Friday, December 31, 2010
Indeed, time passes very fast when you're enjoying what you're doing and I had the privilege to experience it first-hand for the past 2 years in Republic Polytechnic. Things had changed so much once I stepped into Polytechnic. Friends, responsibilities, goals, relationships and academic pretty much made lots of sense to me. So there I've learnt how to prioritize my work and attempted balancing mylife, which I failed.
Before 2010, I thought that the road next year would be bumpy and unexpected for me.
True enough, my intuitions didn't fail me.
From a simple marketing personnel in Replug IG I'm suddenly promoted to the Vice President due to some internal issues among the new committee. From there onwards, I had to learn things fast and juggle all my work along with my academic studies together. Being a Vice President was the greatest challenge for my life at the point of time.
Yes, Replug's audition didn't went that well honestly. But it's an important lesson that we learnt and thankfully we had two days of auditions. Whatever mistakes we made in the first day was reflected and not repeated on the second day. That's how fast I had to plan and learn stuffs. Well, we managed to scrap past in the end.
And there was Arts Platter, the first time in my life planning for an event to happen for my members in the group. Nobody had any idea what's to be expected and coming up with a theme is definitely challenging. I tho
ught about Mezzoforte, a concept which links the dynamics of two different shows together. Mezzo meant moderately and forte meant loud. Since Arts Platter was a Pre-IGNITE! showcase, it has to be something similar to the festival itself but a little bit toned down. Since the festival is quite loudtoo, I've decided that our show should be loud enough to be just below the festival's dynamic notch. Hence the name "Mezzoforte".
Bumpy, very bumpy.
Well of course, the rest of the members would be practicing really hard for this show and as a committee member, I cannot let them down as my job was toensure that everything runs smoothly on the day itself. It was alright but we had a few issues here and there, no problem. This marks the first of my many shows that I handled and managed throughout the year.
I had to balance between academic studies, Replug IG, relationship and of course my own band "DiverseAttentions". Somethings had to be compromised along the way to make room for the others to proceed. Time isn't on my side most of the time and it is really challenging for me to keep my motivation level up and pushing myself forward every time.
IGNITE! 2010 came and I was already planning to go for the event itself without playing for it. I thought that we weren't fit to play on that big stage with all the massive high-end sound systems and musical instruments. But just about few days before the actual show, I had to step in for Warren due to some personal troubles he was dealing with at that time. I had to learn all 3 songs within a span of 2 - 3 days and really, I
have to thank all the wonderful musicians that I've worked with for IGNTIE! 2010 for providing me with all the understanding that they can as they know I'm struggling with all the songs.
Being part of IGNITE! Music Festival 2010 was really a big achievement in my life as a musician so far. It was totally unexpected for me to perform in such a big event.
After IGNITE! Music Festival comes the preparations for Replug's annual concert. Still quite "noob" at planning a big scale event, the committee had to really drain our own precious time and energy just to make the event run smoothly. But well, it came out fine :)
Reflections arts festival had always motivated me to push myself further as a performer. Ever since last year's reflections, I've told myself that I really want to be contributing as much as I can for art. Just a simple sentence I told myself jokingly landed me in 4 shows in Reflections 2010. I'm part of the pre-show and the opening launch for the festival this year which I'm really happy about because I get to perform with other artists in CREATE Republic as well.Also, I've landed myself in "Just Jazz with Jeremy Monteiro" representing Republic Polytechnic playing in a jazz concert. Well, that was really tough! Nevertheless it's a whole new experience for me as I really stepped out of my comfort zone and try to do things that I've never done before. You see, RP and TRCC really provides a good and solid platform for us to showcase our talents and also to challenge ourselves further.
I can say that I've really improved as a performer in TRCC and when I'm out of RP doing shows, stage presence became a second nature to me. I learnt to have fun on stage and that's the most important thing that I look forward to every time I perform.
All these efforts put into the IG and my academics helped me bagged a Flame Award back home. I'm really thankful for all those people who supported me throughout the year. Well, even though sometimes I don't think I'm appreciated or acknowledge but who cares, at the end of the day, as long as the show goes on, I'm contented.
And now, I've just finished composing for Jeremy's Final Year Project video showcasing Reflections. It was a challenge for me to come up with a composition in less than a week and I was spending almost every night getting the song recorded down. I've named the piece "Connecting Horizons". The name simply derived from an understanding of Confluence from my perception. I want my music to inspire others as much as others have inspired me.
Throughout this year, I've faced with a lot of challenges and difficult situations. Thankfully, I have my friends, band mates and of course my loved ones always being there for me giving countless support and motivation. I can say that I'm really lucky to be blessed by such wonderful people around me and honestly, they inspire me more than what a rockstar can inspire.
Of course, I have my one and only love. She never fail to make me smile just in my heart irregardless of how tired I was on my expressions. I'm always happy when I'm around her and I'm really sorry for the fact that I'm not spending much time with you but I really do treasure all the little moments we have together. I don't know what my life would be without this girl in my life right now.
So 2010 was a good one. What to expect for 2011? Well, pretty much a bumpy road trip with a hell lot of unexpected events :) Oh, there's internship so wish me luck!
To everyone who came by and read this post, I really appreciate it. I want to wish all of you a Happy New Year ahead. Let bygones be bygones and look forward to the light that will guide us through the rough journey we might have in the months to come!
Celebrate, it's a Holiday!
Cheers!
Ao Cheng
3:23 AM
