Reading of the musical 'Lost In Transit' at the Arts House, Singapore (July 2009)
Aliya Roberts as Mia
*She was sight-singing so please excuse any errors*
Letters (I) - from the musical 'Lost In Transit'
Music by: Desmond Moey
Lyrics by: Stella Kon
More songs to come...
Letters (I) - sung by Aliya (Lost In Transit: The Musical)
The River - sung by Aliya (Lost In Transit: The Musical)
Reading of the musical 'Lost In Transit' at the Arts House, Singapore (July 2009)
Aliya Roberts as Mia
*She was sight-singing so please excuse a few errors*
The River - from the musical 'Lost In Transit'
Music by: Desmond Moey
Lyrics by: Stella Kon
More songs to come...
To Make You Feel My Love...
I went home 2 weeks ago for my aunt's wedding.
It was nice to be home after so long! I even missed the humidity.
Getting our henna done on Thursday night.
You can actually see how tired I am!
On the day itself (sat), I forced myself out of bed at 6 even though I only got to bed at 3! We were later than most other family members because we always end up going to the wrong hotel...we did get to the venue before everything started...
I don't have many pictures from the 'nikah' (solemnization ceremony) because I was helping out it the ballroom...
the couple walking into the ballroom after the solemnization
getting the tray ready - its a tradition to scatter grains and flower petals to bless the bride and groom
the rose water - used to bless the couple as well
'bunga telur' which literally translates to flower egg... yeah the English translation doesn't sound too flattering!
everyone gets one after blessing the couple.
the first outfit - love it!
counting money
the groom's father blessing the party
I think this was when Uncle Akram was signing the guestbook. He wrote something really silly!
their second outfit... daddy took this picture, I was fast asleep somewhere!
with Annisa (aunt)
pretty!!!Most of the family stayed the whole day but we left at 3 that afternoon because I had lots and I mean LOTS to do.
Just the night before, the bride-to-be called asking if I could sing 'To Make You Feel My Love' when she walks down the aisle. I hadn't even heard of the song before but she played it for me over the phone and I realised it was easy peasy!
Anyway, I had to go home that afternoon to download the backing track, tweak bits here and there, remove an instrumental break and slow down the last line...
So I got ready in a record 15mins (as in showered, changed and made up!), printed the lyrics out, learnt the song and burned the CD and left home within the hour. Because I was in such a rush, I accidentally left the lyrics at home... AHHHH!
Called my uncle - asked him find someone who had a phone that could access the internet - found someone - looked for the lyrics - someone scribbled them down - and I got them about half an hour before the dinner began! Phew!
Not the end...
When we had a practice run, the backing track kept skipping probably due my mum getting the CD wet in the rain and all the work I did on it... The poor track had had enough! Thankfully though, everything worked out in the end...
the dinner...
my uncles and their friends performing their Bollywood dance to Khaled's DidiI took a picture of two of their wedding photos that were displayed on easels on the night. They are honestly THE BEST wedding studio pictures I have ever seen!!!
What do you think?
Mummy and I (night)
The day-time door giftI didn't go the next day because I had to study and also because I was waaay to tired... So these photos were taken by my father.
Some of the best artistes performing some of the best original songs.
ThongYang CHONG (Chinese Flute)
ZhiBin CHIAM (Pianist)
ChiSheng (Pianist)Adith C (Guitarist)
Aliya ROBERTS (Songs from Lost In Transit)
Hazel LIM Sitong
Wallace Ang, 洪圣安
Artistes from Wonder Of Musicals
FANTASTIC NEWS (for me!)
Today's the day.Yes, the day to finish this stupid assignment that's stopping me from working on two other assignments due at the end of this week. Let's see, this one's 40% of a unit, and the other two are 40% and 50% respectively... so I guess in the ridiculously short period of time I have left, I have to 3 write killer essays or I'm done for!
You're probably thinking, 'what on earth are you doing online???!'. Well, its lunchtime and I am starving, so I'm having a (very yummy) chicken and mushroom and having a teeny weeny break from work.
I have FANTASTIC news!!!
The Winthrop Singers are singing at the International Seminar for Music Education (ISME) World Conference in Beijing from 1-6 August 2010
(click on pic - it links to the official website)
Nearly 70 applications were received from around 20 countries.
Who knows? A choir from Singapore might be going as well - that'll be cool!
Really excited for that!! I'm hoping to try out the little Mandarin I know there... which will probably be received by giggles more than anything else! (Singaporean mandarin is quite different to Beijing mandarin!)
We'll have to hold fund-raisers to somehow raise enough. Anyone care to sponsor us? *hint, hint*
My obsession with bobby pins
If there's one thing I cannot live without (besides air, food and water) it's a bobby pin!I admit it here and now: I am a bobby pin addict.
I cannot leave the house without at least one bobby pin in my hair securing stubborn wispy bits.
You'll find bobby pins all around my house, in every bag I carry, in every jeans or trouser pocket, in my coin purse... I simply cannot live without them!
You'll find bobby pins all around my house, in every bag I carry, in every jeans or trouser pocket, in my coin purse... I simply cannot live without them!
They're not just useful in my performances but absolutely vital. I had 83 in my hair just to secure that messy updo. I guess when you have to chuck your hair up in 10 mins and change costumes take care of props and let me emphasize this: ALL BY YOURSELF... you do have a good excuse to randomly pin as many pins as you can find, with a little help from the Mr Hairspray, to make sure your updo stays throughout the second act, which does involve doing the cancan - TWICE!
And then, there are the decorative ones:
this is my absolute favourite (so far) one from my collection.
Venus!
I managed to get pictures of Venus (the planet!) on my not-very-good 4 Megapixel camera.
GO ME!!! :)
(Its the brightest thing in the sky after the sun and the moon)
Dinner.Shopping.Blog.
Taking a well deserved break from uni work at the moment. 3 more assignments and then a week at home for a family wedding, then exams, and then DONE!
Before I write about the dinner on Tuesday night, Nicole here are the pictures (as promised) of what I bought during my afternoon in the city awhile back:
headbands from Diva
2 for $15
Grendha sandals from Betts
Haf price!!! $15
mini handbag from Rubi Shoes$14.95
Aren't I good at finding bargains?!
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Aren't I good at finding bargains?!
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Dinner with the Ethnomusicology class at my lecturer's. It's a pity not everyone turned up but for the nine of us who did, we had a good time! Away from my study desk, with no assignments and readings in sight. Aaaah!
A few of us brought dishes - I brought falafels and dip. They were finished even before we started on dinner. Mummy made them, of course! I helped alot... ok a little. I tested for salt and paprika... that's still counted as helping!
We had Sri Lankan curry, salad, and cauliflower and cheese with rice. Yummy!
For dessert, we had cupcakes (chocolate and cheesecake-centred ones) baked by one of the girls.
But the highlight of the whole dinner was definitely my lecturer's pavlova!!
It was, hands down, the best pavlova I've ever had. And the frozen berries were heavenly!We all chipped in and got him a card and a bunch of orchids.
All of us managed to fit into his little flat. He had this massive, I repeat, massive CD collection. There were shelves and shelves of CDs. It reminded me of HMV. Loved the pictures and oil paintings on his wall. You could tell he collected them form all over the world
Everyone was asking me about Singapore and life back home... The conversations suddenly shifted to Singapore Changi Airport and how fabulous it is... imagine how proud I felt!
It just made me realise how proud i really am to be Singaporean.
And... because of this, I suddenly had to urge to start a blog on all things Singapore. I want it to include everything and anything to do with my beloved island. To some of you, it would make much more sense for me to write a travel blog but I realised that my home country, even though absolutely tiny, is jam-packed with hidden gems that I do want the world to know about. I'm so proud of this developing-by-speed-of-light-but-still-managing-to-preserve-culture nation. I think you get the idea...
With that, I present to you:
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And the most recent picture of my darling Casper (just because I can't help it!)
Andrew Lloyd Webber's 'Love Never Dies' Trailer
Trailer of the sequel to 'The Phantom of the Opera' at the official launch of the musical on Oct 8th 2009, on London's West End
Veronica Doubleday's THREE WOMEN OF HERAT: My Book Review
Three Women of Herat – A Memoir of Life Love and Friendship in Afghanistan
VERONICA DOUBLEDAY
New York: Tauris Parke Paperbacks, 2006.
VERONICA DOUBLEDAY
New York: Tauris Parke Paperbacks, 2006.
THREE WOMEN OF HERAT tells the story of ordinary Herati life before the Soviet invasion and gives us a rare look into the lives of women in Islam.
Veronica Doubleday accompanied her husband, ethnomusicologist, John Baily to Herat, a large city in the west of Afghanistan. In this interpretive and poignant memoir, she focuses her on three particular Afghan women who according to her played an imperative role in her understanding and experience of Herat. At first, the local women were nothing more than faceless and voiceless shadows to Doubleday. She even states, ‘the world of the women remained invisible and inaccessible to me’. Gradually, she began to meet them in the seclusion of their homes.
We are introduced to three young mothers – Mariam, Mother of Nebi and Shirin, whom she formed friendships with. They welcomed her into their daily lives, sharing their most personal of moments such as births and deaths, and included her in family rituals and celebrations. Doubleday’s relationship with the three women is central in the book and she writes about it with such sensitivity, infusing elements of a novel into the memoir. She describes how each of the women represents a different perspective of her search for her own personal identity in a foreign land.
It is important to note that the names of people and places were changed to mask their identities. Doubleday felt that it was necessary to uphold the privacy of her informants to avoid any betrayal of trust and because most of the women there observed purdah.
She was forced to conduct music research separately from her husband because of the strict segregation of social and musical activities between males and females. Instead of simply observing, she learnt to play the daireh (frame drum) from female musicians allowing her to reach out and get close to the local women. Even though she became increasingly involved in music research, the book includes little musicological analysis, making it more comprehensible and accessible to a wider audience. UNESCO has published a CD of Doubleday’s field recordings taken in the 1970s: Afghanistan: Female Musicians in Heart. Till this day, she continues to perform the music she learnt in Heart, keeping her promise to Shirin.
The stories in the book are based on the information Doubleday collected and the daily field notes she wrote during the years of direct contact with the Afghan women in Afghanistan. She says in the preface of the book, ‘I was speaking Persian with these women, and interacting without translators or mediators of any kind’.
Doubleday includes a wide selection of grey-scaled photographs and drawings. Each chapter features an illustrated heading, taken from her own photographs, with a unique border based on the embroidery designs of Afghan women. She intended for these photographs and illustrations to provide a ‘visual atmosphere without establishing any particular individual’s identity.
The years after the communist coup and Soviet invasion of Afghanistan saw Doubleday’s return to Herat. The country that she had come to love had changed beyond repair. She felt that the differences she saw were more on a material level and that Herati culture remained relatively unchanged. A new Postscript was thus written, to provide detail on more recent events and the book was republished in the 2006. Another feature of the republished edition is the addition of an index, allowing information to be retrieved more easily. Doubleday hopes that the republication of her book will help to clear the misconceptions that Westerners have of Afghanistan and its women which have previously been instilled by the shocking and pitiful portrayals by journalists and film-makers.
It is evident that this book has gained importance in literature on the women of Afghanistan. University students and scholars as well as the aid community working there depend on it for much needed background material about Afghan culture. Doubleday and her husband experienced an Afghanistan where music and dance were common at wedding parties and the locals generally enjoyed a rich musical life. However, this is no longer the case. This book is thus, a truly valuable record of life in an Afghanistan that no longer exists.
Word Count: 709
the genius of Roald Dahl
I watched the Witches awhile back. I believe the movie did justice to Roald Dahl’s masterpiece. Casting Angelica Houston as the Grand High Witch was the perfect move.
It made me think about Speech and Drama in Primary 3, when I did my Grade One exams. We had to present 2 poems and a prose from memory as well as a folder of 4 other poems and another prose. The examiner would choose a random poem and prose from that and we would have to present it (not from memory)… if I remember correctly. I chose (with the guidance of Ms Evelyn, my Speech and Drama teacher that year, to do a section of ‘The Magic Finger’ for my prepared prose. I’ll never forget how much fun I had dramatising it!!! My chosen prepared poem was ‘The Silence’ by... oh gosh I can't remember. It'll come to me.
Besides normal Speech and Drama lessons on Tuesday mornings before school, Ms Evelyn used to assign us times on different days so that we could present our prepared repertoire to her. She was very particular about following the texts word for word.
One Tuesday, the class went to the Sister’s residence at the end of Martia Road (the road our primary school was situated on/in/at) and we each had a different person test us on our repertoire. I remember that a Ms Kitty tested me and I even remember what she looked like. When we were about to leave, she told my Ms Evelyn that I’m really good! I was stoked to hear that!!!
Anyway, the exam was on a Wednesday in August (hmm maybe it was September) and we got to skip a couple of periods in school which was an absolute thrill for us! My examiner was a gentle old lady who claimed to have known Roald Dahl personally. We talked about him in the conversation section of the exam. Apparently he was her neighbour. According to her, he was a very, very tall man, soft-spoken and he spent most of his time in the little shed in his garden, writing. It was so interesting listening to what she had to say, I hardly said anything… which is why she wrote in my report that it was alright for me to ask questions!
I received an Honours for that exam much to my delight!! Everyone in the class hated me when we received our results because I topped the class and was the only one with an Honours - well done me :)
Haha… It's funny when you think back to the times when you were in primary school and you were friends with one person one day and then not, the next. And then, back to being friends again the day after!
The Flowers are Blooming
"Spring is sooner recognized by plants than by men."
~ Chinese Proverb ~
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~ Chinese Proverb ~
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We went to King's Park on Sunday morning to see the flowers.
(I am really proud of these pictures taken on my basic 4.0 megapixel digital camera)
Click the link below to view all pictures
2009 Royal Perth Show Photos
We went during the AFL Grand Finals game hoping it wouldn't be too crowded - we were wrong!
with Mummy
with Daddy
moulded chocolates - this one won 3rd prize
my favourite out of the wedding cakes - it won 3rd prize
cake art displays
another one...
one of the flower art displays
I LOVE this one - Sooo pretty!
an alpaca with Danny Zuko hair!
sheep shearing competition - WA vs NZ
the fairground
I know:2nd from the left - George Bush
3rd from the right - Nicole Kidman
extreme right - Jennifer Aniston
Can someone please leave a comment to tell me who the rest are?!!
Mr Ferret wouldn't stop wiggling
my expression says it all.
weird fur coat bird (forgot what its called)
Click the link below for more photos:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=158434&id=583212941&l=cab5f8e682
Zeta-Jones, Lansbury set for B'way 'Night Music'
Zeta-Jones, Lansbury set for B'way 'Night Music'
AP - Wednesday, September 23
NEW YORK – There will be more than a little star power in the upcoming Broadway revival of "A Little Night Music," the Stephen Sondheim-Hugh Wheeler musical.
Catherine Zeta (ZEE'-tuh)-Jones and Angela Lansbury will share top billing in the production which begins preview performances Nov. 24 and opens Dec. 13 at the Walter Kerr (kur) Theatre.
Zeta-Jones will make her Broadway debut in the production, which will be directed by Trevor Nunn. The musical also will feature Alexander Hanson, who appeared in Nunn's recent London production. It's based on the Ingmar Bergman film "Smiles of a Summer Night."
Lansbury won her fifth Tony Award in June for her performance in a revival of Noel Coward's "Blithe Spirit." Zeta-Jones won an Oscar for her portrayal of Velma Kelly in the movie version of "Chicago."
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I think Catherine Zeta Jones is taking the role the late Natasha Richardson was set to play.
I am reading:
Belafonte calls for better US-Cuba relations
By PAUL HAVEN, Associated Press Writer - Saturday, September 19
By PAUL HAVEN, Associated Press Writer - Saturday, September 19
It made me giggle!
I suddenly thought of an incident that happened backstage a couple of years back and it made me giggle in the middle of a lecture. Thankfully nobody saw; I would have come across as a little strange, laughing to myself.
It was Singapore Lyric Opera’s ‘Ten Sopranos in Concert’ held at the Victoria Concert Hall in September 2003 and I was singing in the children chorus. For some reason, the toilet cubicles backstage had changing room/ shower curtains instead of doors (I don’t know if this is still the case).
In the middle of the concert, I went to the bathroom and scanned the curtains for one that was not secured to a hooks on the either side. I found an unsecured one and pulled it open.
It was Singapore Lyric Opera’s ‘Ten Sopranos in Concert’ held at the Victoria Concert Hall in September 2003 and I was singing in the children chorus. For some reason, the toilet cubicles backstage had changing room/ shower curtains instead of doors (I don’t know if this is still the case).
In the middle of the concert, I went to the bathroom and scanned the curtains for one that was not secured to a hooks on the either side. I found an unsecured one and pulled it open.
Well, yanked, more like!
Bad move.
There was someone in there – half-dressed! I had just pulled the curtain open on one of the poor guest sopranos (I’m not saying who) who was changing into her next outfit. I gave her such a fright that she screamed… which in turn gave me a shock, so I screamed.
Try to picture this:
Try to picture this:
Two people facing each other (one half dressed, mind you), screaming at the top of their lungs, in the toilet backstage (where it’s all echo-y), while a concert is going on!
It seems like something that would only happen in a movie!
I was sooo scared, I ran out of the bathroom as quickly as I yanked open the curtain.
Just imagine what the audience heard! And who the poor soprano singing on stage at that very moment was, I have no idea, but I do apologise.
It seems like something that would only happen in a movie!
I was sooo scared, I ran out of the bathroom as quickly as I yanked open the curtain.
Just imagine what the audience heard! And who the poor soprano singing on stage at that very moment was, I have no idea, but I do apologise.
It gets better!
At the curtain call, each of us had to present one of the sopranos with a bouquet of flowers and guess who I ended up presenting my bouquet to!!!
I cringed!
Got an embarrassing story? I’m all ears…
Old pictures that are new to me!
I found a couple of pictures of the 2002 Singapore Lyric Opera production of George Bizet's Carmen taken by Pierre-Andre Salim.
(I'm not sure which run these pictures were taken during -Esplanade Theatre or Victoria Theatre)
the set design (by director Hugh Halliday)
Micaela (Rachelle) looking for Don Jose [ACT I]
[ACT IV]
Soldiers in ACT I (male chorus)
Factory Girls [ACT II] (female chorus)
[ACT VI]
Children chorus in ACT VI
(I'm on the extreme left)
Don Jose and Carmen [ACT VI] - (I think!)
Entire chorus (none of the principals)
I just watched the first episode of The Ellen Degeneres Show in weeks! Glad I caught this one. Its not often you get to watch Queen Latifah and Ellen play a game of tennis with Tony, the deejay, and 17-year-old Melanie Oudin (who beat Maria Sharapova to win the US Open)!!! Can I just repeat something… SEVENTEEN!
I absolutely loved Ellen’s comments about Lady Gaga’s outfits at the VMAs! I mean, seriously, JUST LOOK AT THEM!!! Apparently, her date was Kermit the frog?! I wish I didn’t miss it; seemed like I missed so much – Janet Jackson’s tribute to her brother, the Kayne West – Taylor Swift controversy, Pink’s acrobatic performance…
If you’ve known me well enough, you’ll know that I never really paid attention to the popular music scene. I was more into classical music and show tunes and other other (not-so-common) genres.
I never had a clue what my friends in school were talking about when they were discussing the Top 10 radio hits of the week. Everyone wrote down bands and singers I’d never heard off under the ‘Favourite Music’ section in each other’s autograph books.
I wrote (and would still write):
MUSICAL THEATRE!
Miriam Makeba
Selena
Lady Blacksmith Mambazo
Classical/ opera – esp. music by Bizet
Tom Jones
Queen
Paul Simon
Glen Miller big band numbers
Yusof Islam aka Cat Stevens
Michael Jackson
Harry Belafonte
ABBA
Glen Miller big band numbers
Yusof Islam aka Cat Stevens
Michael Jackson
Harry Belafonte
ABBA
Pat Benatar
Buddy Holly
Eddie Grant
Buddy Holly
Eddie Grant
…not quite Amy Winehouse or The Black Eyed Peas is it?!
I guess you could say my taste in music is unique.
I remember sitting in a school bus on the way to the Housing Development Board for an excursion (which was boring!) and everyone was singing along to an Evanescence song that was being played. Every single person knew the lyrics to it except me. I had never even heard of the song, or the band, before that and honestly I hated it! I thought it was complete rubbish! Hey! I’m allowed to my point of view :)
Now that I’m studying a unit called Popular Music and Culture in uni, I’ve become more aware and am more open to the popular music market. I can recognise (but not necessarily name) at least every 3rd song that’s played on the radio, on the way to uni!! Yes, I am proud of that!
Now that I’m studying a unit called Popular Music and Culture in uni, I’ve become more aware and am more open to the popular music market. I can recognise (but not necessarily name) at least every 3rd song that’s played on the radio, on the way to uni!! Yes, I am proud of that!
comments
Just a quick post to say that its ok to leave comments on my blog. I get so many emails everyday with questions and comments, both regarding my posts and about non-related issues. You CAN leave comments anonymously, so go ahead. I'd like to keep my inbox free for actual emails. Thanks :)
Record Companies: Friend or Foe?
This was my 'Thought' Piece assignment for my Popular Music and Culture unit this year.
*Please note: The video clips will be uploaded soon.
Record Companies: Friend or Foe?
To a certain extent, I see record companies as the villain in the music industry. In this post, I will explain why I think so and why I feel that major labels are a non-requirement.
The article ‘Big musicians flex their muscle with record labels’, published in the August 21, 2006 issue of FORTUNE Magazine (Leonard 2006), tells about Universal Music Group backing out to rapper’s Ice Cube’s non-traditional request. Usually, record companies finance the production, marketing, and distribution costs and so, own the artist’s music but in Ice Cube’s case, he wanted to own his music and reap all the profit from its sale. He was merely looking for a record company to distribute the records (who will earn the distribution fees), and he would pay for all other costs.
According to Jeff Kwatinetz, CEO of the Firm, Universal was afraid that in the event Ice Cube’s record was a success, it would prove to other recording artists with big management firms that record labels were not needed.
I believe that record companies only act as the middle man between the artists and the audience. If you were a recording artist, wouldn’t you want to pocket all the earnings from your record sales instead of getting paid by the company in advance and then getting billed (quite a bit) for the costs of production, distribution and marketing?
I am pleased that in this day and age, record companies do not have as much power as in the last ten years. There are now easier and cheaper ways of being heard as a musician and increasing fan following by utilising websites such as MySpace, Reverb Nation and YouTube, to name a few. Artists can sell their digital singles and albums on online music stores that include the iTunes Store, Amazon MP3, and eMusic.
Thom Yorke, Radiohead’s lead singer, promoted his solo album titled ‘The Eraser’ (released on an independent label) on Apple’s iTunes Music Store and it was ranked No.2 on the Billboard 200. Ice Cube’s single ‘Laugh Now, Cry Later’ on his new record was also getting radio airplay. Why would anyone need a major label when you can be this successful without one?
Not only do these companies own their artists’ music, they own their identities. How unfair is this? Take The Artist Formerly known as Prince who had to change his name after leaving Warner Bros, as an example. In 1993, he famously explained, ‘The company owns the name Prince and all related music marketed under Prince. I became merely a pawn used to produce more money for Warner Bros.’ (Who ABC 2004).
Seth Godin states in a post on his blog (2009) that the ‘music industry is really focused on the ‘industry’ part and not so much on the music’. In reality, all record companies have the same ideological underpinnings, among other similarities. This primarily involves making as much money as possible (Shuker 2008: 13). They try to maximise their profits by adopting specific marketing techniques to promote their artists. These artists are packaged to appeal to the majority. I perceive a record company as a factory, with the goal of supplying to the masses. Shuker (2008: 7) refers to this as ‘mass production for mass, predominantly youth, market’.
The music industry has, no doubt, a major influence on our lives. Basically, it tells us what to like and what is popular, to an extent in which I feel a little brainwashing is involved. We get roped into following the latest trends. The concepts of branding and promotion in the industry are clearly shown in the movie, Josie and the Pussycats (2001) although the examples are played up.
----Video clip (branding- their name changed from The Pussycats to Josie & The Pussycats) ----
----Video clip (what seems to be just a record company - subliminal messages under music) ----
----Video clip (instant popularity) ----
----Video clip (finding-out scene) ----
----Video clip (finding-out scene) ----
In their attempt to brand and promote their artists, record companies cause the artists to lose their individuality as a result of being moulded to become a certain commercial ‘product’. This defeats the purpose of young people’s involvement in the music scene as they considered it a way of self-expression and a ‘means of defining one’s individuality identity’ (Frith 1992: 174). Also, with the increase of control the companies have over their artists, the creativity of the commercial products (the artist and music) is affected. Don’t you think it would be difficult to express yourself with your own musical style when you are confined to such moulds?
If I ever wanted to sign on to a label, I would choose an independent one. At least there seems to be that little more freedom.
Word Count: 744
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References Cited
Frith, Simon. 1992. Cultural Study of Popular Music. In Cultural Studies edited by L. Grossberg, C. Nelson and P. A Treichler. London: Routledge, pp. 174.
Godin, Seth. 2009. Music vs the music industry. Seth Godin’s Blog (February). Internet document last accessed 4 September 2009 at
Godin, Seth. 2009. Music vs the music industry. Seth Godin’s Blog (February). Internet document last accessed 4 September 2009 at
http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2009/02/music-vs-the-music-industry.html
Josie and the Pussycats 2001, motion picture, Universal Pictures, US. [Clips from the movie]
Leonard, Devin. 2006. Big musicians flex their muscle with record labels: Who needs record companies?. Fortune Magazine (August). Internet document last accessed 4 September 2009 at http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2006/08/21/8383597/i
ndex.htm
Shuker, Roy. 2008. Understanding Popular Music, 3rd edition. London: Routledge, pp. 7-13.
Who ABC. 2004. Prince: Celebrities Guide (August). Internet document last accessed 5 September 2009 at http://www.whoabc.com/men/p/prince/
Josie and the Pussycats 2001, motion picture, Universal Pictures, US. [Clips from the movie]
Leonard, Devin. 2006. Big musicians flex their muscle with record labels: Who needs record companies?. Fortune Magazine (August). Internet document last accessed 4 September 2009 at http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2006/08/21/8383597/i
ndex.htm
Shuker, Roy. 2008. Understanding Popular Music, 3rd edition. London: Routledge, pp. 7-13.
Who ABC. 2004. Prince: Celebrities Guide (August). Internet document last accessed 5 September 2009 at http://www.whoabc.com/men/p/prince/
SYTYCD
I've been staying up late the past 3 Friday nights to watch So You Think You Can Dance (US). Why its on during the 10.30pm - 1am time slot, I have no idea! Anyway, nothing would stop me from watching the choreography on the show even if I have to get up at 3.30am!! Love it when Mia Michaels and Debbie Allen are guest judges. Ooo Ellen Degeneres was the guest judge last, last week (week before the semi-finals). I found that a little strange considering the little or no dance experience she's had but it was fun watching and listening to her comments.
I know the winner's been crowned but I don't want you to tell me. I want to be pleasantly surprised this Friday (or Saturday morning)!
There have been a couple of brilliant, beyond brilliant routines - namely:
a Broadway one to 'Mr Monotony'
a Bollywood one to 'Dohlna'
a contemporary routine (choreographed by Travis off Season 2)
a Romeo & Juliet pas de deux
I know the winner's been crowned but I don't want you to tell me. I want to be pleasantly surprised this Friday (or Saturday morning)!
There have been a couple of brilliant, beyond brilliant routines - namely:
a Broadway one to 'Mr Monotony'
a Bollywood one to 'Dohlna'
a contemporary routine (choreographed by Travis off Season 2)
a Romeo & Juliet pas de deux
(Ooo this was the most beautiful routine ever - ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS!!)
There was one dance that actually moved me to tears - I actually started tearing watching the routine and I just lost it when Mia Michaels spoke. This was a couple of weeks back - a dance dedicated to breast cancer on so you think you can dance (US).
WATCH IT!
There was one dance that actually moved me to tears - I actually started tearing watching the routine and I just lost it when Mia Michaels spoke. This was a couple of weeks back - a dance dedicated to breast cancer on so you think you can dance (US).
WATCH IT!
Its one of those routines that just stay with you because of the subject.
Did you watch the video? Or maybe you watched it on TV.
Feel free to leave a comment and tell me what you thought of it.
It's been awhile.
Gosh, I've been gone for ages - university assignments are taking over my life... arghhh! I'm not hating doing them though, so that's a plus point! It's 5.54pm and I've completed my work for the day. What a good feeling. Let's just slip that tutorial work in the bag before I forget...
Ethnomusicology lecture this morning was an interesting one - Michael Jackson 'Moonwalker' video, Lady Blacksmith Mambazo and hint of Zouk music!! What better way to start the day?! Zouk mean 'party' or 'festival' in Creole and it's a style of rhythmic music that originated from the islands of Guadeloupe, Martinique, Haiti and Dominica. Anyone who knows me well will know how much I love musics of the Caribbean.
Ethnomusicology lecture this morning was an interesting one - Michael Jackson 'Moonwalker' video, Lady Blacksmith Mambazo and hint of Zouk music!! What better way to start the day?! Zouk mean 'party' or 'festival' in Creole and it's a style of rhythmic music that originated from the islands of Guadeloupe, Martinique, Haiti and Dominica. Anyone who knows me well will know how much I love musics of the Caribbean.
We discussed Erlmann's comparisons between Michael Jackson and Lady Blacksmith Mambazo's dance/movements in their performances on the video. I've watched 'Moonwalker' countless times with my grandpa but I never realised LBM was on at the end, during the credits! My favourite artiste and favourite group in one lecture - happiness!
Click on this article link:
Dame Vera Lynn becomes oldest living artist to chart in top 20 - Times Online
Click on this article link:
Dame Vera Lynn becomes oldest living artist to chart in top 20 - Times Online
What an insipration she is!
I’ve actually been following Dancing with the Stars (Aus) diligently since the new season started. I’m more interested in the choreography of the dances than anything else. Looking forward to the finals this coming Sunday – hoping Matt White (contestant) and Ash-leigh Hunter (professional) come up on top, mainly because she is one excellent choreographer. What a great find!
Casper is on the way to the vet as I write. Poor thing’s been sneezing his little lungs out the past few days… Hope he gets better soon!
Well, time to break my fast.
Casper
Ladies and gentlemen, it gives me great pleasure to introduce you to, the new addition to the Roberts family, Casper. He's a 3-year-old silver tabby and personally I think he needs to go on a diet!
The Pledge Moment unites S’poreans in one voice
Channel NewsAsia - Monday, August 10SINGAPORE: Time stood still in Singapore at exactly 8.22pm on Sunday when tens of thousands of Singaporeans at home and abroad took time out to recite the national pledge.
The "Pledge Moment" was a symbolic gesture to get the nation thinking about what it truly means to be a Singaporean on the country’s 44th birthday.
Singapore’s national public warning system sounded its chime signal at 8.22pm islandwide, signalling the start of the Pledge Moment.
With that, thousands of Singaporeans across the island joined the 150,000 people at downtown Marina Bay — where the National Day Parade was taking place — to recite the Pledge.
As the parade was being beamed live on giant screens from two of the newest malls along Orchard Road — Orchard Central and ION Orchard — Singaporeans stood at attention and with one hand on their heart, the words flowed...."We the citizens of Singapore......"
At train stations and heartland supermarkets, pockets of people dropped what they were doing and for 30 seconds renewed their commitment to a country they call home.
A supermarket at Bedok North, a suburb in the east, was one of the many retail outlets taking part in the Pledge Moment.
The supermarket staff got into the National Day mood by giving out flags to shoppers and encouraging them to stay back to recite the Pledge.
Sheng Siong Supermarket also took part in the Pledge Moment. "It’s very meaningful to unite everyone together, especially in this downturn like now....it’s more important that everyone stays united as one people, one nation," said Sheng Siong Supermarket’s corporate affairs manager, Tan Ching Fern.
Words flowed easily for some, but for others it took some prompting to recall words that were probably last spoken when they were in school.
"To all Singaporeans, since primary school days they have been saying the Pledge. For me, I’m not schooling anymore. So in fact, this brings back some memories," said a member of the public.
"This is very good — because everyone celebrates with Singapore," said another.
"Singapore’s birthday is actually our birthday..." said a third.
Truly, the pledge recital was a historic moment when Singaporeans were literally united in one voice.
— CNA/ir
Truly, the pledge recital was a historic moment when Singaporeans were literally united in one voice.
— CNA/ir
UWA Open Day
UWA Open Day (tomorrow)
Winthrop Singers Performance
Winthrop Singers Performance
The Winthrop Singers will perform a series of short choral pieces in the magic surrounds of the Winthrop Hall foyer.
12.30pm-1.00pm
12.30pm-1.00pm
and... I'll most probably be attending:
Sounds of Africa - a music workshop for all ages
Are you interested in music? Attend the Sounds of Africa music workshop and find out more about this interesting culture and their music.
School of Music
3.00pm-4.00pm
School of Music
3.00pm-4.00pm
(sounds really interesting!)
The Boyfriend (SMAGS 09 production)
I watched my old school's (St Marys') production of Sandy Wilson's 'The Boyfriend' last night. It was not bad at all! I mean, there were bits that I thought were a little dodgy but hey! it was a lot of fun. The choreography was simple but pretty neat. Wished they'd included more charleston steps though.
The band was great and I did like the set. When I looked at the programme, I realised why the set was so good - Jake Newby was the set designer. He did our set for Orpheus! It was good that they borrowed props, furniture and soud equipment from colleges like Penrhos, Mercedes and Santa Maria, and the UWA theatres.
What I was most impressed with was the choice of costumes. They were fantastic!!!
To add to that, every single cast member had tan chorus shoes on (provided by DanceXpress); a big step above previous productions!
Lost in Transit (Rehearsal)
some pictures from the rehearsal:
(L-R) Mummy (narrator), Eugene (Robert), Juz (Sam), Me (Mia), Jennifer (Grandma) not in picture.
This was a looong day of back to back singing (and sight-reading) for me...I'm hoping sombody mails the video of the performance to me soon..hint hint!
Lost In Transit - an original Musical Theatre Limited musical
Musical Theatre Limited (MTL) will be presenting Lost In Transit, an original musical by MTL, with book and lyrics by Stella Kon and Music by Desmond Moey at The Hall at The Arts House. This is part of the Hallmark Programs series presented by MTL for Musicals@The Hall, a partnership with The Arts House.
As a process, we wish to test the script-score before a focused group.
The session is 2009*Jul*12 SUN 2pm to 5pm at TheHALL @ArtsHouse.
Free admission.
Audience will listen to a troupe of 4x demo singers reading the script and singing the songs, in sequence. Audience members will then voice opinions and offer suggestions.
Free admission.
Audience will listen to a troupe of 4x demo singers reading the script and singing the songs, in sequence. Audience members will then voice opinions and offer suggestions.
Roles for Jul*12 (Demo Singers):
Mia - young girl - female (Aliya ROBERTS)
Grandma - mature female (Catherine Martinez)
Sam - young man - male (Juz-Jumari-CHEUNG)
Robert - 40 to 50 yr old - male (bad guy) (Eugene Nogales EBIO)
Synopsis:
Mia and Sam live in an idyllic fishing village by the sea, but Mia wants to go to the big city to make it as a singer. Sam is violently opposed. Can the lovers stay together? Will Mia find success or come to ruin? Beautiful songs fill this classic story of love, loss, sin and forgiveness.
It is interesting to note that a shorter version of Lost in Transit was first presented at the Playden at the Arts House in June 2005. It was named Best Musical in Five Foot Broadway 2005.
the holidays so far...
SHOPPING - End of the Great Singapore Sale - Best time to shop! Lowest prices ever!!!!
new flats - Mummy bought the same ones (in the exact same colour!)
Esprit handbag, originally $80, got it at $30!!!
Walked around town a couple of times. Found some really nice tops and dresses but my size was all sold out! Hate it when that happens :(
DURIAN OVERLOAD - Durian is a staple at family gatherings + I spent almost a whole weekend at Nicole's and we had durian everything - durian crepe, durian pancake and durian itself... I must say I loved the pancake so much, I got my mum and I one each when we went into town again.
WEEKEND AT NICOLE'S - I had so much fun!! Went for dinner at Tanglin Club - hadn't been there in years, walked around town at night - hadn't done that for years either! We watched 'The Wedding Planner' when we got back that night. Next morning, had breakfast out. Yummy prata! Then walked around for a bit...
This is what Nicole and I get up to when we walked around without any money:
MUSICAL THEATRE REPERTOIRE - new developments (I'm keeping this bit under wraps!), lots of new original material to learn (Lost in Transit read-sing)...
SCRABBLE - been playing scrabble alot lately. I have yet to beat Mummy - one of my goals in life! I know it sounds pathetic but shes so good and to beat her score would be such an achievement.
FAMILY DINNERS - I have never had so many in one holiday period. Tried a couple of new things - dragon fruit, duck meat...etc.
Thank you for the music
~~~
I am deeply saddened by the news of Michael Jackson's passing. When I first found out at around 8am yesterday morning, I was in utter shock. It felt like it was the day that music died. The feeling stayed for the whole day. It was only this morning, when I felt this huge wave of sadness.
However, I chose to look at it in a positive way. I always believed he was an incredibly misunderstood human being and never saw him the way the world chose to. Its almost like he's been saved from everything negative and has finally been given some peace.
What an icon! He may have been taken from the face of this earth but the legend that is Michael Jackson will always be with us. His legacy lives on in his music. The very first song I learnt was a song of his. I'm not kidding. My grandpa taught me the tune and lyrics to 'Will You Be There' before I knew 'Twinkle Twinkle' even existed. It became our song!
This is a man of immense pulling power. Just look at the response his passing recieved from the world! Tributes and minute of silences were held in concerts, parliament sessions, prisons, schools, etc. I don't think I've ever seen such a global response since the passing of Princess Diana. It just goes to show the number of lives he has touched.
My deepest condolences, to his entire family. I hope he rests peacefully and has fun on the big dancefloor up there!
~~~
Orpheus in the Underworld
I had a absolute ball in this production! Hearing laughter form the audience ALWAYS lifts my spirit. We really owe it all (well, maybe not all) to the libretto - its an Australian-ised one that was written in 2003 for the Opera Australia production.
I'm not even going to talk about the rehearsals leading up to the bump-in or you'll be staring at this screen for months (that's if you're even bothered to)!
TUES- We bumped into Dolphin Theatre. Each of us were responsible for our own costumes (my sheperdess dress, demon nymph outfit, white pyjamas + silver wig and Hell outfit) and the little props that we were associated with. Jake (our production manager) looked after the bigger props like the white clouds and the bits that were pieced together to form the set.
The first 'casual run-through we had was all about getting used to the space we had on stage was ironically, was less than in our rehearsal studio! As a cast of 26 on a 11m x 8m stage, we had to do some major squeezing especially with all the movement we'd incorporated in rehearsals and with the set taking up quite a bit of space. I actually almost fell off stage - scary! Thank goodness for levels!! Sorted out my quick changes. I had exactly 18 seconds to get out of pyjamas and into the black nymph outfit and after the scene, 24 seconds to get back into my pyjamas. Got pretty good at it... except for getting my flimsy silver 'wig' on again - in the wings, in the dark...without a mirror!
After a quick chocolate fix, it was time for a sort of dress tech stop-start run (no hair/makeup except for wigs). It was oookay... There was still lots of tidying up to do and it was already 11am by then so none of us were concentrating after such a long day...
WED- I modified my Hell costume a little because Cassie really did not have a skirt... Well, the new outfit suited me better anyway. My parts of my demon nymph outfit doubled up as my Hell outfit and I wore my black ballet wrap skirt instead of my cancan skirt. Topped it off with fishnet stockings, a garter and my trusty black chorus heels.
Checklist:
Costume - GOOD
Rehearsal - BAD!
It seemed like some people had forgotten everything we'd achieved in earlier runs.
THURS- This was the one and only full-dress rehearsal and it was MUCH better than the last. Official photographs were taken. Loved loved LOVED my hairstyle for the Hell scene!!
THURS- This was the one and only full-dress rehearsal and it was MUCH better than the last. Official photographs were taken. Loved loved LOVED my hairstyle for the Hell scene!!
FRI- Opening night!!! Our little lamb for the sheperdess bit was stolen just minutes before the 1/2 hour call. Someone just saw it backstage when they walked past the then opened stage door and walked away with it. How rude! One of the cast members thought she saw an audience member with it while she was on stage but we could not find it. Improvisation was necessary, well easy really in that particular scene. Good opening show! Great audience response. A couple of audience members commented on my high kicks in the cancan and said they could see my black undies...haha! They've obviously never heard of a leotard!
SAT- I found the matinee really hard to do - it was sooooo hot outside, we were dying onstage. I was dying of thirst by the time we finished the first round of the cancan. It was not as good a show as Fri's but I guess it was passable...wish we did better though because it was the show that was attended by the Western Australian newspaper review (He made mention of our 'spectacular costumes' in the review!!!).
Rushed home to have a shower... my teased hair needed to be combed out, to be stuffed under the wig for the first half of the show. Night show was THE BEST!!! The energy was the highest and everyone gave a little more than they usually would - mainly because it was the very last show. Parents and some SMAG friends watched. Enjoyed myself thoroughly :)
Hey everyone!
Welcome to my new and improved blog.
I've made slight modifications to my blog layout.
Now you can leave a tag on my tagboard or if what you want to say is directed at a particular post of mine, you can leave a comment.
Also, please feel free to follow me.
xxx
Welcome to my new and improved blog.
I've made slight modifications to my blog layout.
Now you can leave a tag on my tagboard or if what you want to say is directed at a particular post of mine, you can leave a comment.
Also, please feel free to follow me.
xxx
message to my dear readers
Hello to my dear, dear friends and family members. Just to let you know that I have tonnes to write about since my last post but I will not be posting anything in the next two weeks - at least not until my exams are over! Till then... Bye :)
orpheus photos - PART II
More pictures from Orpheus in the Underworld
3 Shows - Fri night, Sat matinee, Sat night
Leah and I
with Rebecca, Sophie and Laura
Leah and I in our sheperdess outfits
Ashlee :)
Kaitie! (Dame Edna)
us again
with Leah and Ashlee in our pyjamas and silver wig thingies!
in my Hell outfit (Act IV)
with Elsie and Steph (Venus)
As you can see, I was trying to look as tall as Steph but it didn't quite work!
ONE OF MY FAVOURITE PICS!!!
Ashlee and I in our Hell outfits
the cast on stage during curtain call
orpheus photos - PART I
Orpheus in the Underworld:
Rehearsals and Opening Night pictures
i'm on the far right (with the blue jumper)
yeah i'm pretty tiny!
waiting for our first tech rehearsal in Dolphin Theatre, UWA to start...
with Sophie
DRESS REHEARSAL
with Sophie in my sheperdess outfit (Act I)
Leah and I in our 'Hell' outfit (Act IV)
with Steph (Venus)
OPENING NIGHT
with Cassie
in our 'Hell' outfitsUWA School of Music presents Orpheus in the Underworld
Members of the UWA vocal students society and the UWA School of Music present, Jacques Offenbach's Orpheus in the Underworld
Join us for a riotous slide down the nightclub burlesque pole that is Orpheus in the Underworld. Orpheus, mythology's 'Greatest Musician,' must retrieve his miserable wench of a wife from the the bulky, well-toned clutches of the not so plutonic Pluto, Lord of Hell. Armed with his pesky and opinionated moral and social conscious, who flamboyantly dresses in bright pink, he marches hesitantly with violin in hand into the mythology books. What is there to stand in his way?
Perhaps the inebriated, bored and flirtatious gods?
His own lack of musical talent?
His sex crazed wife?
perhaps all of the above... and more.
Director: Jane Davidson
Conductor: Francis Greep
Featuring members of the UWA School of Music.
Friday 29th of May at 7:30pm
Saturday 30th of May at 2:30pm & 7:30pm
Dolphin Theatre, UWA
For tickets ($20), please contact BOCS
Join us for a riotous slide down the nightclub burlesque pole that is Orpheus in the Underworld. Orpheus, mythology's 'Greatest Musician,' must retrieve his miserable wench of a wife from the the bulky, well-toned clutches of the not so plutonic Pluto, Lord of Hell. Armed with his pesky and opinionated moral and social conscious, who flamboyantly dresses in bright pink, he marches hesitantly with violin in hand into the mythology books. What is there to stand in his way?
Perhaps the inebriated, bored and flirtatious gods?
His own lack of musical talent?
His sex crazed wife?
perhaps all of the above... and more.
Director: Jane Davidson
Conductor: Francis Greep
Featuring members of the UWA School of Music.
Friday 29th of May at 7:30pm
Saturday 30th of May at 2:30pm & 7:30pm
Dolphin Theatre, UWA
For tickets ($20), please contact BOCS
last week and now
Now - I’m sick at the moment. It’s the worst feeling ever especially because the Winthrop Singers Lunchtime concert is tomorrow and I had to miss Monday night’s Winthrop rehearsal. I have a feeling I’m not going to be well enough to attend today’s opera rehearsal either. With the opera in less than two weeks, rehearsals are getting more regular and longer. I’m sure of all my parts so if I have to miss one or two rehearsals to allow myself to recover, I won’t be in any trouble!
Last Wednesday – We held the Making Music, Being Well Concert in Callaway Auditorium as part of our Music in the Community unit. Our guests music groups were People Who Care Choir, The Stirling Silver Singers (senior citizens – the oldest in the choir 92!) and the Born To Sing choir, made up of unemployed people. I must make mention the Born To Sing Choir has the coolest theme song!
I ended up singing a lot more than I had planned… On top of the African accapella piece we had to perform on our own, we supported the Born to Sing Choir with three songs and sang a Pacific Island accapella piece (I LOVE this one!) on our own. The People Who Care choir were down on numbers because people had difficulty getting there on time after work so a couple of us sang their three songs with them.
As soon as it ended, Belinda and I positioned ourselves at the auditorium door and gave our flyers to the Winthrop Singers Lunchtime Concert. It was then a few ladies, who were in the actual audience and not in any of the choirs, came up to me and asked me my age. They were like ‘You look way too young to be in uni!’ At the ‘after-party’, for which I brought garlic bread, a man came up to me and asked the same thing… Let’s just say I’m used to it!
Last Thursday – I managed to get the Winthrop Singers concert advertisement in ‘The Western Australian’ newspaper!!! Gosh I’m good!!! We gave out more flyers at the lunchtime concert. After that, we took two whole hours to walk around the entire university, pinning up posters and leaving flyers in the different faculties and their respective libraries. It was so interesting – it was my first time actually seeing the whole university – I saw greenhouses, engineering warehouses, swimming pools (one indoor and one outdoor), water treatment centres, aquatic research faculty, fields of botany research, a huge number of makeshift offices, a boating shed, a childcare centre and lots more… I never knew how big the university area is.
Last Friday – The day started with the usual vocal workshop and we then had another opera rehearsal. It’s good that we are now running it with minimal breaks. I know there's something else that happened... can't think at the moment
This is a completely random picture: The cutest, most perfect mini-apple I have ever seen!!
Last Saturday/ Sunday - Eurovision Song Contest – watched the 2nd semi-finals and finals on Sun night. My overall favourite was Estonia… I just liked everything about their act- the girl singing, her voice, their outfits, the instruments, the SONG!!
Its really not a song contest – the best song did not win, that’s for sure! That's what happen when people are allowd to vote. (MOST POPULAR does not = BEST) I really like the woman who represented Iceland – she had a gorgeous voice and the song was rather good too! Some acts were just out of this world – namely Ukraine… I thought I was watching a burlesque act! Moldova was pretty cool, I didn’t like it but I didn’t mind it.
Sunday’s opera rehearsal was better than Friday and things are really falling into place… I’m sooo excited! I’m actually loving this production – really worried about my 4 costumes though. I either don’t have them yet or don’t have them in full yet. I have my top for the shepherdess scene but I don’t have a skirt, have the black ‘witchy’ straps for the Pluto scene but don’t have the skirt or top/dress! I lent Daniel (Pluto) my black, finger-less gloves as it matched his costume really well - can't believe I actually own them! I’m not gonna go on about the others… Basically I have to find my costumes..SOON!
Now - I have random people (people I do not know) following me on Twitter! Okay…
winthrop quotes
Just thought I'd share with you a little collection of quotes (posted on Facebook!) from our Winhtrop director, compiled by a member of the chorus:
Please also be aware that these are all taken TOTALLY out of context.
"This is where we all get Lei together"
"He [Faure] was a man of short climaxes ... it's not hard"
"You need a big bottom to sing in this room"
"Ladies, sing like you're having your blouse ripped off"
"It's the textual climax of the piece. Feels great, doesn't it."
"... you know when you're going to vomit and you cant stop.... sing like that...."
"These are the Spanish, they eat Paella and fuck! Sing it like you mean it!"
"...sing like you're a cow being milked..."
"Singing [a] for apple is like taking your shirt off"
"Guys, the ladies are all over you doing their thing"
"I want 40 excited women to make my day"
Please also be aware that these are all taken TOTALLY out of context.
"This is where we all get Lei together"
"He [Faure] was a man of short climaxes ... it's not hard"
"You need a big bottom to sing in this room"
"Ladies, sing like you're having your blouse ripped off"
"It's the textual climax of the piece. Feels great, doesn't it."
"... you know when you're going to vomit and you cant stop.... sing like that...."
"These are the Spanish, they eat Paella and fuck! Sing it like you mean it!"
"...sing like you're a cow being milked..."
"Singing [a] for apple is like taking your shirt off"
"Guys, the ladies are all over you doing their thing"
"I want 40 excited women to make my day"
One of those Quizzies...
Using only song names from one artist, cleverly answer these questions. Try not to repeat a song title.
Pick Your Artist: ABBA
Are you male or female: Chiquitita (‘little girl’ in Spanish)
Describe yourself: Dancing Queen
How do you feel about yourself: Super Trouper
Describe where you currently live: Waterloo
If you could go anywhere, where would you go: Summer Night City
Your favorite form of transportation: Money Money Money
Your best friend is: Fernando
Your favorite colour is: Put On Your White Sombrero
What’s the weather like: Our Last Summer
Favorite time of day: When All Is Said and Done
If your life was a TV show, what would it be called: Mamma Mia!
What is life to you: Thank you for the Music
What is the best advice you have to give: People Need Love
If you could change your name, what would it be: Nina, Pretty Ballerina
Your favorite food is: Honey Honey
Thought for the Day: Does Your Mother Know?
How I would like to die: Slipping Through My Fingers
My soul’s present condition: I Have a Dream
My motto: The Winner Takes It All
Pick Your Artist: ABBA
Are you male or female: Chiquitita (‘little girl’ in Spanish)
Describe yourself: Dancing Queen
How do you feel about yourself: Super Trouper
Describe where you currently live: Waterloo
If you could go anywhere, where would you go: Summer Night City
Your favorite form of transportation: Money Money Money
Your best friend is: Fernando
Your favorite colour is: Put On Your White Sombrero
What’s the weather like: Our Last Summer
Favorite time of day: When All Is Said and Done
If your life was a TV show, what would it be called: Mamma Mia!
What is life to you: Thank you for the Music
What is the best advice you have to give: People Need Love
If you could change your name, what would it be: Nina, Pretty Ballerina
Your favorite food is: Honey Honey
Thought for the Day: Does Your Mother Know?
How I would like to die: Slipping Through My Fingers
My soul’s present condition: I Have a Dream
My motto: The Winner Takes It All
break from my essay
Gloria posted a note on Facebook (you know one of those quiz-like 'thingies') that made my day :)
R is for Aliya Roberts
1) Have you heard this person sing? Yes, and she's like an angel.
2) Will she/he repost this? Maybe.
3) When does this person look best? When she's on stage performing.
That's so sweet! I find a compliment like that more meaningful when it comes from a close friend than a complete stranger!
I'm currently in the middle of writing an essay for my Western Art Hitory unit - Haydn's string quartets. Its a really interesting topic but I'm finding the essay requirements rather overwhelming! There's just so much I need to explore and so much information I need to collate... Its WAAAY more difficult than it sounds and don't you just hate conflicting information in the different references?! I'm more or less done with my research and my trying to structure the information I've collected is taking up lots and lots of time. Well, its due at 3pm tomorrow but I aim to complete the essay by dinner time tonight. Wish me all the energy and intellect in the world for this one! I'll need it!!
Take a look at this picture... A group of girls in the IJ uniform... What's the big deal?
Take a closer look!
They're teachers!!! That's what some of the teachers who are ex-KC students wore to school on April Fool's Day!
I read in the newspapers some days ago that Simon Cowell shuttles between LA and London every week to judge American Idol and Britian's Got Talent respectively. What a life! I wish I had the means to do that. Fly back and forth from SIngapore to Perth - I could go to uni in Perth and fly back every weekend to perform! Come to think of it, it would be rather tiring and I'm just talking about a 6 hour flight. How does he survive flying for hours and hours?
Okay, back to essay. I'm really hoping my dearest essay makes complete sense. Its worth 20% of the unit which makes it definitely worth scoring in. I've put SO MUCH effort into it and anything below distinction would be a disappointment!
Vienna named city with world's best quality of living
I just received a tag asking if I could write more about my music and singing related trips – I will write about these trips in a series of documentary-style posts.
I will write about:
- European Music Study Trip (Vienna & Hungary) with the Singapore Lyric Opera – 2004
(we had masterclasses at Kodaly School of Music and Budapest Opera House + Turandot production)
- United Kingdom Tour with the Hale St Mary’s Cantate (Perth) – 2007
(We sang evensong and concerts in cathedrals and other venues all over the UK + masterclasses at Eton and Royal Academy of Music)
- Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod, Wales – 2008
(I represented Singapore in 2 categories at the eisteddfod + met Elaine Paige!!)
This will take some time as I have to dig out all my old photos and scrapbooks of the trips... and I need to get a horrible essay that's due next monday out of the way!
I will write about:
- European Music Study Trip (Vienna & Hungary) with the Singapore Lyric Opera – 2004
(we had masterclasses at Kodaly School of Music and Budapest Opera House + Turandot production)
- United Kingdom Tour with the Hale St Mary’s Cantate (Perth) – 2007
(We sang evensong and concerts in cathedrals and other venues all over the UK + masterclasses at Eton and Royal Academy of Music)
- Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod, Wales – 2008
(I represented Singapore in 2 categories at the eisteddfod + met Elaine Paige!!)
This will take some time as I have to dig out all my old photos and scrapbooks of the trips... and I need to get a horrible essay that's due next monday out of the way!
Here's just a pic from the UK tour...
after evensong in Oxford Cathedral, our last stop of the tour!
Have a look at this article:
Vienna named city with world's best quality of living
SYDNEY, April 28 - Vienna has beaten Zurich to be crowned the place with the best quality of living in an annual survey in which European cities dominated the top 10.
Management consultancy Mercer said Vienna scored the highest for overall quality of living in the 215-city survey after improvements in Austria's political and social environment, knocking the Swiss city of Zurich into second position.
Third in the list came another Swiss city, Geneva, followed by Vancouver, Canada, and Auckland, New Zealand, in shared fourth place.
Baghdad, Iraq, came last despite slight improvements in its infrastructure and moves to encourage investment.
Three German cities made the top 10 -- Dusseldorf, Munich and Frankfurt -- with the list rounded out by Bern in Switzerland and Sydney, Australia.
The highest U.S. ranking in the 2009 Worldwide Quality of Living Survey was Honolulu which came 29th while Washington and New York remained in positions 44 and 49 respectively.
London came 38th in the list which is designed to help governments and companies formulate international packages for their employees.
Singapore was the top-scoring Asian city, coming in 26th which was up six places from a year ago due to its growing importance as a financial centre and its wide range of international and private schools.
Beijing moved up three places to 113, boosted by improvements in public transport facilities from the Olympics last August.
Singapore also came first in a separate ranking based on city infrastructure, which examined standards of electricity, water, telephone, mail, public transport, traffic congestion and the range of international flights from local airports.
Singapore was followed in the infrastructure rankings by Munich, Copenhagen, and Tsukuba in Japan. Again, Baghdad came last.
The rankings, based on a point-scoring index in which New York is the base city with 100, are based on 39 quality-of-life determinants such as political stability, schooling, recreation, housing and natural environment.
Vienna named city with world's best quality of living
SYDNEY, April 28 - Vienna has beaten Zurich to be crowned the place with the best quality of living in an annual survey in which European cities dominated the top 10.
Management consultancy Mercer said Vienna scored the highest for overall quality of living in the 215-city survey after improvements in Austria's political and social environment, knocking the Swiss city of Zurich into second position.
Third in the list came another Swiss city, Geneva, followed by Vancouver, Canada, and Auckland, New Zealand, in shared fourth place.
Baghdad, Iraq, came last despite slight improvements in its infrastructure and moves to encourage investment.
Three German cities made the top 10 -- Dusseldorf, Munich and Frankfurt -- with the list rounded out by Bern in Switzerland and Sydney, Australia.
The highest U.S. ranking in the 2009 Worldwide Quality of Living Survey was Honolulu which came 29th while Washington and New York remained in positions 44 and 49 respectively.
London came 38th in the list which is designed to help governments and companies formulate international packages for their employees.
Singapore was the top-scoring Asian city, coming in 26th which was up six places from a year ago due to its growing importance as a financial centre and its wide range of international and private schools.
Beijing moved up three places to 113, boosted by improvements in public transport facilities from the Olympics last August.
Singapore also came first in a separate ranking based on city infrastructure, which examined standards of electricity, water, telephone, mail, public transport, traffic congestion and the range of international flights from local airports.
Singapore was followed in the infrastructure rankings by Munich, Copenhagen, and Tsukuba in Japan. Again, Baghdad came last.
The rankings, based on a point-scoring index in which New York is the base city with 100, are based on 39 quality-of-life determinants such as political stability, schooling, recreation, housing and natural environment.
Friday's opera rehearsal
Opera rehearsal went for half a day today. I’m glad we’ve started tidying things up – from the waltzing bit, to the jazz chorus steps and the arch-weaving. I’m thrilled that quite a bit of movement and dance is being incorporated into the opera – its almost like rehearsal for a musical (something I miss sooo much!) I even get to go en pointe for the finale of the second act! I’ll have to come up with a little routine that fits in with the scene in the next week or so… will try to fuse the traditional steps with some jazz and Broadway ones. The chorus in the opera is truly a 'Greek chorus' - the show would be nothing with it. Basically, we control what the audience should feel and react about things... we laugh, they laugh... we get a shock, they do too!
Anyway, pointe bit aside, I've sorted out my quick changes!
Cassie and I have an extra bit where we're demonesses or nymphs or whatever you want to call it... We're gonna be in black or deep purple or red (haven't decided!) and we're Pluto's (god of the underworld) um... assistants? No, I'm sure there's a better word/ We'll leave halfway through Mercury's scene before that to take our pyjamas off (we'll have our outfits and fishnet stockings on inside... and as for me, i'll be wearing my fishnet stockings on top of my convertible ballet pink tights!) and run out of the stage door, round the theatre, to the door at the back of the auditorium - we're going onto stage via the audience. We'll miss out on the conga line in the scene before :(
As soon as Pluto is onstage, we exit and we get to have a break for the rest of the scene as he sings his aria (which sounds more like a bragging song in a musical!). Jane, our director, was like "Give it all you've got for the intro of Pluto and then you can collapse backstage." When Pluto sings his song, all the girls will be sitting on the floor swooning at the sight of him and the guys will be standing at the back with looks of disgust on their faces. Unfortunately, we'll also miss that bit... but I suppose I'll be busy changing. I'll have to take my demon outfit and fishnet stockings off and put on my white dance outfit for the 'Trip to Hell' scene. My ballet tights will already be on! Only then can I put my pyjamas back on!!
So, once Pluto's done with his song, Cassie and I come out with signs for the Revolution scene. I'll be sitting on someone's shoulders...again! protesting against...urm whatever we're protesting against! Well, there is a line that goes - we're overworked and underpaid!!!
Just before the end of this scene, I'll have to run backstage and rip my pyjamas off to get ready for the dance bit. I have about a minute or so to get pointe shoes on...bit worried about that! At least my ballet tights will already be on - they're convertible tights so I can pull them down to cover my feet when I put those shoes on.
Oooo...its so exciting!!! I can't wait till tech and dress rehearsals!!!
I have 3 quick changes in the first half alone:
(1) pyjamas to demon outfit
(2) demon outfit to dance outfit then pyjamas on top
(3) pyjamas to dance outfit with pointe shoes on
During the interval, I'll have loads of time to get out of my white dance outfit into my black dress and fishnet stockings for the second half. We don't even need to go on to stage till about 15-20 minutes after the interval ends so I can really take my time :)
So in the weeks to come, I'll have to start looking for suitable costumes - 2 black and 1 white. The pyjamas tops and bottoms are being taken care of! SHOPPING!!!!
And this is why I LOVE theatre...
Orpheus in the Underworld
Orpheus in the Underworld... Ooooo I'm excited!!!
I spent the whole of yesterday at uni rehearsing for the opera. We’ve blocked almost everything out but there is still lots of tidying up to do, especially the synchronisation bits. It’s a LOT of fun – the opera is turning out to be more of a pantomime! The music is fantastic and FUN and the Opera Australia libretto we’re using is simply the best! And we get to do the cancan!! We get to sing, dance, act and run around like mad, uncoordinated people… How much better could an opera get? You don’t even need to be an opera-lover to fall in love with this one! Well, technically it’s the first full-length classical operetta.
Props, sets and costumes are in the making. Basically, we’re all Gods (well, besides Orpheus and Eurydice) and before the interval, we’re in Mount Olympus in our white pyjamas. The colour scheme is the complete opposite from the second half, after the interval, where we all go down to hell and everyone’s in skanky black outfits!!
SYNOPSIS
Props, sets and costumes are in the making. Basically, we’re all Gods (well, besides Orpheus and Eurydice) and before the interval, we’re in Mount Olympus in our white pyjamas. The colour scheme is the complete opposite from the second half, after the interval, where we all go down to hell and everyone’s in skanky black outfits!!
SYNOPSIS
Act 1
Hot pants Eurydice, bored with her self-satisfied, none-too-faithful composer husband Orpheus, has been cavorting in the cornfields with a recent arrival on the rural scene, Aristaeus, a hairy hunk of sexy shepherd, who reveals himself as none other than Pluto, King of the Underworld, in fancy dress. Orpheus excruciates Eurydice with yet another of his interminable compositions; each would be glad to see the back of the other, so that when Pluto with his serpent's tail contrives the death of Eurydice, Calliope guardian of mythological morals, has some difficulty persuading son Orpheus that he must retrieve his wife by appealing to the Gods. Orpheus reluctantly says farewell to his pupils before Calliope and he fly off to Olympus with Icarus.
Act 2
At the start of Act Two, we are on Mount Olympus, where Father Zeus (Jupiter for short) is rousing his children for another tedious day of Olympian respectability. One or two of his children have been making a night of it elsewhere in the universe, and Juno, Jupiter's wife, has not unjustified suspicions of his own behaviour especially when Mercury dashes in with the latest gossip about the abduction of a mortal by a god. Juno is somewhat mollified when she hears suspicion has fallen on Pluto. Jupiter, naturally interested in seeing this paragon Eurydice for himself, summons Pluto to his presence.
After an interlude in which the intrepid air-travellers are passed and re-passed by Mercury and Pluto, we return to Olympus, where the gods, bored to tears with the eternal nectarine and ambrosian diet, finally rebel when Pluto attempts to exclude them from the juicy interview with Pluto. The latter is accused, but the tables are turned on randy old Jupy by his family when they remind him of his own meanderings midst the mortals. Orpheus arrives to plead his cause, and finally Jupy agrees to take "the whole damn lot" to see Eurydice in the Underworld.
Act 3
The third and last Act opens in Hades, where Eurydice, neglected by Pluto and with only weird old John Styx for company, laments her plight. Styx hopefully presses his suit but gets nowhere before Pluto and his party enter. Jupiter tries to locate Eurydice, but is diverted temporarily by a brisk explanation of the cause of men's downfall -"look for the lady". Only with son Cupid's help does Jupiter eventually become fly enough to gain access to Eurydice's bathroom through the keyhole.
Pluto then offers a hellish entertainment, which starts off as an orgy and works up -after a short pause for a minuet - to a climax, the infernal Gallop, or "Can Can". Finally, Orpheus is tricked into losing Eurydice, who rejects all other suitors in favour of Bacchus, God of Wine.
Great storyline hey?!?
Nicole, if you’re reading this… Don’t you think its a coincidence?! Mount Olympus…Gods…going down to hell…two mortals…?
I’ve put together a video of two of my absolute favourite scenes from a DVD I have of Orpheus in the Underworld – watch it!
WE'RE DOING THE OPERA IN ENGLISH THOUGH
first clip - ending of ACT II when we everyone finds out they can follow Jupiter to Hell (la, la, la lets go, below!)
second clip - finale of the opera, the cancan!!!
WATCH THIS!
I saw this clip on the news this morning
- you HAVE to watch it!
- you HAVE to watch it!
I can't embed it for some reason so click on the link below:
Beethoven's Ninth Symphony
Artistry! Concert 2: Beethoven 9
Presented by UWA School of Music.
Presented by UWA School of Music.
Following the outstanding success of 2008’s Carmina Burana, the UWA Orchestra and Symphonic Chorus join forces with the Winthrop Singers and choirs from Hale School, Penrhos College, and John Forrest Senior High School to lift the roof off Winthrop Hall in a rousing performance of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. The program will also include performances by the UWA Chorale and Winthrop Singers, directed by Nicholas Bannan.
UWA Orchestra and Symphonic Chorus
Peter Moore, conductor
Penny Shaw, soprano
Fiona Campbell, alto
Roberto Abate, tenor
James Clayton, bass
Friday, 24th April 2009, 7.30pm
Winthrop Hall, UWA
Tickets:
Standard (A Reserve)$42.00 (B Reserve) $37.00
Concession (A Reserve)$37.00 (B Reserve) $32.00
Friday the 3rd of April - I survived!!
I officially survived the long and crazy Friday! (today)
I was at university from 9am to 11pm.
Now that's a LONG time!
The day started with the weekly vocal workshops. After a quick lunch break, we carried on with rehearsal for the opera. This was our second Friday blocking Act II out. I really like the music in Orpheus! We even get to do the can-can at the end!!!
A couple of us, in the Winthrop Singers, had to leave opera rehearsal early to attend a technical rehearsal for the Bushfires Survivors Concert in Winthrop Hall that night. It was the first combined rehearsal so it was very chaotic. I mean, there were more than a 1000 performers in the concert (from ages 9 - 93!) so chaos is expected especially when everyone does not know where to stand on stage ad when to get on and off.
Some last minute instructions
Thank goodness, everything was sorted out before the actual concert! Winthrop had a little sing-through of 2 or 3 of the pieces we were going to perform for a warm-up (although the few of us who came from opera did not exactly one!) We assembled backstage to get our folders intact, our bags shoved out of the way and as much dinner as we could handle, gobbled up. It was then time for us to get onto stage. We were up first.
Winthrop Singers Concert Programme:
Henry Purcell Medley -
Hear my prayer, O Lord
Thou knowest, Lord, the secrets of our hearts
Man is for the woman made
2 Romantic Motets -
Locus iste by Anton Bruckner
O sacrum convivium by Olivier Messiaen
2 William Harris Pieces -
Bring us, O Lord God (arr. by John Donne)
Faire is the Heaven (arr. Edmund Spenser)
Stirling Silver Singers.
They are made up of senior citizens. They're conductor is THE BEST! I've never seen such an excited person in my life! She was so entertaining to watch!
Born to Sing Choir.
This was a HUGE group and they had their own band and all. Loved the sunglasses!
In the second half of the concert, 3 survivors who flew from Victoria talked about their experiences - being evacuated, going back to where they lived and seeing their houses burnt, losing pets and wildlife. So sad :(
THE FINALE
EVERYONE sang 2 songs:
All One Tribe
We Can Make A Difference
(these songs were specially written for the event)
We raised, in excess, approximately $10, 000!!!The exact figures will be out soon :)
concerts in the next 2 weeks
Universty of Western Australia is holding a fundraiser concert for the Victorian Bushfire Survivors.
The Winthrop Singers are being featured in it.
Very proud to be a part of such a good cause!!
Friday, 3rd April 2009, 7.30pm
Winthrop Hall, UWA
Tickets are $25 each
(contact the UWA School of Music: 6488 2054)
The 2nd, 3rd and 4th year UWA vocal students will be singing music by famous composers such as Brahms, Schubert, Purcell and more.
Thursday, 9th April 2009, 1.10pm - 1.50pm
Octagon Theatre, UWA Campus (Crawley)
FREE!!!
Rantings
I'm really proud of the amount of work I got done tonight! Had a good break at dinner when Daddy and I watched Home Alone 2 on TV... Love that movie!! Anyway, I am starting on my Music and English assignments this Monday; I'm actually excited about starting them! Can you believe it?
Last Friday (after vocal workshop), we had our first opera rehearsal with Francis Greep, our music director, of the WA Opera Company. I was quite surprised that he told us to drop end consonants in lots of words! So a phrase like 'I don't trust him' has to be sung as 'I don trus him'. With all those years of singing with as clear diction as possible, I'm actually finding it pretty tricky omitting the end consonants. He also pointed out phrases which he wanted us to sing in an American accent. I'm positive he knows what sounds the best so I'm just going to take on every single detail he points out.
That night, I watched the world premiere of a chamber opera: African Queen, based on CS Forester's novel of the same name.
It was...well, okay. The score, composed by Tim Cunniffe, was rather interesting. There were one or two motifs that I really liked but overall, I wouldn't consider the score a favourite.
What I was really impressed with was the set!! That (props included) were pretty impressive, especially for such a small scale production. The ship - 'The African Queen' was the best part of all!!
And of course Ian Toyne, I am a big fan of. It was at our first South Pacific reading at WAAPA last year when I heard him sing. He sang ONE line and my heart just melted. What a voice!
________
Belinda and I am marketing and promoting the Winthrop Singers' Lunchtime Concert on the 21st of May 09 as part of our Music in the Community assignment. The unit focuses on bringing music into the community and teaches us about arts management. As part of the Winthrop Singers, I thought it would be interesting to be a part of it in more than one way. I reckon it would be an eye-opener to work from the crew's point of view as well as the cast's. We usually don't have much of an audience simply because the concert is at lunchtime... on a weekday...! It's going to be quite a challenge filling up Winthrop Hall which has a seating capacity of approximately 900!!!
Oh and I just have to mention how pleasantly surprised I was when I went onto the google homepage last night. The logo is in the style/theme of The Hungry Caterpillar!!! It was my all-time favourite book as a child :)
Sec 3 & 4-SIX
The back of our Sec 4 class T-shirt
As a class, we put together a ‘Quote Book’ of memories and quotes of the times we spent in KC in Sec 3 & 4. The book looks amazing and I think its sooo cool that we finally got it printed. The teachers evens sponsored sections in it.
Reading through the quotes, I realised how much of Sec 3 & 4 life I had actually forgotten. We had some very good times as a class. I dare say we were the most united class the teachers ever knew.
Jeanette, Me , Hanna - working really hard!
Our class was the only double- math (A & E Math) & triple-science (Physics, Chemistry and Biology) class in the whole school! We were proud of being geeks!! We wore laboratory goggles and included our huge textbooks in our informal class photo. (pic below)
getting in place for our last official informal class photo ever. (Some of us are wearing white skirts and not the blue pinafores- thats the prefects' uniform)
In Literature, we used to draw graphs to show the fluctuations of the characters’ moods!! Even our Lit teacher used to write questions on the board in a ‘scientific’ way so that we would understand the question better. Example:
Prove that the equation below is true:
remote, grieved voice = self-abasing
I used to get caught singing and humming in class quite a bit. Sam (she sat next to me in Sec 4 for half a year) & I used to always harmonise whenever we could. From Leaving on a Jetplane to O Magnum Mysterium to almost every song in Joseph & the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat, the musical!!
My three favourite quotes of mine (which really bring back vivid memories) from the book are:
1) Aliya accidentally draws on her sleeve with a black pen and tries to get the ink out by drenching it in water. “Its chromatography on my sleeve!” 01042005
(see how everything is connected to science J)
2) Xiao Hui: I’m short of worksheets.
Hanna: I’m short too
Aliya: Hah! I’m not short!
Laura: Aliya, you ARE short.
13042005
3) Jeanette tries to hide a stain on Aliya’s white prefects’ uniform with chalk.
Jeanette: Hold still, girl…
Aliya: Argh! You’re operating on me!
19042005
Its a new day...
The Winthrop Singers are going to be part of a major fund-raising concert for the Australian Bushfire Victims in early April. I love it how people pool their talents together and put them to such good use in times like these. Even the smallest of donations count! I read in the papers yesterday about a young girl giving a piano recital to raise funds for the same cause. I applaud her.
I had a quick chat with Rachelle on MSN Tuesday night. It was so nice to finally catch up with her even though I had to rush off to get dinner after only a few minutes. She’s playing Liu in Turandot…yes, AGAIN! She said something along the lines of a Korean production in Manila. I suppose it’s collaboration between the Korean and Philippines opera companies. It’s some time in June, not entirely sure when. If you didn’t get to watch her in last year’s Singapore Lyric Opera production and you’re dying to watch her in the role, you could always go up to Manila?! I would think Liu is her signature role now…it will be her 3rd time playing it. And I’ll probably never get to see her in it *sigh*…
Anyway, I read the most genuine interview yesterday. I must say it gave out a very good message. It was almost inspiring. None of this ‘dream come true’ stuff and soppy story of the past…instead, it bore the whole truth, however ugly the truth can be, and centred on reality. Basically, it was not ‘fake’ and that’s why I appreciated it!
I had a quick chat with Rachelle on MSN Tuesday night. It was so nice to finally catch up with her even though I had to rush off to get dinner after only a few minutes. She’s playing Liu in Turandot…yes, AGAIN! She said something along the lines of a Korean production in Manila. I suppose it’s collaboration between the Korean and Philippines opera companies. It’s some time in June, not entirely sure when. If you didn’t get to watch her in last year’s Singapore Lyric Opera production and you’re dying to watch her in the role, you could always go up to Manila?! I would think Liu is her signature role now…it will be her 3rd time playing it. And I’ll probably never get to see her in it *sigh*…
Anyway, I read the most genuine interview yesterday. I must say it gave out a very good message. It was almost inspiring. None of this ‘dream come true’ stuff and soppy story of the past…instead, it bore the whole truth, however ugly the truth can be, and centred on reality. Basically, it was not ‘fake’ and that’s why I appreciated it!
2nd Year of UNI
Ok, so I've officially started my 2nd year at university. Will be performing alot more this year than last - vocal workshops, winthrop concerts, vocal students concerts, weekly evensong, Beethoven's 9th Symphony and the much-awaited operetta:
Jacques Offenbach's Orpheus in the Underworld
Love the melodies in it - especially the last bit - the can-can!! Yes, Offenbach wrote the can-can! I really hope to do some dancing in it besides the singing. Francis Greep, from the WA Opera Company, is directing this UWA production.
Destinies of Flowers: BEHIND THE SCENES
ALSO go to...
1) Click on ‘Destinies of Flowers….’ On top left-hand corner of page
2) Click on ‘BEHIND THE SCENES’ – bottom left-had corner
3) Wait for video to load. (you can just about hear my singing in the background!)
QC.com + cross your fingers
I finally sorted out my family's carpet website (Qureshi's Carpets) and it's now up and running! There are still minor changes and little adjustments that need to be made but at least the company has a website now... I'm proud of it, considering that I did not have the professional versions programmes (not even Microsoft Publisher!) on my laptop to craft the pages and that I worked from scratch with html codes. I had to use a free html editor and the problem with these trial versions is that you don't get all the features and you tend to be limited to the bare minumum so I had to get as creative as I could with what I had.
__________
I recieved an email a couple of days ago asking if I was able to perform for a corporate dinner function back in Singapore. I'm in Perth at the moment but I would really really like to perform for the event. It all depends on certain terms and conditions but if all goes well, I will fly back the day before for a final rehearsal and leave the night I perform (1am the next morning).
Hoepfully everything goes well and I get to perform!
Cross your fingers for me :)
recording - different much?
Last week, I recorded the 'soundtrack' (take note of inverted commas!) for a contemporary theatre piece entitled 'Destinies of Flowers in the Mirror'. I worked with Mr Philip Tan who is in charge of sound design for the show. Gosh! Was it a different experience!
1) There was no score
2) It was entirely improvisatory
The week before, I attended a rehearsal to understand how the tracks would fit in. Basically, I had to just improvise while listening to the accompaniments. Philip would give me a rough guide of what he wanted and for each of the 16 tracks and I just made everything up along the way! I AM NOT USED TO THIS AT ALL! It's always been a case where I'd make sure the song is learnt before I record the song...
There was one track in which I had to keep sliding out of tune and I realised how difficult it actually is to go out of tune deliberately!
The tracks are going to be played during the show so that my singing voice accompanies the actress's spoken lines and at times I'll be heard on my own. Some of the tracks will have added effects and retrogrades without actually tweaking the actual singing... I can't wait to hear the finished tracks!!
Honestly, the show is not my kind of drama - it's all too deep for me but the recording was a rather enriching experience.
Different... but..cool!
2-4 Apr 2009
Thur & Fri, 8:00PM
Sat, 3:00PM & 8:00PM
Duration: Approx 100 mins
Venue: Esplanade Theatre Studio
Written by: Robin Loon
Directed by: Natalie Hennedige
Performed by: Lim Kay Siu, Noorlinah Mohamed, Nora Samosir & Rizman Putra
Sound Design by: Philip Tan
Lighting Design by: Suven Chan
By Cake Theatrical Productions in Collaboration with Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay as part of The Studios
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