Have A Life!: Orchestra Performed !

The orchestra accompanying the La Voce Youth Choir

Up to now I still wonder how Brian,the conductor got us, mostly first timers to do it ...with a total of 13 rehearsals spanning a period of only five and a half weeks we were set on stage to perform !!

3-night and 1-day performance - with the exception of Friday night we played to near full house! The family and friends support was tremendous !Their loud applauses drove the performers' adrenaline high...It is a marvellous sight to behold how the human spirit arising to the demands of the occasion...

Even an excellent professional orchestra/chamber cellist like Johnathan Oh who teaches us cello and plays the first desk in this orchestra was thrilled to bits by the third night of the performance ! For one who never praises for the sake of praising !

Final run -through just before the first night of the performance

We have come a long way from our first full-dress rehearsal 2 days before the performance...Directed under 2 watchful and professional directors,both are Who's Who in the theatrical circle in Malaysia - Dato Faridah Merican and Mat Salleh Artistic Director Joe Hasham who took us through the paces and gave us feedback that sent gales of laughter and broke our tension after the run-through. We were tense and dense in looking at our scores,fearing that we might miss a beat instead of watching for cues from the conductor...At one point,a young guy dropped his violin and music stand ! Another ran out of the rehearsal much to Joe's chagrin apparently suffering from a nervous stomach ache !

Rehearsal with artistic director,Joe Hasham

Joe's final and most useful advice for us - ENJOY making music on stage and it will be captured by the audience ! ( how true even in all areas of our lives ...)

With this,my brother who has never taken any serious interest in orchestra music and has been associating serious-looking players in performances on TV, commented that he was pleasantly surprised that ours was the only performance he had seen where performers smiled ! Sharing the same desk with my bubbly 11 year-old daughter Philene and expecting her to look glum throughout the performance is like expecting rain in deserts !

Peter Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite was generally well received with the exception of some uneven moments in Danse Chinoise where the young flutist faced some nervous moments playing very challenging passages.The string section of the orchestra played Wassail Song and the beautifully melancholy Greensleeves and Angels We Have Heard From High.These too were amongst the winning numbers.

Getting ready to perform

Here are some other comments we heard ...

Two of my friends liked the orchestra performance best and thought the 2 choirs sang beautifully but could do better with clearer diction.( that's Joe's comments too ).

My sister loved the synergy and the harmony the orchestra produced and she was so moved to see her sister ,a late-starter contributing to making the music here...:)

My brother-in-law couldn't help but noticed that I was the 'senior citizen' in a sea of young people...

Digging into the depth of music-making and Living the moments.....

Most of the audience were not people who have studied classical music.They would clap at the end of each piece within the Nutcracker suite instead of waiting for the whole movement to end at the grand finale.On the first night, Brian tried to help them by not letting his arms down at the end of each piece,signalling continuity but it was impossible for any one to catch it ! In the end he graciously bowed to acknowledge the audience's enthusiasm ! instead of trying to 'teach them to be serious'..haha...

In full appreciation of the opportunity to perform, giving my best with daughter Philene as my concert coach.....

Generally,most people 'enjoyed' the programme and appreciated the orchestra.On the last 2 days we even have several people including Mat Sallehs in the audience who stood up during the performance of Handel's 'Hallelujah Chorus'.It was a widely held belief that Handel's patron,King George II,stood up when he heard the Hallelujah Chorus performed in London and ever since then ,it has been a tradition for audiences to stand during this Chorus.

This familiar masterpiece is spiritually uplifting and more so when it climaxes with the sound of blazing trumpets and thundering timpani bringing glory to our Lord Jesus Christ - the Messiah,the Saviour of my life.

I remember as soon as we took our place in the orchestra on stage, the lovely voices of the children La Voce choir ( some as young as 6 ) singing 'the First Noel' in a Capella.As they were descending from back of the the audience area with a candle in hand each and walking towards the stage - my eyes were moist and my heart was so grateful to these mostly non-christian children who proclaimed the birth of the Jesus Christ innocently... my prayer was that the true spirit of Christmas bringing the Love of God and the hope of salvation for mankind would be felt amongst the audience and the singers...

One case I heard -a Japanese guy, client of my friend,violinist Twink,commented that he was "profoundly touched ... " by the performance.There could be more that I am not aware of...

The sweet voices of the Junior La Voce Choir

The last performance on Sunday - the audience gave us a standing ovation !
What a wonderful feeling admist shouts of enchos !

Happily acknowdging the audience's applauses ...I was rather sad at the same time that the performance came to an end...I was having such a wonderful time...I guess that 's the kid in me lamenting the end of something fun...even my daughter misses them.We still practice our pieces in our regular practice !!

Family support : me, sister Sau Kui,niece Esther,Philene and brother-in-law,Kee.