) have to condense everything to finalise our script.

NO NEED FOR YOU TO WORRY YOUR MAMA'S HEAD OFF THAT YOUR SECTION SECRET WILL BE REVEALED.

IF YOU ARE REALLY GOOD, YOU NEED NOT FEAR!!!.

Please get it done tonight or by tomorrow band. 2mrw during band, I will request all SLs to stay back before sectionals to pass me the short writeup on what your section if doing. Just 20 words max. Don't have to reveal too much. Just do a brief one.

PLEASE GET IT DONE....THANK YOU!!!!

Qin En

~A teenager's view of Heaven~

Hi Guys!

I found this particularly interesting (fiction) story on the net. I have no idea whether you have read it or not, but I am just going to post it up for everyone to see. =)


PS: It's not sick/PG 13..
PPS: This is not propaganda.


A TEENAGER'S VIEW OF HEAVEN
17-year-old Brian Moore had only a short time to write something for a class. The subject was what Heaven was like.

Brian's Essay: The Room...
In that place between wakefulness and dreams, I found myself in the room. There were no distinguishing features except for the one wall covered with small index card files. They were like the ones in libraries that list titles by author or subject in alphabetical order. But these files, which stretched from floor to ceiling and seemingly endless in either direction, had very different headings. As I drew near the wall of files, the first to catch my attention was one that read 'Girls I have liked.' I opened it and began flipping through the cards. I quickly shut it, shocked to realize that I recognized the names written on each one. And then without being told, I knew exactly where I was.

This lifeless room with its small files was a crude catalog system for my life. Here were written the actions of my every moment, big and small, in a detail my memory couldn't match. A sense of wonder and curiosity, coupled with horror, stirred within me as I began randomly opening files and exploring their content. Some brought joy and sweet memories; others a sense of shame and regret so intense that I would look over my shoulder to see if anyone was watching.

A file named 'Friends' was next to one marked 'Friends I have betrayed.' The titles ranged from the mundane to the outright weird 'Books I Have Read,' 'Lies I Have Told,' 'Comfort I have Given,' 'Jokes I Have Laughed at .' Some were almost hilarious in their exactness: 'Things I've yelled at my brothers.' Others I couldn't laugh at: 'Things I Have Done in My Anger', 'Things I Have Muttered Under My Breath at My Parents.' I never ceased to be surprised by the contents.

Often there were many more cards than I expected. Sometimes fewer than I hoped. I was overwhelmed by the sheer volume of the life I had lived. Could it be possible that I had the time in my years to fill each of these thousands or even millions of cards? But each card confirmed this truth. Each was written in my own handwriting. Each signed with my signature.

When I pulled out the file marked 'TV Shows I have watched', I realized the files grew to contain their contents. The cards were packed tightly, and yet after two or three yards, I hadn't found the end of the file. I shut it, shamed, not so much by the quality of shows but more by the vast time I knew that file represented.

When I came to a file marked 'Lustful Thoughts,' I felt a chill run through my body. I pulled the file out only an inch, not willing to test its size and drew out a card. I shuddered at its detailed content.

I felt sick to think that such a moment had been recorded. An almost animal rage broke on me. One thought dominated my mind: No one must ever see these cards! No one must ever see this room! I have to destroy them!' In insane frenzy I yanked the file out. Its size didn't matter now. I had to empty it and burn the cards. But as I took it at one end and began pounding it on the floor, I could not dislodge a single card. I became desperate and pulled out a card, only to find it as strong as steel when I tried to tear it.

Defeated and utterly helpless, I returned the file to its slot. Leaning my forehead against the wall, I let out a long, self-pitying sigh.

And then I saw it.. The title bore 'People I Have Shared the Gospel With.' The handle was brighter than those around it,seemed newer, almost unused. I pulled on its handle and a small box not more than three inches long fell into my hands. I could count the cards it contained on one hand.

And then the tears came. I began to weep. Sobs so deep that they hurt. They started in my stomach and shook through me. I fell on my knees and cried. I cried out of shame, from the overwhelming shame of it all. The rows of file shelves swirled in my tear-filled eyes. No one must ever, ever know of this room. I must lock it up and hide the key. But then as I pushed away the tears, I saw Him.

No, please not Him. Not here. Oh, anyone but Jesus. I watched helplessly as He began to open the files and read the cards. I couldn't bear to watch His response. And in the moments I could bring myself to look at His face, I saw a sorrow deeper than my own.

He seemed to intuitively go to the worst boxes. Why did He have to read every one? Finally He turned and looked at me from across the room. He looked at me with pity in His eyes. But this was a pity that didn't anger me. I dropped my head, covered my face with my hands and began to cry again. He walked over and put His arm around me. He could have said so many things. But He didn't say a word. He just cried with me.

Then He got up and walked back to the wall of files. Starting at one end of the room, He took out a file and, one by one, began to sign His name over mine on each card. 'No!' I shouted rushing to Him. All I could find to say was 'No, no,' as I pulled the card from Him. His name shouldn't be on these cards. But there it was, written in red so rich, so dark, so alive. The name of Jesus covered mine. It was written with His blood. He gently took the card back. He smiled a sad smile and began to sign the cards. I don't think I'll ever understand how He did it so quickly, but the next instant it seemed I heard Him close the last file and walk back to my side.

He placed His hand on my shoulder and said, 'It is finished.' I stood up, and He led me out of the room. There was no lock on its door. There were still cards to be written.

'I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.'-Phil. 4:13

'For God so loved the world that He gave His only son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.' -John 3:16



PPPS: Er, you may not have noticed, but I added a recording of Jericho on the blog. All you have to do is just to raise up the volume. =D

Dear Band Members,

Some of you have requested to see a sample of the video of Aesthetique before deciding whether to buy it. Here's a watered-down quality for youtube version of a small portion...



Videos go at $10 each. Please give your names to Luke by tomorrow evening if you want to own a copy. To see the design of the DVD, ask the media department to show you.

Thanks.

Horn

The Day.

The day where some of us are waiting for (especially me, because i finally get to listen to my piece...haha.) is here.

Here are all the audio tracks from the concert, Aesthetique 2008. The video is being processed and I am happy to say that it will be ready for distribution via the Media department by next this monday. Meanwhile, enjoy the (extra) fruits of your labour! XD




Oh Yes, Happy National Day!

National Day 2008 *WOOTS*

Yo People!

National Day is coming up! (Well, actually its tomorrow..)

So aren't you guys excited? Happy? Enthusiastic? Overjoyed? Off the roof?

I am sure none of you are, because I really doubt if there are even any patriots in our Band. (excluding the teachers, and Mr Tan). On the contrary, if you are, then good for you! Tomorrow, on the 9th August, the whole of Singapore will be celebrating our nation's 43rd birthday!

THREE CHEERS FOR SINGAPORE!!!

Anyway, while I was on my way to the library@esplanade today (with yue feng, yu chen and (CO) xuan ming), I noticed that not only was Yu Chen in red, all the other pedestrians are in red as well. And they are not just mere students from Primary or Secondary schools, but adults are wearing red and white too!

When we were at the City Hall MRT station, I was flabbergasted! All I saw was a sea of red and white. And I am not exaggerating! It was so spectacular, i wanted to fish out my digital camera and snap a picture at that instance. ( Sadly, I didn't bring my Digital Camera) Even foreigners are wearing red and white?

At that moment, a sense of pride was welling up in me. It was so, so, AWESOME, seeing fellow Singaporeans wearing red and white all at the same time! It was a sight to be remembered, and I will never forget it in my mind.

It was at that moment when I realised that, Singaporeans aren't that worse off as they say in the news, that we are un-patriotic to our own country. But that's absolutely not true. There is a still a sense of belonging in the people of Singapore.

Believe me or not, I, who once thought that National Day was just a waste of time, was really looking forward to tomorrow's celebration. National Day marks the day of our independence, and we really should be proud of it!

So, I hope you guys will be anticipating in tremendous excitement for the upcoming National Day's performance. And I hope you guys will enjoy it as well!

Because I know I am going to! =P

Attendance

I'm sure everyone who came on Friday already knows this.

The attendance was horrible. Like some undigested lump of something in the bowl after you've had a dump.

Sure, it was after exams. Everyone is thinking (especially those that didn't come) that there shouldn't have been band; they should have been allowed to take a break, like run off to watch a movie or something. The fact is, there WAS band, and it was the first practice after the exams with Mr. Tan.

The people that didn't come obviously do not have the discipline that is required of them, nor do they have the basic respect for the other members of the band, let alone Mr. Tan. If the rest could fight temptations and turn up, punctually or not, why should those that didn't come be allowed to do so? All thanks to them, the practice wasn't fruitful, morale was low, and Mr. Tan's didn't have his usual sunflower face on.

Monday's sectionals; section leaders are reminded to make sure your members come down for practice. And if any member thinks he can weasel out of it just because his SL closes an eye or two, then he can think again, knock his head on a wall, then walk back to the band room.

Band practice is relaxing, so just have an open mindset and stop trying to avoid it. All it requires is for you to sit down and make good music- or at least try to- in a comfortable air-conditioned room. It is not something tiring like 2.4 or physical training. So if someone tries to pon band, we'll take the hint. Next time he turns up, he won't be practising, he'll be having extremely constructive physical training in a nice and comfy field. Don't make the leaders resort to that.

It's really up to you.

DO OR DIE!!!

All Band members take note, this friday, there will be a photo taking session. Thus, we will all have to bring our Full U, this means, white suit, blazer, tie, and black shoes.If there are any problems please feel free to call or approach me and mike.Please inform all those ppl that dont usually get these messages like Jinsheng and Xiyun, they usually give the excuse, "No one tell me leh" they better not this time!!!!

Sec 1s please bring your tie and collar pins, and for gods sake please don't play soccer in your uniform before coming for band. This goes out to ppl like Mitchell etc etc, be in a calm and composed mood upon entering band room and right before taking photo dont go and have lil sparring sessions.

Tomorrow, thursday. I will be opening the band room till 3.30, anyone who wishes to place their items in the band STORE may do so, however, it is your responsibility to make sure you CAN identify your clothes, i do NOT wish to have another repeat of someone crying because a second party mistook the clothing.

Random Wind Quintet

Since some of you guys have been wondering, what that 6 page score off a so-called woodwind quintet was; what sounded so ritualistic yet refined - what I had been practising for de-stressing entertainment whenever I pop by the band room, here's what it is.


Summer Music for Wind Quintet, by Samuel Barber.

A contemporary work of art, played by the Woodwind Quintet of Berlin Philharmonic. Therefore it is imperative for all Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Horn and Bassoon players to view once, for an idea of how your instrument should sound at its best, how to blend, listen and accommodate in an ensemble. It's quite soft, so turn up those speakers. Enjoy.

Edit:

This is probably one of the lesser anticipated and appreciated form of classical music. So some of you may be wondering why it sounds weird. It's 20th century, and if it is played by a woodwind quintet, it is rightfully music and therefore worth your listening. Brace yourself, weird chords and melodies alright.

Part 1



Part 2

What is Art? What is Good Art?

Let us ask, what is art?

We have seen in the recent newspapers about the photographer bagging the “UOB Painting of the Year” prize, which consist of a series of photographs of animal parts, which led to a dispute amongst the public community between good and bad art, and that most common people claimed that the series was bad art just because it was mortifying.

So if something is ugly and/or morbid, even for music, is it art? So what really is art?

Perhaps the 19th century Russian writer and philosopher Leo Tolstoy has defined it best. Let me extract a few points from his essay, ‘What is Art?’ (1896) Before you try to argue against it, read it and try to understand and absorb these points of view; these may very well help all of us in creating better music because after all, music is art too! Let us try to read…yes it’s long but take your time to read and digest…

-“Art, in our society, has been so perverted that not only has bad art come to be considered good, but even the very perception of what really art is has been lost.”

-“In order to correctly define art, it is necessary, first of all, to cease to consider it as a means to pleasure and to consider it as one of the conditions of human life. Viewing it in this way we cannot fail to observe that art is one of the means of intercourse between man and man.”

-“The activity of art is based on the fact that a man, receiving through his sense of hearing or sight another man’s feeling expression of feeling, is capable of experiencing the emotion which moved the man who expressed it. To take the simplest example: one man laughs, and another who hears it becomes merry; or a man weeps, and another who hears feels sorrow…By his movements or by the sounds of his voice, a man expresses courage and determination or sadness and calmness, and this state of mind passes on to others.”

-“However, if a man infects another or others indirectly, immediately, by his appearance or by the sounds he gives vent to at the very time he experiences the feeling; if he causes another man to yawn when he himself cannot help yawning, or to laugh or cry when he himself is obliged to laugh or cry, or to suffer when he himself is suffering – that does not amount to art.”

-“The feelings with which the artist infects others may be most various – very strong or very weak, very important or insignificant, very bad or very good; feelings of love for one’s own country, self-devotion and submission to fate or to God expressed in a drama, raptures of lovers described in a novel, feelings of voluptuousness expressed in a picture, courage expressed in a triumphal march, merriment evoked by a dance, humour evoked by a funny story, the feeling of quietness transmitted by an evening landscape or by a lullaby, or the feeling of admiration evoked by a beautiful arabesque – it is all art.”

-“Only if the spectators or auditors are infected by the feelings which the author has felt, it is art.”

-“The stronger the infection, the better is the art as art, speaking now apart from its subject matter i.e. not considering the quality of the feelings it transmits.”

-“A real work of art destroys, in the consciousness of the receiver, the separation between himself and the artist – not that alone, but also between himself and all whose minds receive this work of art. In this freeing of our personality from its separation and isolation, in this uniting of it with others, lies the chief characteristic and the great attractive force of art.”

-“The presence in various degrees of three conditions – individuality, clearness, and sincerity – decides the merit of a work of art as art. Sincerity is the most important of the three. It is always complied with in peasant art, and this explains why such art always acts so powerfully; but it is a condition almost entirely absent from our upper class art, which is continually produced by artists actuated by personal claims of covetousness or vanity.”

-“Thus is art divided from that which is not art, and thus is the quality of art as art decided, independently of its subject matter, i.e. apart from whether the feelings it transmits are good or bad.”

You, the band member need not agree with all these points; nevertheless it is good to use these extracted points as a means to a perfection of your own art: making music as an individual and as a band. :D

sec 2s no band next friday!!! woohoo!!! sec 2s, please read

hello, its my first time posting on the blog, what an honour... anyway, i just want to announce to all the sec 2s that we do not have to go for band next friday!!!! woots... we will instead go to some bar and partay!!!!

Unfortunately, our dear band major jun yao is jealous that he is not a sec 2 and he cannot join us to go to party, and disallow this fabulous plan... so when we see him tomorrow, we beat him up ok?? lets us show jun yao that we the sec 2s are not pushovers!!!!

SYF and WMC is drawing closer and closer to us by the seconds, but we do not have to worry a thing about it!!! Bil Keane once said " Yesterday's the past, tomorrow's the future, but today's a gift, thats why it is called the present" we just have to enjoy every single day, and dont moan over the past or the future, and do our very best in preparing for our exams and the upcoming competitions!!!!...... woots!!!

eh..... the not come for band thing is just a joke.... dont be like tzung ern, thought is real...

A Little On Conducting.

Here's just a part of my modular portfolio for my Band Training and Direction elective under Mr Leonard Tan from the previous half of the year...share with you people...Here I will mainly share on what I have learnt on the objective of conducting and what is good conducting.

Why Conduct?
It has been shown that conductor-less large ensembles spend much more time rehearsing than large ensembles that have a conductor to lead them. Thus from here we can conclude two things: a conductor is a time-saver (which is something true but we just hate to admit it) and a conductor is above all, a leader of the entire band or orchestra. A conductor shows through his gestures what he wants of the ensemble, and thus leads them with a single source of interpretation and musicality.

What is good conducting?
Good conducting can be summed up in two aspects: it is clear yet musical. It is quite pointless when a conductor does an emotional tear-jerker piece in a strict 4/4 time pattern throughout the piece even though the score seems to say that everything is in 4/4, and it is equally pointless when the same piece is conducted with great emotion and fervour when none of the players can see or understand what the conductor is trying to convey to them. Good conducting must be clear to the players (not only to yourself!) and equally musical so that the music is music and not just a fixed sequence of sounds being played back in order. One might as well program a computer to play such sounds to achieve the latter.

How does good conducting work?
It is important to understand the effects of conducting; conducting is almost purely psychological in nature (though the players do have to be first ‘sensitised’ to your conducting). Good conducting brings out both the conscious and sub-conscious parts of the player’s mind; it helps bring the player to a higher level than he thinks he can achieve in performance.


How to be a good conductor?
If band instructors tell their musicians to practice their parts, should it not go that they themselves have to practice too? Thus I feel that a good band instructor should do adequate score study before the rehearsal (especially so for new works that have no available recordings…yet) and that he should practice in front of a mirror. Also, the conductor should not stick to what he practices in front of the mirror if it does not work out with the band; either the band has not been ‘sensitised’ to his conducting or there is something wrong with the gestures displayed. Thus a good conductor should also be flexible enough to allow room for change in his conducting when something does not go the way he would like it to go.

WARNING: PG-13/ Not suitable for Minors!

Disclaimer: The following jokes are, what we call, "misleading". So, if you have a pure of heart (which i HIGHLY doubt), please, DO NOT scroll down!

Oh, and do not try them at home.

Seriously


WHAT WOULD U ANSWER> > > > > >

A first-grade teacher, Ms Neelam was having trouble with one of her students.

The teacher asked , "Tom, what is your problem?"

Tom answered, "I'm too smart for the first-grade. My sister is in the third-grade and I'm smarter than she is! I think I should be in the third-grade too!"

Ms. Neelam had enough. She took Tom to the principal's office.

While Tom waited in the outer office, the teacher explained to the principal what the situation was. The principal told Ms Neelam he would give the boy a test and if he failed to answer any of his questions, he was to go back to the first-grade and behave.

She agreed.

Tom was brought in and the conditions were explained to him and he agreed to take the test.

Principal: 'What is 3 x 3?'
Tom: '9'.

Principal: 'What is 6 x 6?'
Tom: '36'.

And so it went with every question the principal thought a third-grade should know.
The principal looks at Ms. Neelam and tells her, 'I think he can go to the third-grade.'

Ms. Neelam replied, 'I have some of my own questions. Can I ask him ?'

The principal and Tom both agreed.


(HIGHLIGHT TO SEE ANSWER)


Ms. Neelam asks: 'What does a cow have four of that I have only two> of?'
Tom, after a moment said, 'Legs.'

Ms. Neelam: 'What is in your pants that you have but I do not> have?'
Tom: 'Pockets.'

Ms. Neelam: 'What starts with a C and ends with a T, is hairy, oval, delicious and contains> thin whitish liquid?'
Tom:'Coconut'

Ms. Neelam: 'What goes in hard and pink then comes out soft and sticky?'
The principal's eyes open really wide and before he could stop the answer, Boy was taking charge
Tom: 'Bubblegum.'

Ms. Neelam: 'What does a man do standing up, a woman does sitting down and a dog does on three legs?'
The principal's eyes open really wide and before he>could stop the answer...
Tom: 'Shake hands'

Ms. Neelam: 'Now I will ask some'Who am I' sort of questions, okay?'
Tom: 'Yep'.

Ms. Neelam: 'You stick your poles inside me. You tie me down to get me up. I get wet before you do. Who am I?'
Tom: 'Tent'

Ms. Neelam: 'A finger goes in me. You fiddle with me when you're bored. The best man always has me first. Who am I?'
The Principal was looking restless, a bit tense and took one large Patiala Vodka peg.
Tom: 'Wedding Ring'

Ms. Neelam: 'I come in many sizes. When I'm not well, I drip.. When you blow me, you feel good. Who am I?'
Tom: 'Nose'

Ms. Neelam: 'I have a stiff shaft. My tip penetrates. I come with a quiver. Who am I?'
Tom: 'Arrow'

Ms. Neelam: 'What word starts with a 'F' and ends in 'K' that means lot of heat and excitement?' Tom: 'Firetruck'

Ms. Neelam: 'What word starts with a 'F' and ends in 'K' & if u don't get it u have to use ur hand?' Tom: 'Fork'

Ms. Neelam: 'What is it that all men have one of it's longer on some men than on others, the Pope doesn't use his and a man gives it to his wife after they're married?'
Tom: 'SURNAME'

Ms. Neelam: 'What part of the man has no bone but has muscles, has lots of veins, like pumping, & is responsible for making love?'
Tom: 'HEART.'

The principal breathed a sigh of relief and said to the teacher, 'Send this boy to the University, I got the last ten questions wrong myself..."



Just like all of us including YOU. =)

The Worthy Concert Experience.

Why do we go for concerts? What is an appropriate concert experience?

A concert is an experience for two groups of people; the more obvious group is the audience, and the less obvious group would be the musicians themselves, be they opera singers, wind band musicians or rock band guitarists. But in this article, I will attempt to discuss the concert experience from the viewpoint of the audience.

Let me recount my personal experiences of concerts. I started going for concerts when I was in Secondary Three, which was also when I took up the music elective programme. Introduced to orchestral and piano concerts which were part of the modular experience, I began to go for concerts on my own too, which included band concerts and the occasional avant-garde music concert. Now during my study in NAFA it is even better. Every Wednesday afternoon is a ‘Music Platform’ of student recitals from different departments, like piano, woodwind etc and every fortnight, on Monday nights, there would be a commuter concert which would feature non-students in recital. These concerts are all compulsory for us music students to attend. Not that I mind anyway.

Let me categorise my concert experiences into three categories; the casual/fun experience, the professional experience, and the sleepy experience. The casual/fun experience usually refers to school band concerts, where there would be an ‘auto-encore’ and full of fans cheering and screaming for their friends in the band. The professional experience usually refers to more professional groups like the Philharmonic Winds and the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, where the audience is more reserved and standard etiquette applies, including dressing up appropriately for the concert. Lastly the sleepy experience is for the extremely unprofessional and/or boring concert…

Now I come to the main issue; what exactly do we go to concerts for? I have seen many kids who attend a concert because they are forced to by their teacher or school to attend, and these kids make a boisterous lot, playing with their PSPs, their handphones, listening to their own music from their personal mp3 player. There are also those who go to a concert and frown at every single little mistake that the player(s) make. I once had a young horn player sitting in front of me in a concert and when the horn player on stage played flat for a moment, the one sitting in front of me banged his head on the chair in agony as if he only came to the concert for that single moment and it had been ruined. There are also people who would rush to compete and see who can applaud the quickest right after the silence ensues, and this often causes much disturbance in between movements and ‘false’ endings. And all this undesirable behavior is not only seen in the casual/fun environment, but even in the professional concert environment.

So what do we attend concerts for? Do we really go to concerts to do all the things stated above? I personally feel that when we attend a concert, we should immerse ourselves in the present moment and simply enjoy and observe our own reactions towards the music. Surely there are mistakes in every concert; no human being is perfect, much less an entire organization of musicians on stage! And when we manage to appreciate the real concert quality, we would emerge from the concert content, no matter how badly the group has performed. After all we have paid our way to the hall, and to pay for two hours of pointing out every single mistake is simply ridiculous.

Thus the cliché ‘Sit back, relax and enjoy’ really applies here. Yes, we learn from concerts and their good and bad points, but to ruin our own concert experience by making it difficult for ourselves is plain ridiculous. Let’s just simply enjoy the concert! :D

P.S. here's my collection of every single programme booklet i've taken from all the performances i've been to! XD

Classic Country Music!

Hey People! Just a short (but extremely funny) video for all of you.

Hope you guys out there enjoy it!

Sorry...

Ok, apparently, my previous post was deleted because too ...umm...whats the term....Unfriendly.
So i've decided to first of all apologize to everyone for my unfriendliness and then try my hand at a repost.But you guys have got to understand my frustration on this matter, this policy(if i may) , i've been trying to enforce it for quite some time. So in this here repost, i guess i'll have to give u not only the rules, but the logic behind them, maybe that'll work

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New post starts here
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1) No bags in Band store
Logic: It is really very unsightly that bags are strewn all over the floor in the band store sometimes, under tables, on chairs etc etc. So, me and Mikey have already cleared up a quater of our image cupboard to be used as a storage space for bags. This rule though applies to Excos and section-leaders only, because they have added responsibilities and thus, may need easy access to their bags.

2) No Shoes on Band Store Floor
Logic:Once again, same thing, easy access, added responsibilities etc etc. Also, it was a huge mess of shoes in band store we took over, after lots of 'reminders' i've successfully dwindled the number to about 5 pairs on a good day, though a marked improvement, i'd like to strive for the perfect score.I'm okay with the shoes being on the shelves, just make sure its nice and orderly, not a strewn mess.

3) After having sectionals or personal practice in the Band Store, keep the stands and arrange the chairs to an orderly position.
Logic: This rule is meant for aesthethique purposes.

4) Instrument Cases in our as near to shelves as possible, this goes out to Tian Howe and his Bari Sax case.
Logic: enough said

I am willing to perform bag checks, any "unauthorized" bags will sadly be evicted.
Shoes Too
Section Leaders remember to clear up
Once again, I'm sorry.

Upcoming Practices

Hi everyone!

Band practices are as usual for the following dates:

10/7 -- Thursday
11/7 -- Friday

Please note that the following practices are very important as our Guest conductor, Mr David Gloss, would be coming to take us.

Please be reminded that no one is to be absent UNLESS they have valid reasons.

If not, let us give Mr Gloss a good impression of CHSSB!

Enjoy what's left of your Youth Day holiday!

YOUR comments reflects yourself...

YOUR comments very well reflects what kind of a person you are..


Trust me, the sentence above is very true..


I believe all Catholic High School Symphony Band memebers are all gentlemen.

So please, if you have comments about anything in this band, by all means express yourself! HOWEVER, please have the self-discipline to maintain proper decorums on the tagboard and on posts.

ESPECIALLY the Secondary 3s.

If you don't, you WILL face the consequences. Oh believe me, I can easily find out who you are. And I don't want to give examples. (YES, "aluminus" I already know who you are..)

So please, control yourself. The blog is for you to express yourself in a civilised manner.
Let me emphasise myself: Punishments will be meted out.

Let me end this with a solemn note.
THINK before you act. Especially in the band blog.

POP Video (Part One)

Hope you guys enjoy it!