ACJC Choir Europe Choral Tour 2008 reflections
It's been ages since I've updated, I know.
The tour to Vienna, Bratislava and Salzburg was amazing! The scenery was gorgeous and all the buildings and their architecture were so grand. It's really too much for me to summarize but I shall make a brave attempt.
We arrived there, worn out with some of the guys singing random stuff on and off the plane. Tetris soon became a favourite as the flights were really long. When we finally reached Vienna's airport after a transit in Dubai, we boarded a coach and set out for some sightseeing. We had just one day in Vienna before we boarded the bus again, setting out for Bratislava this time, the location where the competition would be held. Before we arrived, we had a choral exchange with one of the university choirs. They were very friendly and, from them, we learnt the importance of enjoying ourselves while making the music as it make such a huge difference to the atmosphere and sound. After that, we had our competition on the fifth day.
We, together with the alumni, participated in 3 catagories. Namely, the youth, mixed adult and folk catagories. With the grace of God, the blood, sweat and tears of the teachers, the guidance, patience and love from the alumni and the friendships of the whole choir, past and present, we clinched gold medals in all 3 catagories, emerging as the top choir in every catagory we competed in. In the folk songs catagory, we attained a rare perfect score.
It was a long, trying and tiring journey, musically. We were asked to grow faster than we had before. As JC2s, we were to lead the JC1s. At times it was, admittedly, demoralising as we watched the JC1s struggle as we had just one year ago. However, that memory of us pushing ourselves and feeling what they had spurred us on to give our juniors our support, just as our seniors had so readily and so freely given to us. Then the encouragement began to come. It was heartening to watch our juniors grow so fast, and try so hard. They pushed themselves, and they grew, resulting in a much better sound during the tour and competition. Then, a few days before the competition, two alumni who had not learnt the music and thus could not sing with us during the competition, flew in from overseas, just to be with the CCA family that they loved. To top it off, on the day of the competition, alumni from Singapore and elsewhere "spammed" the teachers with messages of encouragement and good wishes. Surrounded by God, family and friends joined by the love of music and musicmaking, we began to find joy in the performance and not in accolades. This joy is ultimately what I took away with me from this trip. I saw it transform each piece. Each song that had been drilled and practiced now began to become ours, and we finally knew what the real meaning of what Mrs. Wilson meant when she said to bless others with the music and sing with joy and give of ourselves.
After that, we went sightseeing again, going on both a Mozart and Sound of Music tour. The gardens we gorgeous, like nothing I've ever seen. And every bus trip that we took together was filled with music.
Of course, it came to an end all too soon. The teachers and our parents congratulated us, and the teachers challenged us to look ahead. The JC2s were invited to tour with the alumni the following year; an honour indeed.
But what hit me was the congratulations that we received from our seniors, the JC3s. One of them who was unable to come on tour congratulated me in church the first Sunday that I was in Singapore after the tour. But it is our seniors are teh ones who taught us how to love the choir, and how to give and the meaning of giving. You all stayed back with us on some days just to teach us how to support our singing and to encourage us. And for that, we thank you.
So here concludes my reflections on the tour, hopefully the first of many for me. I can't believe how much people care and how many people care for this choir. I've learnt so much and received so much. God's hand was evident in the many unplanned chances that we had to sing in various locations and seeing each other everyday; it really felt like family. We've grown closer as a choir and forged new friendships. We just have to make them last.
The tour to Vienna, Bratislava and Salzburg was amazing! The scenery was gorgeous and all the buildings and their architecture were so grand. It's really too much for me to summarize but I shall make a brave attempt.
We arrived there, worn out with some of the guys singing random stuff on and off the plane. Tetris soon became a favourite as the flights were really long. When we finally reached Vienna's airport after a transit in Dubai, we boarded a coach and set out for some sightseeing. We had just one day in Vienna before we boarded the bus again, setting out for Bratislava this time, the location where the competition would be held. Before we arrived, we had a choral exchange with one of the university choirs. They were very friendly and, from them, we learnt the importance of enjoying ourselves while making the music as it make such a huge difference to the atmosphere and sound. After that, we had our competition on the fifth day.
We, together with the alumni, participated in 3 catagories. Namely, the youth, mixed adult and folk catagories. With the grace of God, the blood, sweat and tears of the teachers, the guidance, patience and love from the alumni and the friendships of the whole choir, past and present, we clinched gold medals in all 3 catagories, emerging as the top choir in every catagory we competed in. In the folk songs catagory, we attained a rare perfect score.
It was a long, trying and tiring journey, musically. We were asked to grow faster than we had before. As JC2s, we were to lead the JC1s. At times it was, admittedly, demoralising as we watched the JC1s struggle as we had just one year ago. However, that memory of us pushing ourselves and feeling what they had spurred us on to give our juniors our support, just as our seniors had so readily and so freely given to us. Then the encouragement began to come. It was heartening to watch our juniors grow so fast, and try so hard. They pushed themselves, and they grew, resulting in a much better sound during the tour and competition. Then, a few days before the competition, two alumni who had not learnt the music and thus could not sing with us during the competition, flew in from overseas, just to be with the CCA family that they loved. To top it off, on the day of the competition, alumni from Singapore and elsewhere "spammed" the teachers with messages of encouragement and good wishes. Surrounded by God, family and friends joined by the love of music and musicmaking, we began to find joy in the performance and not in accolades. This joy is ultimately what I took away with me from this trip. I saw it transform each piece. Each song that had been drilled and practiced now began to become ours, and we finally knew what the real meaning of what Mrs. Wilson meant when she said to bless others with the music and sing with joy and give of ourselves.
After that, we went sightseeing again, going on both a Mozart and Sound of Music tour. The gardens we gorgeous, like nothing I've ever seen. And every bus trip that we took together was filled with music.
Of course, it came to an end all too soon. The teachers and our parents congratulated us, and the teachers challenged us to look ahead. The JC2s were invited to tour with the alumni the following year; an honour indeed.
But what hit me was the congratulations that we received from our seniors, the JC3s. One of them who was unable to come on tour congratulated me in church the first Sunday that I was in Singapore after the tour. But it is our seniors are teh ones who taught us how to love the choir, and how to give and the meaning of giving. You all stayed back with us on some days just to teach us how to support our singing and to encourage us. And for that, we thank you.
So here concludes my reflections on the tour, hopefully the first of many for me. I can't believe how much people care and how many people care for this choir. I've learnt so much and received so much. God's hand was evident in the many unplanned chances that we had to sing in various locations and seeing each other everyday; it really felt like family. We've grown closer as a choir and forged new friendships. We just have to make them last.