At the Esplanade Concourse
Yesterday the NUS Choir sang at the Esplanade Concourse. Nope, it's not the Esplanade Concert Hall, it's just the neat little free space outside it, in this posh comfy open area a few steps as you enter the main doors. It's like a big lobby of sorts, where they have all this artwork in frames, and some cheery Christmas decor including brightly-lit Christmas trees, and this cool abstract thingamajig (that's as descriptive as I can get haha) that greets visitors as soon as they step in.
It was an afternoon show, and we were set to sing for two 30-minute sessions at 3:30pm, and at 4:30 pm. It was crazy before the show. I was cursing the sudden rain which hindered me from leaving the hall. I had to take a cab, but luckily I saw alto sectional leader Josephine at the bus stop and so we shared the cab fare (Joseph and Josephine in the taxi =P). Goody, we were right on time at the designated meeting place. Minutes later, I saw NUS Choir President Wey Ling stressed like never before. And for good reason, too. The latecomers were, well, very late, and some not in full attire and make-up too, causing terrible inconvenience and undue tension since the dressing room wasn't easily accessible.
Some of the tenors also hadn't gone to the practices, and so they didn't have scores, or had to sing the songs without rehearsal at all. When our conductor Weiwei warmed us up in what few minutes we had before the actual performance, many of the tenors were busy talking or doing something else, causing Weiwei to be quite annoyed. I myself became a little irked by the arrogance and the come-what-may attitude of a few of them, but of course, being a newbie I couldn't quite complain.
We finally went up from the cool dressing room (it was so cool it had mirrors framed by some bright twenty bulbs like those we see on backstage footage on TV, this hotel-like washroom, and the lift leading to it could fit the entire choir), and proceeded to perform. We sang a total of 14 Christmas songs, mostly those hymn-like (no Frosty or Rudolph, but there's Silver Bells and White Christmas). It turned out rather funny. We sounded a bit off here and there, but the crowd which gathered seemed to appreciate it.
During the break, everyone was rather tense a bit. We knew we screwed up a little. Some said that the basses couldn't be heard (ouch) and that we basses were quite off in Gloria (double ouch). But I admit I was quite unsure with my notes, so I wasn't able to sing as loud and confident. And that Gloria song I never quite mastered the two verses in our single chop-chop practice. The tenors now had time to scribble the lyrics to the songs, and now some of them heard the songs. (Haha, really I have nothing much against them) Iris, who was doing the descant, this crazy soprano thing where one basically sings some melody in this very high pitch, and who, after being complimented that the descant sounded very beautifully in the indoor acoustics, confessed that she rushed through the other soprano parts and saved her energy for the "screaming" parts. Hee.
Weiwei was quite kind to us, critical but still encouraging, and we had a short warm-up again before the 4:30 performance. Kurien had to leave though, since he had to sing with Temasek Choir, so I was quite worried for the basses. Jeremy arrived from a wedding, and so the basses were complete once again. Kurien's leaving proved to be good for me (disclaimer: he sings very well and most definitely isn't one of the weaker links) because I was able to sing beside Lyndley, this kind guy who almost never gets lost in the songs. And sometimes that's all I need, someone to follow during times I get lost.
And yey, the second performance turned out great! Weiwei was visibly happy about it, as he commented "very good" or gave the thumbs up sign in between songs. He was smiling more too, (in fact smiling a little too much to make the choir smile too) and he seemed visibly pleased. The crowd was bigger too, the applause quite louder, and the choir seemed more confident and sang without any noticeable hiccups.
"More! More!" said some of the audience at the right side. Unforunately, we only had 30 minutes, so we just walked back to the dressing room heaving a collective sigh of relief.
***
I went to the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd for the sunset mass, then went to do some window-shopping at Raffles City, City Link, and finally Suntec City. No great finds still! I want to spend my money on something good and nice (and not-too-expensive too!) but apparently I have to look elsewhere. Had a double mushroom cheeseburger from Burger King for dinner, and I took Bus 10 to KR hall, feeling that my Christmas task here in Singapore is done, and it's about time I do some packing!
Music of the Moment: NUS Choir's Away in a Manger (hah!)
Currently feeling the Christmas spirit!
