An audition date was finalized and I took the audition (Oct 11). I passed it, and was in the vocal academy aswell. This activity required commitment, as I had to attend during 8:00 to 10:00 during Tuesday mornings, as well as lunchtime during Thursday.
October
First day.
I remember the first time I entered the room. I felt nervous and excited as I was doing the activity by myself. I would usually have other friends doing the activity with me, but this was something I tried alone. I guess in this sense, it was a challenge to me. We started off warming up by stretching and singing scales. Then, we moved on to specific pieces. As I was an alto, it was difficult for me to try to interpret the notes, as the altos do not have melody lines.
During October, we prepared for the Christmas concert, which was coming up. I was starting to settle into the team.
November
We practiced the pieces for the Christmas concert and continued to get our notes and pieces correct. We had to memorize the words for the pieces (chamber). For the vocal academy, we continued getting our pieces correct aswell. We were busy for the upcoming Christmas concert. We were also going to have rehearsals on Saturday, as well as on the day of the concert. There were many things to go through, and to perfect, but it was quite exciting for me (:
December
We were going to be having a Saturday rehearsal, as well as a Monday rehearsal for the Christmas concert. We had 3 songs prepared for the Vocal Academy, and 2 songs prepared for the Chamber Choir.
Saturday rehearasl
Today, we had a rehearsal from 9 to 1 in the hall in order to try out the pieces with the orchestra. We practices our pieces (vocal academy - one small child, Various themes on Falala, Christmas day, chamber choir - away in a manger, carol for advent) from 9 to 11 with just the choir. As the rehearsal was in the hall, we sounded a lot quieter compared to our other practices before. Moreover, there were still a few things that needed to be improved. After the rehearsal, the orchestra members came, and we tried singing some of the carols as well as the "Christmas Day" piece. As this was the first time collaborating with the orchestra, there were many areas that we repeated in order to sound polished for the day.
12.12.11
We just finished the Christmas concert!
Morning rehearsal
Today's rehearsal was for the whole day from 8:00 to 4:00. As the halls were being used for exams, we practiced in the music rooms. We first practiced as a choir, repeating the areas that needed to be improved. Then, after break time, we collaborated with the orchestra. This time, it sounded a lot more controlled compared to Saturday's rehearsals. After the rehearsal with the orchestra, we had a lunch break, and then met in front of the school gate to go to the Cathedral. We arrived in the Cathedral and tried a run-through of the program. It was very tiring to repeat certain sections and pieces over and over again. After ending the rehearsal, we had time to grab some dinner and rest.
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| One of the pieces I sang during the Christmas concert |
At last, the time arrived and we were all dressed, ready to sing. During the performance, I was very nervous, but tried to enjoy the performance as much as possible while controlling my breathing. The performance turned out smoothly and ended well! It felt rewarding to have finally performed the songs after continuous rehearsals.
Reflection
After finishing the performance, I felt proud to have entered the choir, as I was able to carry on rehearsals as well as meet new people. Although it has only been a few months since joining the choir, I am proud to have joined the team in my final year. Moreover, through the experience, I have been able to face challenges such as settling into the team and building up upon singing skills and group work. Through the experience until now, I feel quite regretful to have not joined the choir earlier, but on the other hand, I feel that if I joined the choir earlier on, I may have found the experience less exciting and special. Spring concert is approaching and I am excited to face the challenges from the new pieces. I hope it goes well aswell!
REFLECTION
L2: I have never taken part in the Chamber Choir/Vocal academy before. Therefore, this was a new challenge for me.
L4: In the Vocal Academy and Chamber Choir, we all had to do our parts to work together as a team.
It was important to work collaboratively with each other, as we all contributed to the song while singing. Each individual part added to the harmony.
L5: I have and will continue to attend the activity every week. I will try not to be late, and will practice the music in my own time aswell.
I have not been late to the classes, and practiced the music at home in my own time for the Christmas concert.
L8: I have developed skills in singing, as well as in warming up.
As well as the above, I have developed skills in cooperating with others by working in a big team. Moreover, we have also been able to cooperate with the chamber orchestra team for the winter concert.
Overall, I have been able to improve on my singing skills and have been able to understand some of the basics of warming up before singing. I have also been able to perform these skills in the winter concert and have worked collaboratively with other teams.
