Hello Choir! =D

Righto. So, its New Year's Eve, and as the year 2010 officially draws to a close, so does my beloved mgchoir journey. I write this on behalf of the rest of the batch of 2010, who have walked this journey with me, and with you. For blur people, this summarises to the following : ELI's FAREWELL POST =)

I entered the mgs choir in 2007 as a wuss. Ms Tham PW is around to testify for my blur-ness. :D And it wasn't just me, but all those Sec 1s who joined the choir, not knowing what in the world we were in for. I mean, seriously, how hard would it seem when we were doing warm-ups? Literally, those were the WARM-UPS. But as the years went by, and more and more people my age joined the choir, well...we grew up. Well, not completely (heh!), but we did mature. And now, we are all proud to call ourselves alumni of the MGS Choir =D

I would like to thank the batch of 2010 for all the memories we've had together. Yes, there were hard times, but it was the struggles that actually made our celebration worth the while. Our Pizza Hut memories, with all the tabasco and pepsi and cherries...all the prank calls and early morning cup noodles meetings in Prague...the wide-awake moments during choir camps (every single one, without fail)...many many more. It's interesting that although, as a choir, we live to sing in big events, the real meaningful memories we have still lie in the everyday events.

To all still in the mgchoir (and those yet to come), I encourage you to choose your friends wisely. And make as many as possible. I am proud to say that the friends I made in choir have been some of my closest friends in MGS. =D Rachael, Moi, Ruth, Siying, Lee Khim and the rest, THANK YOU. =D I have no enemies in choir, okay? And I DO NOT believe anyone else has any either. We're a family, and will always be, yea? With God as our Father.

I would like to thank the comittee of 2010. Thank you for your enduring patience with all my failures, and thank you for working so hard to make this choir grow. I know that we have succeeded in many areas, and that the committee of 2011 will be there to make all our own failures their successes =)
Ruth: You have been an amazing VP, friend and supporter. Not just in choir, but in every aspect of my life. You were always there (next door!) when I needed someone to talk to, and I just hope I was there for you too. Thank you for always being the one to encourage me on, and support me in whatever I do! =D
Yann Ting: You have great potential, my friend. Use it for God's glory, okay? Thank you for being such a good VP. I will always remember you as being a voice for the people, standing up for the choir's needs. Lead the choir to greater heights, and never forget to give all glory to God. All the best for SYF!
Rachael: Fatass! I've had awesome times with you. Thank you for being such a dedicated committee member, being there to tie up all the loops and manage all the details. You've been so enthusiastic about choir, and that has been such a motivation for me. We shall continue being buddies for life, yeah? I LOVE YOU!
Daphne: Hello Ms Secretary! Thanks for keeping all the choir scores and tolerating me eventhough I nag so much. I'm sorry for always being at your back, I know that the Secretary's job is really difficult! Keep spreading your joy around to others, yea?
Chongs: Our dear SCs! Thanks for making the choir sound so great! The two of you have done such a good job, keeping the choir in good form. I know it would have been hard, having to take after such talented conductors like Ms Tham and Mr Tay, so THANK YOU =D I will never forget the CH-CH-CHONGS =D
SLs: You have the most exaustive job on the planet. Taking care of the needs of the people. Thank you for being such dedicated souls, and taking care of both the music and the admin in the choir. Thank you for your hearts and minds, always being in the choir, all the time. To present and future SLs, ALL THE BEST. It's a tough world! =)

TO TEACHERS AND CONDUCTORS:  Well, someone has to say it, so I shall say it =) YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST. Really. Thank you for all the dedication, blood, sweat, tears and strain that you've endured not just this year, but for the past umpteenth number of years, and will be enduring in future years. The MGS choir is really very privilaged to have you. The choir would not be who we are with any one of you removed from the equation. You have blessed our lives, so when the going gets tough, just know that we're actually a blessing in disguise =D

TO THE CHOIR OF 2010:  I LOVE YOU =D I really do. You have changed my life and....okay, whuutt-evah. Don't ever forget my shunshilk hair, and the schicken pie, and the cherry stems and my "chick" (check...) moments and every other little wincy detail we've had laughs about together. The hours clocked in for choir this year have been the best hours of my year. We are, with NO doubt, the AWESOMEST CCA MGS has. So do me a favour, would you? Make it your New Year's Resolution to make this fact known to the rest of the world ;D

TO THE CHOIR OF 2011 (and all future choirs): Choir, God has given each and every one of you BEAUTIFUL voices for the sole purpose of giving it back to Him. He has given you a good past, that cannot be changed. But He's also given you the gift of the future, which you can choose to mold in various ways. Please, PLEASE choose to make it good. SYF is coming up next year, and I have perfect confidence that we have the potential to attain a Gold with Honours. Commit every future endevour into His hands, and trust Him to lead and guide you to the right paths. The Alumni are looking forward to seeing you excel in every way in the coming year, and in the years ahead =)

As you can see, my summary writing is still fail. And I dearly hope that's not reflected in my 'O' Level Cert. I will miss all of you. Please don't forget me, cause I will NOT forget any of you =) To God Be The Glory.

Love,
Eli Sayampanathan
MGS Choir Alumni 2010

HEYY Y'ALL! :]


Sooooooo, we got our SYF set piece (IMPORTANT PIECE!) on Wednesday. Which means that you'll have to practice the piece. It's a nice piece so it should be fun to practice :D Hahas. The chorus bit is AWESOME. Hahahaha. Okayy. Anyways, try to practice the piece (A LOT A LOT) before the next rehearsal. Especially cause there's so much time in between sooooo, you should have time to practice the piece. :] OH! For those who didn't manage to come for rehearsal, whatever your reason was, the new piece is called The Wind by Kelly Tang. You can listen to the MIDI version on www.reverbnation.com/kellytang then under "songs", click "see all 61 songs" and scroll down til you find "The Wind (Demo)" then go listen to it :] It's really nice. For the people who were at rehearsal, you should have already done this. If not, please go listen and practice at the same time with your score. Okayyy. Have fun with whatever is left of the hols (which actually is quite a lot...). Byebye :]


Smiles, 
Michelle

HEYHEY :)

Eli wanted to know the Choir Schedule to (hehehe) VISIT ;)
so she asked to post it up here

24 Nov (Wed) :  Runs -> 1pm to 1.30pm                          
                          Rehearsal -> 1.30pm to 5pm ( Chapel; Mr Tay)

29 Dec (Wed) :  Runs -> 8.30am to 9am                          

                          Rehearsal -> 9am to 5pm ( Chapel; Mr Tay)

30 Dec (Thru) :  Runs -> 1pm to 1.30pm                        

                          Rehearsal -> 1.30pm to 5pm ( Chapel; Ms Tham)

Stuff to be Done This Wed

Dear Ladies,

Am very proud of what the choir has achieved in the past year and I thought we had a good performance - even though there were small iffy bits, we connected and communicated with the audience, the calm hope of "You are the New Day" as well as the ecstatic joy of "Laudate Dominum".  Kudos to Janice who did a fantastic job despite the last minute surprise sprung on her. 

I do hope this excellent onstage fearlessness, self-discipline (can always be better of course if we're twice more sensitive to our surroundings and the people around us) and good student leadership momentum will be passed on to future generations of MGS girls as a tradition that will last for the next 987654345674324567876543 years.  :)

While it is very good to have distinct goals in life e.g. a concert/competition/clock a gazillion NYAA points, I think it is just as important to understand/remember that goals should not be an end in itself - the process of getting there is just as important as life should be an exploration of what is, what is not, and what it can and should be.  For this purpose, we will read through pieces like the Holst Ave Maria and Wilhelms Hjathringarima just for fun.  :)

While there are many ways of looking at same thing, here are the tonal centers I think might be easiest for learning purposes:
Bar 01 Eb
Bar 17 Bb
Bar 21 Eb
Bar 29 F
Bar 34 Ab
Bar 39-end Eb
But of course, feel free to be flexible and find/use whatever works best for you.  There are no hard and fast rules in life.  :)

with lurve,
Mr Albert Tay

HELLO HELLO
:) woaw this is my first time blogging here x)

Anyways, EOYs are still ongoing and the Sec 4's O levels are coming  O.O
And here I am blogging...hehhehheh

THERE'S CHOIR THIS FRIDAY :)
I'm sure all of you are excited! ^^
OhMgee, I miss you all. <3<3<3 
I can't wait to see and sing with all of you :)

Oh, Sounds of Hope is here again :)
and we need to sell tickets!

Sounds of Hope 2 Concert 

(in aid of National Cancer Centre Singapore)

Date: 30 Oct 2010

Venue: MGS Auditorium

Time: 7:30pm

Ticket price: $20 free seating

LOTS OF LOVE,
C.

somebody totally stole my identity as barbarella.

happy sixteenth ellissa:D


sorry it's kind of a day late.

-aly

hello everybahhdeeee barbarella is back  


i'm really bored now after all talk on volcano victims 

hey, practice singing when you're free/ in the bath etc. I know it's holiday but
you chose choir and choir chose you so do it :b 

Just do it

 - Nike


Sounds of Hope is going to be good yes? 
yes whether you say no or yes 

no go-backs d:

This is Gustav Holst's Ave Maria:



I also found the English translation to Hjaðningaríma, for those who are interested to know what the lyrics mean:

The grim giants are frightening
The ancients frost giants
And dwarfs, elves, ghosts
Demigoddesses, enchantresses, Norns

I was tired and had a hard journey,
I had bad premonitions,
Finally I sat down
Under an oak tree in the forest

The tree stood leaning on a slope
At a large river's side
Its branches shadowed the entire land
And its leaves hung down low

The grim giants are frightening
The ancients frost giants
And dwarfs, elves, ghosts
Demigoddesses, enchantresses, Norns

The forest giant uttered mighty bellows
Through the field of winds
Enormous floods of water
Cascaded from the castle of storms

 - Quianna :-)

Heyy choir,


Happy belated National Day! Hope y'all are studying hard for this last week of common tests... :] This Friday, choir resumes as usual. (Friday, 13th August 2010) So please don't forget to bring all your stuffs... (eg. file, notebook, pencil, waterbottle, etc...) Please also be sure that you look through your scores (Laudate, etc...) before choir practice later this week.


Not forgetting our sec 4 seniors out there... STUDY HARD FOR PRELIMS :] *hinthint*come back to visit choir soon...*hinthint* Hahas. Y'all can look forward to sec 4 farewell...! 

Alrights, (to everyone) study hard, yeah? Looking forward to seeing y'all in choir on Friday :]

Michelle

hey choir

good job yesterday! God be in my head sounded quite nice from where i was standing:)
okayokay, our holding room for fdd tmr has been changed from the acacia room to the gardenia room. not sure where it is, so we'll just find out when we get there.


rehearsals in the holding room will start at 5pm tomorrow, coz we have to be in the ballroom by 5.30. 


yep, see you all tomorrow:)

-aly

So maybe just for the benefit of those that weren't here today, or whoever needs to confirm info, this Sunday, we have to be at the Gardenia room(according to the Shangri-La hotel website, it's on the Mezzanine level, whatever that is... anyway I guess we can just ask for directions) at Shangri-La Hotel at 5 p.m. We will proceed to the ballroom at 5:30 p.m.
We have to wear black jeans/pants/skirts with a bright top, or a black top with bright jeans/pants/skirts, or a bright dress. Hair can be tied up in any way that we like(as long as it's not too outlandish). For shoes, any kind of shoe is fine except for flip-flops and... well, I don't think high heels are advisable, because you might trip while doing all those side-steps. =D Right, and dark eye liner is compulsory.

-Quianna :-)

HEY CHOIR.

yeah it's the "good job, guys" post that follows all our performances, but seriously, you all were amazing. i received very positive feedback from various people:D and i'm sure you've noticed that we've improved alot since cantabile, awesome huh?

i'm really really proud of all of you, and i had great fun singing with you guys onstage yesterday:DD

okay i promised maria that i'd update the alumni list.

man i seem to be posting alot.

okay byeee.

-aly

Hello, i found Stabat Mater...yeahh....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNt13Vw-K6Q
Annam

hello everybahhdeeee my name is barbarella

hey guys:)

ellissa lamented that the blog was dead, so i'm reviving it.

(clap now)

one week to con spirito.

scores to be learnt and tickets to be sold!

yay:P

rmb to bring ticket orders on wednesday.

we have a whole hall to fill(!!)

the concert's gonna be awesome. yes?

yes.

:D

hey choir.

please bring laudate dominum tonight (1st july)
thankyou:)

hello everybody:)

back to school! i hope you enjoyed you holidays:)

anyway, please look through the following scores (fill in solfege if you need to) for wednesday-

stabat mater

laudate dominum

doo wop (should be memorized for the concert)

the prayer (KEY CHANGE ALERT)

as you know, we have VERY VERY FEW PRACTICES LEFT before the arts festival, so try to learn up as much of the music you can at home, so we can focus on polishing during the rehearsals.

don't stress don't stress, but have a sense of URGENCY:D

you can ask the SLs/SCs/pretty much anybody for help if you need any.

faith, trust and teamwork! (i just felt like saying that but really, it applies in pretty much any situation)

yeah see you guys on wednesday!

-alison

HEY EVERYBODY.

hello russia peeps, i miss seeing your sleepy faces in the lobby every morning:)

just wanna say that i'm really really proud of all of you. we've grown so so so much since we started rehearsing together, technique wise and as a family.

i hope you all had fun in St P making new friends and performing and everything. it was great, wasn't it?

to the home team, thank you for your support and prayers:D

we were, at least i was, thinking of you all alot.

hope you had a great holiday:)

rmb to learn up the july pieces, by when i don't know O.O

see you all in school xP

-aly

HEYYY CHOIRRRR!!!!

WE'RE BACK IN SINGAPORE. unfortunately. hehhh miss st. petersburg.
but still I'm sure we'll have just as much fun here in singapore as we did there.
hope y'all have learnt something from this trip.
and take back something else other than the two gold cups.
xPPP.

ok i'm out of stuff to say.

xDDD
christie

Hey everyone!

I have an announcement to make...AHEM!!

The MGS choir has done us proud yet again. The choir representing us in Russia have taken part in the Sacred and Children's Category, yesterday and today respectively, under Ms J Tham and Mr A Tay respectively. They have attained a GOLD result in BOTH categories!!

To God Be The Glory!

Love,
eli

HEY (non-touring) CHOIR~

russia's great. MISSING YOU ALL.

we've done touring and rehearsals the past few days, and a combined rehearsal/exchange with a vocal ensemble as well as a concert with them.

another concert today, and we're competing tomorrow and the day after.

st petersburg is very very pretty. it's getting colder by the day and I love it:)

yeah just thought I'd give you guys an update.

~~~~

to the touring choir:
I'M REALLY PROUD OF ALL OF YOU.

and remember to be at the lobby by 10.30am.

lub
-aly

HEY CHOIR!!! =D

I know majority of us will be in Russia now, but...nevermind! To all those in Russia, if you get to see this in time, ALL THE BEST AND I LOVE YOU! I am SO proud of all of you! You really sounded quite good at the practices last week. Trust in God, and I'm sure you'll all do well. VERY WELL. =D Haha, ya know, when I was at the airport to send you all off on Saturday, I felt so out of place!!! Like, you guys have grown so much, I had no duty there anymore! OH NO!! Alumni, HERE WE COME! =D I don't know how the other Sec 4s feel about it, but though it will be SO sad, change is not that bad....is it? AHEMFAREWELLAHEM!!!

Anyways, choir, do us proud, kay? All of the choir in Singapore probably are all ripping our guts apart in worry, so...and, BTW, doing us proud does not mean getting a Gold or anything like that. Just means that you've gotta do your best, and glorify God.

LOVE YOU ALL!!!
eli

ps. my posts are getting shorter and shorter....

HEYYY CHOIR!
WE'RE FLYING OFF TONIGHT.
I still cant believe it.
haha dont forget anything kays, apparently it's raining in russia now, it's gonna be so cold.
but even in our excitement, dont lose sight of why we're going there in the first place.
we're not going on holiday.
it's a whole new experience, to be singing somewhere else in the world that we wouldnt normally do in singapore.
I hope that we will conduct ourselves well, and sing to our very best, and give the audience a reason to go WOW.
we sing for the love of the music. enjoy the sound. after all, we are a choir, as a choir, we make music. as a choir, we sing together, celebrate together, and put in all the effort we can.
remember the goals that we set for ourselves yesterday during practice.
dont lose sight of them.

I'll see y'all at the airport tonight.
adios amigos!

xDDDD
christie

HEY touring CHOIR.

WE'LL BE AT THE AIRPORT IN TWENTY-TWO HOURS (give or take)

great job at practice today (or yesterday, whatever)

:D

remember to bring umbrellas and masks and scarves and whatnot.

and remember to bring all the various scores that we need.

see you guys soon~

heyyys people!

we're flying off in 4 days!!!
hope you all are as excited as I am to be going to russia.
it's the last stretch, so we gotta pull ourselves together and just put in all the effort we can, which I know is a lot. xDD. we just gotta focus now.

reminders:
-wednesday, thursday, friday, we have full day choir practices. on thursday the penang choir is coming, so be neatly attired.
-please go learn the russian score, make sure you are able to sing in russian by the wednesday practice i.e. tomorrow
-all scores to be memorised, details all put in.
-bring the 2 chinese new year pieces tmr, and to russia


oh yeahh... recently i've been watching this show called britain's got talent. and this year they've got a lot of good acts. this is just one of them that was quite surprising.
wanted to embed it here, but couldnt, so here's the link if you're interested.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QHk4n7mhe8
btw, they made it to the finals.
from the video you can see that they really like singing, and in the face of the judges, they proved that they were good enough to pass to the next round.
so what can we learn? we learn that we have to just put our whole heart into singing, and just give it all we got.

xPPP
christie

Heyy!

Choir concert was simply awesome ~ and there's no reason for you to deny it :D

I just wanna congratulate the non-touring choir cause' I think most of us did put in much effort in our work (the dance moves and everything) and this shows that anything is possible when we put our heart into it and if we trust God. :D

Colossians 3:23 (New International Version)

²³Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men,

Remember that everything you do is for the GLORY OF GOD :D Dun lose heart and always always strive for the better :D I'm sure the touring choir will do great for the competition coming up real soon :D We'll be counting on you guys ...

As for the Sec 4s who are leaving us soon

wait... you've already left us, we'll definitely miss you lots and lots and yepps! Dun worry and be happy cause the Lord will always be w/ yea :D

Rui Jun '10

HEY CHOIR!!!! =D=D=D

Gosh...I havn't posted here for ages! Detriments of being an O level student...I guess I just wanted to say, GOOD JOB CHOIR!!! =D I'm really proud of each and every one of you. Cantabile holds great memories for me, and I'm sure it will hold great memories for you too. Well, as to how good the concert was...I just hope that you did your best, cause we're not ACS. The best is not YET to be...=} Yes, maybe the concert was not our 100%, but this concert does not determine what happens in Russia. CAUSE I KNOW YOU'LL ALL SHINE THERE!! I hope you enjoyed yourself on Saturday night, cause I did, and just to let you know (again...) I'm really proud of all of you!!

LOVE YOU!
eli

i just wanna say...

GOOD JOB EVERYONE!!
you all did well!
we rocked didnt we!

and

GOOD LUCK FOR MT PAPERS!!
may God be with you!

and

GOD BLESS!!
because we sing
FOR THE GLORY OF GOD!

shuuuuuuu ~~ :)

hey choir :)

this is for the competition choir, haha

you have to memorize ALL the competition pieces, and the rest of the cantabile pieces have to be learnt well, but not memorized. As in you don't need to but if you want to, you can. :D

We worked on the sister act songs then the O Virgo Benedicta.

for joyful joyful:

-we have to be sure and take not of when we come in at times eg, bar 26 and bar 44. We also have to know the syncopation and the rhythm of the song.

for Hail Holy Queen:

-have to take note of the * hymn style* and sing it in the hymn style.

-for bar 17;

[this is for sops, sorry i only got the sop part :$]

"salve, salve..." that part, you have to swell. So it's like at "Sal" you crescendo and at "ve" you decrescendo.

-for bar 19, the "ve" has to have a rounded cut-off.

for O Virgo Benedicta:

-[for sop 2] bar 24: need a smooth transition to bar 25.

-bar 62 "lis" has to be held for the full count.

thats all i got :P

*oh, and i dunno if you'll got this, but we have to be in school on Sat by 1pm :D

*on friday, you have to be in school by 8:30. meet at bamboo courtyard in P.E. attire. it ends at 5pm. i think. :) heehee

hope this helped and hope you had fun on your ROCS2 / OBS :)

byebye

lisa

**sorry, i forgot to add this in :$ heehee. We put in the words for O Virgo as well.

hyye choir! :D
this post is torture dedicated for the non-touring members. :D

to all ye people who hath gone for ROCs,
i hope you had fun!
i would have loved to go to Malaysia or OBS.. :(

looks like the concert is coming nearer and nearer..
scared yet? nahh, of course not!
please work hard!
memorize the scores and learn up the dance!

everyone: "did you say.. dance?"

yes i did! the awesome choreography team (of Moi and Siying) came up with a cool dance!
it's for Joyful Joyful. they took HOURS to make it! please thank them!
i love it a lot! :D

everyone: "but we just came back from ROCs! how will we learn?"

well non-touring members, please be in school on the 28th at 7.30 AM!
we hope to perfect everything by 1PM, but be prepared to stay back as late as 5PM..

we only have one practice left. let us make the most of it.

as for Saturday itself, please be at school by 1PM. thanks!

okay as for the songs we need to learn up properly! they are:
- ubi caritas
- hodie christus natus
- let it shine
- joyful joyful
- hail holy queen

*stares* i think there should be more, but these are the ones that need the most perfecting!
ESPECIALLY the Sister Act songs because WE ARE CLAPPING/DANCING TO THEM!!

anyway, to those who have learnt their part of the dance, please teach the ROCs returners if they ask you for help!
we have to work harder and harder, but we will grow and have fun together as a family!

also, please try and sell all concert tickets and cards ASAP!
we must help the choir as the choir has helped us. :)

(oh and for anyone who cares, SJ is coming to Singapore this June! yay!)

God bless and best of luck!
shuuuuuuu (there are 7 'u's in it xD)

Hey Choir!

I really should be doing last-minute homework now, but I figured I might as well post something happy on the blog!

So, this is a randomish video of this doooood who sings on Youtube! And he's like :O

I guess I thought that he had some things we could learn from him, like when you perform, you perform 100%; you can't get embarrassed and pull out and not give your all, cos then you'll look even weirder/lamer. So ya! He does guy and girl parts and imagine if he didn't put in all his effort, he'd come out looking REAAAAAAAAALLY. QUEER.

So yeaaahhhh. When you perform, make sure you give AT LEAST, your 100%!

ENJOY!

-Marian

why hello there.

well CTs are almost over.

my last paper is tomorrow. math. so i should be studying but oh psshhhh.

SO.

we're leaving for russia in about a month, so FULL SPEED AHEAD.

cantabile is SOON. do you know that bile is a digestive juice [secreted by the liver] which aids in the digestion of fats?

so as mentioned earlier, FULL SPEED AHEAD :D

it's all polishing etc (with the exception of let it shine)

and we're gonna do GREAT xP

remember to revise your scores for wednesday!

and once again (just for good measure), FULL SPEED AHEAD:DDD

yeah.

that's about it.

this post was rather random.

at least you got to learn about bile:D

hey choir:D

it's been more than a week since the last person posted.

so i shall post.

sisteract pieces are fun, no?

great job learning BOTH PIECES yesterday xDDDDD

only let it shine left to learn, huzzah!

study hard for common tests

science modular papers for lower sec BLEGH D:

remember to revise you scores!

haha you can look through them when you take breaks from studying :P

i use wayyyy to many smiley faces.

okay.

farewell lovelies.

alison.

heyyos choir!

I would like to remind y'all that we have less than NINE practices left till concert. less than 9 is because on the week of concert, sec2s have ROCs in malaysia, and sec3s have OBS.

so therefore, please go and learn the 2 sister act songs and Let it Shine on your own, and familiarise yourself at least with the layout of the pieces. all competition pieces to be memorised by next week, can? with dynamics and all articulation to be in, plus text. if you have any problems, you better go look for your SLs and ASLs. go ask eli, ruth, yannting.

it's the last stretch of the race, where you really need to focus and head straight for the finish line, but it doesnt just stop there with concert, but you'd still have the momentum to carry through to Tour. and I really hope that we can strive for that. sec1s and other new members, I know this is a very steep climb, and that you'd be nervous for your first ever concert with the mgchoir, but just focus now, and learn up the pieces. cause on concert day, when everyone's so high and yet nervous, you have no time to think about your notes, you just go. and after concert, you dont want to have that feeling that 'I could have done better than that". No. You would want to just give everything on stage. for a fact, you dont just give 100% in choir practice. you give 110%, so that on concert day, you have allowance for other stuff, and then you'd be at 100% during performance. but for now, focus on the pieces, because now is the time to make mistakes, and the time to fix them. We're on the sprinting lane now. all you gotta do is go for it.

so in conclusion, let's give this all we got. if we know that we can do better than this, then just go for it, and do it better. this is no time to hope that your voice would blend in with the stronger people in the section. it's the time for you to step up yourself. if everyone were to sing out, and not be afraid to sing out, think of what we could be like.

take the hint.

xDDDD
-christie-

Dear Choir,

I may not have known all of you personally, or very well, but I'd just like to say goodbye before I go. I know this is a difficult time, for both the juniors and seniors, but I feel that you guys are holding up extremely well under the pressure. It's really not easy to balance everything like you guys are doing, and even though I haven't been in the choir as long as some of the others, I'm so proud of how the choir has grown.

To the juniors - Although it's tough, you are not fighting a losing battle. Just do your best and trust in each other, and you'll accomplish your goals.

To the seniors - I knew you guys better, and I know you know what to do by now, so all I can say is to continue doing a great job in choir.

Being part of the mgchoir family really meant a lot to me, and even once I'm gone I'll still look back on my memories with much fondness. Making music with all of you will always remain one of the best experiences of my life.

Love,

Maria

Hi Choir!
I totally just realised that I forgot to put in Sh-Boom :X
So uhh here it is!
-Marian
Oh and this ISN'T the original, I think?!

Hey choirrrrrr
Here are the original songs!
1. A Teenager in Love

2. Lollipop

3. Earth Angel

Kkk hope you listen up and learn the piece well!

Reminder for next prac!

Hey Choir!

Please remember to bring these stuff by the next practice session! (weds)
1) Ticket stubs and money
2)Fundraising Cards and money
3)Choir fees

and rmb there's prac on tues morning!

-lee khim

hey choir.

random post. yayers:D

so i was reading through all these old choir blog posts from ages and ages ago, and i was rather amused.

i quote,

"late comers will be fined with jumping jacks"- liz

funny, coz we still say that. same words and everything.

kay maybe not jumping jacks.

AND

"To put things into better perspective, we have 11 practices until our concert and only 7 of them are conductor-led.- liz (again)

gahh the "to put things in perspective" thing and "only _ practices are conductor-led" thing.

it's almost as if choir presidents are given a "helpful phrases to use during rehearsal" handbook of something.

HAHA FREAKKYYYY.

well that's all.

man that was random.

okay tata.

-aly.

Hey choirrrrrrrrr here are the notices:
1. Choir fees: if you haven't paid (today was like the latest) better bring on wednesday
2. Pullovers: anyone who wants to design something for the pullover, draw it out and pass to Ellissa in 4M
3. Choir cards:Newbies remember to look for one of the teachers and pass them your money in a bag. State- number of bags sold, number left, amount of money, name and class/
4. Choir tickets: On wednesday, tell Miss Tham how many tickets you have sold and amount collected, but she will only collect stubs in groups of 5. (WE'RE SUPPOSED TO HAVE SOLD ALL 5 BY NEXT WEEK)
Thanks!

Hi Choir!
I just found this pretty cool performance of Jaakobin, so check it out!
But Christina's solo is BETTTTTTTTER! :B
And when they do that whole ruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuben leeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeevi juuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuda thingy it's cute cos they look at each other etc. SO CHECK IT OUT!

HOLIDAYS ARE OVER

HI THERE!

The holidays are kind of almost over, not to say choir camp. I really enjoyed this year's choir camp, actually more than last year's one... Although the singing was quite intense, and we like practiced for like 6 hours. Many people kept looking at the clock. It was really fun. I actually got to interact with the new people and the juniors.

However, for the blind trail, I kept getting lost because the people in front of me kept going so fast, while the poeple at the back kept pulling me. But honestly, it felt really fun getting lost, as I could lead the people at the back at my own comfortable speed, althought I was joined back so quickly by the camp comm that were guiding us.

We learnt a lot of new things that is quite impossible to forget like FAITH, TRUST, TEAMWORK.

I'm quite sad that the camp is over, cause I enjoyed all the singing. I didn't really enjoy it this much before, as I felt that we did not use our hearts to enjoy the music that we make, and we were just singing for the ssake of singing and learning and memorising. Now for once, I actually enjoyed the music I was making.

I can't wait for the next practice, though I know it will be very intense as we are supposed to be memorising scores already. I hope all choir members will enjoy singing, and not sing because you are made to sing.

GOD BLESS YOU ALL!

Janice :)

heyy choir:DDDDD

GUESS WOT??

it's ave regina coelorum! and not just any ave regina coelorum. KO MATSUSHITA'S AVE REGINA COELORUM!!

you won't believe how many different ave regina coelorums there are on youtube.

anyway, hope the video helps:)

oh yeah, hope you had fun during choir camp.

it was awesome, no?

farewell

aly:)

Hey!!

Well, CHOIR CAMP 2010 IS OFFICIALLY OVER. =( It's okay!! Now you can all look forward to choir camp 2011!!! =D Yeah, all except sec 4s...hinthint, we're leaving soon, so coughFAREWELLcough...nevermind, we'll come back and join you for camp next year, kay? Only difference is that we won't sleep on the super-duper-hard MEP room floor...heheh!

I'm gonna keep this short, so just wanted to say that I hope that all of you enjoyed camp VERY MUCH. Of course, there was the good and there was the bad, but overall, I think there was more good than bad, so...SMILE!

I think that camp was a great time of fellowship, learning and growth, so personally, I am happy with the outcome of camp. Just make sure you take home whatever you've learnt, whatever it may be, and remember that choir is just as fun as you make it. This camp could have been a disaster if everyone refused to cooperate, but because of everyone's enthusiasm, we ALL had fun! Let's do the same for our practices, kay?

Well, a few take-away pointers:
1. We are better than we think. Apply all that you've learnt everytime you sing, and we'll grow into the best choir WE CAN BE.

2. Energy and attitude are the two most key things in choral singing. Musicality will take care of itself if we give off our best.

3. Yes, I know you're all waiting for me to say it, so, have FAITH, TRUST and TEAMWORK! =D

Love you all!
eli sayampanathan

"They will fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you, for I am with you, declares the LORD, to deliver you." - Jeremiah 1:19

HEYYYY CHOIR!!!

HOPE THAT Y'ALL HAD AN AWESOME TIME AT CHOIR CAMP. I'm missing it already, and it's the sec3s' second-last year..... so enjoy your time while you still can.

anyway I shall do a sum-up of camp!

remember the three things that are very very important, that we learnt during the camp:

- BREATHE. ( i.e. the cup thing) you do know, of course that obviously because voice comes with breath, so for the voice/sound to be good, you have to BREATHE DEEPER. and use stomach muscles, expand stomach outwards, and be prepared before entries in the music

- ANGER. when you're angry, you'll have the kind of energy that is needed in all the pieces. stomach muscles will naturally be used. dont forget the emotional colours that we learnt during the workshop with Branco Stark, and apply it to the other pieces, not just Hodie. if it helps, do the hand movement thing. you have to really mean the punches, not just wave your hand up and down. but then again, when you're feeling "anger" in your energy, you have to add on externally and show happiness/laughter.

- PHYSICALITY/ENERGY! as vocalists, our instrument has a lot to do with how you're standing, and what you're feeling, so like, be enthu and dare to do things that look weird, but in actual fact helps with your singing. bring the life into the pieces!!

--------

and another thing, in the next few weeks, months, we'll have to work very very hard, so be prepared to be memorising a whole lot of scores within the next few weeks. so it's best to start memorising, like now. memorisation table will be up soon, with all the deadlines and all, so yeah.

-------

OH on a more helpful note, I FOUND VIDEOS!!!!!

SISTER ACT 2 - Joyful Joyful



Sister Act 1 - Hail Holy Queen



yeah so go watch and learn how to sing the songs.

lotsa craziness,
christie

HEYYYYOSSSS CHOIRRR!!!!!

hope y'all have been going through your scores and memorising them.
reminder that this week we will be having extra practices. please remember what slots you signed up for, and go for them.

I was searching youtube, and to aid those who are new to learning the scores, I found a video of a choir singing examine me. so take a look at the video, and get an idea of how the piece should sound like.

Examine me: (the piece starts at about 30seconds into the video)


hope the video's helpful to y'all.

-christie-

Hey Choir!

I've got a really important announcement to make, so please take this post seriously...

Common Tests would have ended by the time next Wednesday comes, so, please be prepared for a big change in the way we do things at choir. We really need to focus a lot more, and work as hard as we can. And this has to be done as a choir effort, not just some people working hard for the better good of the choir, k? Please always remember that personal responsibility comes before choir responsibility. That means that before the comm, conductors and teachers can try and help the choir, each and every one of us has to go home and do all our homework, learn our music and be prepared. Now, going on to our big plans...

By choir camp, we should have learnt our whole repetoire. In other words, we have 4 practices left to finish learning Kodomo, Ave Regina Coelorum, Examine Me, Hodie Christus Natus Est, Ubi Caritas, Laudate Dominum, Mian Yi, Ting Tan Qin, Doo-Wop, Hail Holy Queen, Joyful Joyful and God Be in My Head. That's 12 pieces, excluding all the other pieces the conductors have yet to give us. Also, we will have to master LonDali, Examine Me and Hodie by choir camp in preparation for the Branko Stark workshop.

As you can see, we have A LOT of work to do. HOWEVER, although this seems like a very great task, I believe that we can do it. We will be having small group practices held in the morning (6:55-7:15) and during recesses (10:20-10:40 and 11:20-11:40) on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays from now onwards. It is compulsory for everyone to be at at least 2 of these practices. Please make sure that you are there. SLs will be handing out sign-up sheets soon for you to put down in black and white which practices you are committing to attend. Yes, you are more than welcome to attend more than 2, if not all of the available practices. Please note that all this is being done for your good, so that you have the chance to practice your music.

Before practice on Wednesday (3rd March), please make sure you know Examine Me, LonDali and Hodie thoroughly. This includes new-comers. If you don't know how to learn the score on your own and need help, I am in 4M (linkway, level 2). You can also look for your buddies, octet leaders, SLs, any comm member or anyone else in choir. Ms Tham Pei Wen has also kindly volunteered to help, so if you need help, you can go to her too =D

Choir, I really hope that we work together, and put in our best effort. Remember our CNY performance? It showed us that nothing is impossible for this choir. Please remember to be prepared to work VERY hard for the next 4+ months, whether or not you are going on tour. If you have any problems or worries or anything you feel you want to address, I am in 4M =D Don't worry, I'm not going to scold you even if you say that I'm asking you to do something impossible. I rather know that you think I'm asking you to do something impossible, than you suffer in silence.

Okay. Work hard, and WE CAN DO THIS!!
Love you all!
eli sayampanathan

CANTABILE 2010

Presented by the MGS (Sec) Choir

and guest choirs from CHIJ Toa Payoh and MGS Primary


Date/Time: 29th May 2010, 7:30pm

Venue: MGS Auditorium, 11 Blackmore Drive

Ticket Price: $15 (Free Seating)


Please purchase your tickets from any mgs choir member.

heyyy choir!

hope you've enjoyed the first performance of the year. it's amazing how we've come so far, within 2 days. wednesday we werent that great, but we really pulled through, and friday's performance saw this huge jump in standard. just wanna encourage y'all to continue putting in the hard work, cause we got this big hill to climb, with "cantabile" and "russia tour" at the top. xDDD. not to mention that we've now seen what we can do if we put in the effort, we could flyyyy!!! i suppose that we can fly above aeroplanes in the next few months, and continue going up till we reach orbit. or mars. or pluto. ah you know what i mean. xDDD.

just a few reminders (as usual):
- try and learn up the rest of O Virgo Benedicta
- put in solfege for Examine Me until pg4 on the score, stop at the last system of the page, where the time changes to 6/8 and it says "moderato". (F - doh)


yep i think that's it for now.

xDDD
-christie-

HEYHEYCHOIR!!!!! =D

Yes, for all new-comers, I'm sure you'll all be able to relate to what Sarah said in the previous post...choir, just wanted to say how awesomely proud I am of all of you!! The choir sounded relatively awesome (except for the bad mikingssss...), and, well, yeah...

Well, we know how much effort it took us to get here, right? Since this was the first performance of the year, our standard for this performance would probably have been 50% of our potential. So, imagine if we work as hard (or harder!!)...Cantabile WILL be the best thing humans have ever heard. =D+D=D+D=D+D

Go and look through all your scores over the 5-day weekend, start memorising whatever you can, and be ready for choir on Friday!!

Well, HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR, HAPPY VALENTINES DAY, and...okay, HAPPY TOTAL DEFENCE DAY.

Enjoy!
eli sayampanathan.

spread the love...

Reflection on Today's CNY Performance

Hi all,
This is my first time posting on the blog... ...
I am supposed to post my reflections/what I think about today's CNY performance... ...
Well, I feel that everybody was great and I think that all of us have put in our best and were enthusiastic. Also, all our efforts that we put in in memorizing the scores have paid off as I think the audience did enjoy the performance and some of them were clapping along to the music too.
This performance was also a new experience for me as it was my first time performing in MGS. At first I was a bit nervous but gradually, I started feeling more at ease and even quite enjoyed singing.

I like today's performance on stage and I am sure glad that we were all able to perform on stage today and no one had problems memorizing the scores!

However, the preparation was sure intense but well, it was worth it! And I think that also without God, and our conductors who have put in effort to train us and everybody in the MG Choir who practised really really hard, this performance would not have been successful.

In general, I am really happy that we were able to put up a good show for our friends and teachers in school and show that our choir is indeed a gold-standard choir! :)

-Sarah Ng-

Hellooooo (:
So, how's life in choir, so far?
Fun, I hope. (:
Anyways.
We have to memorise 大地回春 and 新年个儿大家唱 by Monday kay?
I know how you feel.
Don't worry cause [ahem]some people[ahem] have more difficulty than people who learn Chinese. XD
(Btw, for those people mentioned above, if you don't understand anything from the scores, please, PLEASE go and ask someone who knows)
Alrighties (:
I'm done here.
BYEEE and
Good luck memorising the scores (:
Mich

Heyoo Choir!!!

Well, now that auditions are over, the choir should be more stable, so we have to start running like racehorses, k? As in, we shall start practicing to the high heavens...

Audition results have been let out, so all successful auditionees, CONGRATS!! Good job on making it into the mg choir. It would not have been easy, but then again, the mg choir journey is not an easy one either! =D But hey, generations of mg girls have done it, so you'll be just fine...

Please look through all your scores (the whole choir...not just choir of '09), cause we've got a lot to work on in the coming weeks!!

BUHBYE!!
eli sayampanathan

ps. Go sell fundraising cards if you havn't finished!!

Heyosss choir!

hope y'all have been revising your scores, cause the new people are coming in tmr!!!

so as always, a few reminders:
1. brush up on kodomo, and start memorising
2. londali should be memorised, and if you havent then the deadline is this week.
3. more focus during practices please, we got uphill work to do!

----

yay my desktop can work alr, so yeah i can post more, i hope it doesnt crash again.

-----

To new people:
Welcome to the MG Choir!
please be reminded that the first practice for you gals is tmr,
please be at the bamboo courtyard at 2.10pm, your P.E. attire.
cause there's this thing called PT, a.k.a physical training.

------

-christie-

It only takes 2 steps to sing with the

MGS CHOIR

Step 1. Attend the Choir briefing

20^th or 27^th Jan 2010

2:30-5:30pm @ LT1 (*note change in venue– was previously conference room)

You will be given a “tour” of the mg choir which will give you a better idea of what is expected of you if you decide to join us. You will also get to attend part of a choir rehearsal and you may clarify your doubts during a question and answer session.

This briefing is compulsory if you want to be part of the choir. You can sign up for the audition after the briefing.

Step 2. Audition

22^nd or 29^th Jan 2010

You will be assigned the time slots and venue when you sign up after the briefing.

Please prepare a short song (no pop songs) to sing during the audition.

Audition results will be released through email and will be put up on the choir board by 1 Feb.

Please refer to the Choir notice board outside the MEP rooms (near auditorium) or the choir blog http://mgchoir-.blogspot.com/ for more details.

“Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving; make melody to our God on the lyre!”

Psalm 147:7