Big Big BIGGGGGGGGGGG Super important post for all of you naughty people in choir. :3

Today was hard core practicing for Thursday AND Speech Day. We had the diaphragm training today whereby everybody stood on chairs, hold the chairs away from their body and sing loser like me & light up the world as loud as possible. And it's good to see everybody trying their best and singing at the top of their voices. :) Even during the dance, everybody sang loudly. That is what we need to see and portray on both the full dress rehearsal AND on speech day itself. We can't possibly make you do this exercise every time before we start dancing; that would be wasting a lot of precious time and I don't think you would like to do it every single time as well. So please, take more initiative, don't make us have to shout at you all the time. It's not nice to do so in front of everybody else.

Also here are some of the pointers that we have went through today and keep them in mind when you're practicing at home :

- bounce bounce bounce all the time :) BEND YOUR KNEESSSS
- SHOCKING ENTRANCE. Smile with your teeth, bring audience the joy of performing!
- straight and precise movements during "we got the love alright". Remember that your right shoulder GOES OUT FIRST. And also punch the airrrrr!!!
- Keep communication to a minimal when you are moving into light up the world positions.
- During the "hey hey hey you" 4 rows part, last row and third row, you have to go down together AT the same time. And for the last one, all of you have to get up AT THE SAME TIME as well. This is very important, otherwise everyone will look really messy and that's not nice :(

Above all these points, do take good care of your throat just for this week. No spicy nor fried food, minimize shouting/talking loudly. And drink honey! It's sweet and yummy and helps sooth your throat from today's session. :)

Also, friday will be the results of the new committee, so everybody has to come! ^^

That's all from me today. See you on thursday at the hall! Tag "dance". :D

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SORRY. Here's the confirmed choir t-shirt design!!

front:

back:

Hello choir! This is Jiaqi here. :)

Today's session was pretty fruitful cause we have managed to brush up a lot on part A2 and familiarize ourselves with part D. :D Which is good! Even though we had to repeat it many times but at least, we manage to get it in the end. Don't you feel a sense of accomplishment? xD hahaha. That's the result of good cooperation with us. Since we have known the notes now, please practice this song especially on parts A2 and D. And of course, the rest of the parts too since you won't want to forget them after practicing so hard.

Discipline for today was quite alright too. It is good to see you all having the sense of urgency and gathering on time :) However, all of you need to know when to speak and be quiet at the correct times. Speaking when the other sections are learning their parts is not acceptable. Remember that when you are learning your parts, you would want to be able to listen to the piano and not people chattering away. This is a point that we have been emphasizing a lot, and I don't think you guys like it when we keep on repeating it. So please improve on this aspect.

Also, during the game session today, it is great to see all of you participating it with much enthusiasm :D We hope that you had enjoyed the few games that we had planned for the previous and this practice. ^^ The next game session will be conducted by the sec1s, which will take place on the March holidays' Monday practice! Let's all look forward to it~~ Yayyyyy~~ :)

For the entire choir, please remember to complete homework that Mr Wong has given to you on Friday!  You have a week to do it, so I don't think it is any excuse to not have it done by next Monday. Please bring your notebooks on the next practice!

Sec1s: Please gather outside the AV theater at 2.30 on Wednesday! :)

There will be NO practice this friday. 

See you soon!

Hello choir! This is Jiaqi speakingggg! :)

Today we have our second choir session with our sec1s who have just joined our family ^^ It is good to see most of you helping and guiding the sec1s out with all the notes and such. Do continue to help them out as majority of them have never been in a choir nor have any music background! Mr Wong has finalized our positions so please do not switch positions to your own accord when he is not here.

Despite that, today's discipline was not up to standard. There were lots of murmuring going around and when Mr Wong was talking. Even when the seniors were telling you instructions for the group singing, many of you were still busy chattering. Remember that we have to respect whoever is the one speaking and pay attention.

As for today's singing, it was quite good. Many of you managed to pick up your notes quickly and did not made Mr Wong go through that many times. For the altos, good job on singing out loud. But you'll have to be abit softer now due to the large group it is. As for the sopranos, do sing out more! It is hard to hear your parts now and the most important thing is that you all have parts that are the main melody. So, you have to try and sing out more :) Don't be afraid of making mistakes and thus singing softly. Instead you should sing out so that we will be able to correct your mistakes ^^ You won't want to have your voice sticking out in the section because of the wrong notes that you are singing. Also, if there are any parts that you are unsure of, do ask your section leaders to give you the notes :)

Remember to practice the parts that we have went through today!!

Alright, sec2s please remember to attend your theory lessons on Monday at the T&L lab from 2~3. The rest of you please assemble outside the AV theater at 3pm. Please bring your PE attire along as we will be having PT! :D For the sec1s that have got swimming, do try to report back as possible. We don't want you to miss the fun ^^ See you on Monday and have a good rest over the weekends!

ALRIGHT ON TO THE PUBLICITY THINGS!!!

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The Singapore Lyric Opera: Mozart's Don Giovanni

A few weeks ago, Ms Phong has asked us if any of us wants to attend this musical titled Mozart's Don Giovanni. Here's a synopsis of the musical:

Don Giovanni written by Mozart and librettist Lorenzo da Ponte is the most dramatic and flamboyant of their collaborations. A score bursting with musical invention, beautiful arias, charming duets and dramatic ensembles all offset by wit and comic irony which bring a unique brilliance to the drama.

The Opera opens with a murder. During the course of the day the murderer, Don Giovanni, goes on to a wedding, several attempted seductions, a masquerade, a mugging and an encounter with an apparition whom he then invites to dinner. His luck finally runs out when the spectre of the man he murdered appears. Though offered heavenly redemption, Don Giovanni remains unrepentant until the flames of Hell consume him. If all this drama seems unrelenting, it is offset by the humorous and ironic comments of his servant Leporello.

Is Don Giovanni a comic or serious opera or both? The most convincing answer was given by Alfred Einstein “… it is an “opera buffa” with “seria” roles … a work of genius … incomparable and enigmatic from the evening of its first performance to the present day”.

Director Tom Hawkes
Conductor Joshua Tan Kangming 

The prices are in a range from $10.50 to $53.50. That's a huge subsidy from the original price of $25 to $130! The venue is at the Esplanade Theater. There are performance from 24 Feb(Fri), 25 Feb(Sat), 27 Feb(Sun) and 28 Feb(Mon) and all of them starts at 8PM. I have a few brochures with me so do approach me and take a look! If interested please inform me as soon as possible!
  
Limelight 2012 Voices as One: Cedar Girls' School Choir

This is Cedar Girls' School Choir's very own concert. It is something like the combined concert that we had at SOTA last December, only higher scale. Hahaha. Here's a sypnosis:

Join the Cedar Girls’ Choral Excellence Choir as they present sacred and secular songs across a wide range of musical genres including traditional folk, jazz, contemporary, madrigals and opera arias. This concert will also feature a chamber ensemble as well as solo and duet performances.

The Cedar Girls’ Choral Excellence Choir—under the direction of Ms Naomi Chye—has distinguished itself as a Gold Award choir at the biennial Singapore Youth Festival Central Judging, receiving the Gold with Honours award in 2005, 2007 and 2011. The Choir has also done Singapore proud by garnering several awards at overseas competitions: Musica Religiosa in the Czech Republic; The Pacific Basin Music Festival in Hawaii; The International Music Festival in Australia; and the Bournemouth Music Maker Festival in the United Kingdom.

The Choir actively promotes cultural awareness through choral exchanges with high schools from Japan, Hong Kong and the A Cappella Choir Villach from Austria. The mission to share the passion for choral music with the community is also realised through a collaboration with the Singapore vocal group Budak Pantai and The Singapore American School Choir and Orchestra.

The standard price is $20 but there's a student price so it's $10 only! hahaha. benefits of a student ;D The venue will also be at the Esplanade Concert Hall. It is on 29th Mar(Thur) and starts at 7.30PM. Duration is around 1h 20mins~ 
If interested click here to purchase your tickets! (yes you'll have to purchase it urselves. however, if there are more than 4people that are attending, I can help you buy them :D) 

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And yes, this is the end of an extremely long post! Probably the longest I would ever have hahah. OKAY, SEE YOU ON MONDAYYYY! ^^

Hello choir!

This is Jiaqi speaking! :)

Today we kicked off our choir practice with aiming towards a common goal: which is to have a 'more-than-extreme' successful show for both the year end concert and the hongkong trip! All the hard work we're putting in now is to make us more prepared and confident on stage. And of course, show people the power of Damaivoicez! So please please please put in 101% in these very few choir practices. We've came a long way and now is definitely not the time to slacken off!

Discipline was good today; all of you did not talk much when Mr Wong was going through the songs and even when taking out scores, the noise level was acceptable. However, even though there was not much commotion, you all need to pay more attention as I can see some of you spacing out and not coming in when you are supposed to.

Today's singing was not bad either! But as usual, there NEEDS to be improvement. Do not anticipate and wait for others to come in. You have to be very sure of all your scores and do start memorizing the rest of songs (Still I Rise etc.) as well. Also, do take note of your posture(backs straight, do not slouch) and facial expressions. I have seen a drastic regression(opposite of improvement) in this two components since SYF, so please take note as it does affect your singing greatly.

As for our special item, please put in effort to practice that too. It is our very own time to shine so we must also show our best in this section also! There will be a dance audition tomorrow so please practice it tonight. If you do not pass them, you will have to stay back for the rest of the practice to work on it. A gentle reminder to bring your dresses and heels tomorrow. :D

No more consumption of fried food for the upcoming days and take good care of your throat! :) We are left with only two more practices so please try not skip any of it. Thank you very much.
Choir starts at 11AM tomorrow. Please be on time if not, you know the rules!

See you! :)

click to enlarge

it will be displayed on the blog under a new section which will be coming your way soon! ;)

Hello choir! Jiaqi here! :D

I am glad that most of you have attended both practices on tuesday and thursday as Mr Wong was present. It is also the last practice before the exam break. We have learnt a new song "Hear the Music" and re learnt parts for the "The Wind" SAB version. It should be easier for us to grasp onto our new parts for "The Wind" since I'm sure most of us has heard all the different parts before. As for "Hear the Music" it is a very short song, so it should be easy to remember.

After the exam break, we will be learning two new songs that will be used for both the End Of Year concert as well as the Hong Kong trip, so we must know our parts well for the songs that we have already learnt so as to save time to learn the other two songs well. Also, do expect to have practice thrice a week. We must get a GOLD for the competition and do really well for the concert... and for Mr Wong's surprise ;D shhhhh, don't say it. hahaha. x)

If anyone of you are interested to design the poster for the concert, please do so and hand it up to Mr Wong the next practice after the exams. :D The title of the concert is going to be "Singspiration"!~ It is not confirmed though so if you guys think you have better names, you can suggest it to Mr Wong as well :)

As for the payment for the Hong Kong trip, please remember to bring and pass up all of your edusave forms and cheques by this coming Tuesday, if not you'll not be able to go to Hong Kong.Oh yes, we'll be having a choir tee soon, so be prepared to bring about $13 on Tuesday as well :D

Okay, that's all!! Do study hard and score well for your exams!! :D Good luck to you all ^^

Hello choir! Jiaqi here. :D


Thursday's practice -> 
Attendance for that day's practice was not bad. Everyone was on time and was cooperative even though Mr Wong was not present. We need to see more of this in every practice so that we'll be able to do well for the year end concert and in hongkong :)

Sop 1s - Good job on the loud singing! But do know when to talk, and when not to, especially when Janice is teaching the rest of the sections their parts.
Sop 2s - From what I see, you guys are not very sure of your parts for "Still I Rise". Also, sop2s cant really be heard as well. Do speak up if you're not sure of your parts and sing louder as well.
Altos - Even though it's a big section but sometimes, your will get influenced by the sops and start singing the wrong notes. Do listen out to your own section while singing as well. Some of the voices are sticking out, please try to blend in with the rest..~

as previously mentioned, this song is very choral so we must all try to blend in together for a good result :) its a song that we'll be singing for both of the big events we'll be having at the end of the year, so we must do well! :D

Also, please hand in all of your planning for the special item for our year end concert this coming week. Don't forget to practice your scores and take note that choir is on tuesday instead of monday this week! :D Those who hadn't pay choir fund for this month (sept) please do so!! :D

OH AND CHECK THE NOTICE BOARD. muahahah. >:D

have a good weekend!! :)

Hello choir, Jiaqi here. :)

Yesterday's practice was alright. The attendance is horrible; please ask your friends to come for choir! As for singing wise, good job for the altos after much reminder. Do sing as loudly for Thursday and the rest of the choir sessions ok? :D Sopranos, please cut down on the chattering during choir sessions.

Oh yes, we'll be singing for the national day concert! So, we hope to see you present for practice! :DD

Please practice Butterfly at home! Oh and if there's any part you are unsure of, please do approach your section leaders okay?

Okay, CHOIR starts at 3pm on Thursday! Please come on time and bring all the materials needed (scores, stationery, waterbottle) See youuu :)