Welcome to NJC Angklung Ensemble's blog! :)

We are a group of carefree students who have gathered together,
regardless of bawahs, normals, atas, kulintang and percussions
to create music like none other with our conductor, Mr Dzul. :D
Teacher i/cs: Mr Tan Chor Yean, Ms Sun

Here's all the nice+ more "sane and normal" pics that i have!! haha

took me few hours to upload.. urgh..

alright!! see u guys nxt wed!! :)

p.s. good luck to all seniors for ur CTs!

posted by Michell Soh at 10:08 PM

hello everyone,

Just in case you ar ewondering who I am, let me intro my self...I'm Mr Fuad and I was the teacher in charge of NJC Angklung till last year. Yup, I'm the one that was sometime sighted at your practices especially the last week before the concert itself.

Just wanted to pen down my heartiest conratulation to all for a succesful concert. The concert was indeed a blast...just as expected. As I sat down listening to every pieces that all of you played, I cant help but feel proud that NJC Angklung had indeed come very far and I will represent all the seniors that have been a part of NJC Angklung before this, they will be and they are proud of this achievement that all of you had attained.

Each and every single one of you matters in Angklung. Always remember that the strength of NJC Angklung is as brittle as its weakest player...and I'm sure all you give nothing but the best. This was indeed evident as you attended practices regularly, the seniors constantly exemplifying great enthusiasm and the juniors hanging on and finally proving that they can indeed carry on the legacy that the seniors and the grand seniors had passed down.

Continue to strive for nothing but the best. In Angklung, we performed to the best of our ability every time we go on stage and it is this postive attitude of NJC ANgklungnite that will be remembered and differ us from the rest. We give nothing but perfection and we settle for nothing less than the best.

Lastly, CONGRATULATIONS to ALL ( teachers in charge, instructor, students ( palying or not). I'm sure all the audience love your performance. Continue to please others
with the wonderful melody that you play.

posted by deroni at 11:06 AM

hmm. today we had a short yet meaningful practice..
we did post mortem of concert, listened to the feedback tt mr dzul had received, and listened to few of the songs tt were recorded during the concert.

"a hit concert", "brilliant", "entertaining", "heart stopping", "wonderful", "mesmerising"
mrs cheng- "I've always liked angklung performances"
Guest Of Honour-" I am very impressed with the students' good job"
VIP-" Concert of the year!"
etc etc..

Most of the feedback tt we received are positive, but of course, there were negative as well.

The main problem is a "mismatch of tempo" for some parts of some songs.

I guess there is no need for me to elaborate on how we did not perform up to the high expectations for some songs, and I'm sure that everyone know where are the problems.
What I want to do now, is not to pour cold water or to blame any members, as I think that we all had really done a good job.

seriously.

For the past one month or so, we had intensive practices. Playing (the instruments, of course) till seven plus, praying tt i'll do a shorter debrief for every practice, cheong-ing for the side gate, reaching home to find yourself too tired to do any homework, waking up the next day to find yourself looking like a PANDA, turning up for practice in the noon again, completely trapped in TA32, your natural habitat where there are bamboos in abundance.

It's tough, i know. For the juniors, i dont know if it's a good or bad thing to you that your first performance is the concert, but i'm sure everyone had a great and fun experience. When the J1s first came in, i can say that it was rather disastrous. Ppl dont know how to shake angklungs properly, dont know the sequence of songs, cant catch the beat, cant play crescendo well, cant join the notes well etc.. But now, I can confidently say that you juniors have improved a lot! Although we seniors tend to remind you of all the mistakes you've made during practices and seldom praise you explicitly, in actual fact, we do feel happy for you guys when we hear that you've played correctly for those difficult parts. We do not expect the juniors to play as well as the seniors, all we want to see is ur enthusiasm and passion for learning. If you think that angklung practices are boring and repetitive, I dont see the point why u are still staying in the cca. Every practice is a learning opportunity for each and everyone. I believe that even for the seniors, some of you may still be unable to master certain songs well yet, so every practice is a chance for u to touch up on those mistakes and show ur juniors the right attitude that angklung members should have.

Argh, I'm going a bit offtrack already. Alright, what I want to say is that, personally, I feel that the concert is a success, considering the fact that we are the first cca in NJ to hold a concert, which naturally means that we have lesser time to practice. This is also our first VERY OWN concert, and not with harmonica or malay dance or according to mr dzul, canoeing =.= haha. We have to memorise scores of 13 songs, and that is definitely no easy feat for ppl with poor memory (like me). I know some of the j2s feel a bit disappointed and guilty tt we did not perform reverie and zapin up to the SYF standard, and that we did not reach THE PEAK for most songs. Pls do not feel overly demoralised. Like what I've said, it is not easy to master all 13 songs within few months, and it is worse for the j1s second intake. Some j1s had less than a few weeks to memorise all songs and I really have to salute them for that!

Like what mr dzul said, it is always tougher to deal with concert than SYF. I didnt understand that last year. But now I have to agree with him. Last year, the focus was on 2 songs. Our seniors learnt the songs the year before, and juniors had more time to learn those songs as compared to our current juniors. Now, our focus is on all 13 songs. It is impossible to play all songs perfectly while recognising the time contraint. I know this shouldnt be an excuse. but we really have to admit that time is limiting our achievements. Also, for last year's SYF, not everybody are involved. there was an audition to choose the better players to perform, but now, we are involving everyone for all songs, including the poor second intakers who have to buck up a lot harder by their own, since they have so much little time to practise the songs.

Some j1s had approached me before, telling me that they cant cope with the songs and wished to help out in the concert in other areas except to perform for some of the hard songs. Of course, I didnt agree. u may find me evil, think tt im torturing u ppl, but im glad tt i've made the right decision not to draw anyone out from the concert, as all of u have proven me right tt u are capable of producing such high quality music.

Oh. And for the 3 receptionists (the last 3 ppl to join angklung), i'm really sorry tt u ppl didnt get to perform. it's not because u guys are lousy at the songs, it's purely because u guys joined the cca after we've submitted the performers' names and ic numbers to esplanade. Anyway, great job on tt day!! it's not easy being receptionists, as there are so many things to handle regarding merchandise and ticket collection (for example, a blur friend of mine forgot to bring her ticket -.-). yepps, and im really glad tt u 3 came for the practices although u all are not performing =) it showed me the kind of attitude tt u girls have =)

hmm. So.. in conclusion.. be proud of ur own concert. Be aware of both positive and negative feedback, take in any criticisms, but dont be too hard on urself. If like wat we've discussed earlier on, if there is really to be a concert again after j1s' common tests (Reminiscence 2/ Reminiscence The Return) , we'll need to really reach our PEAK alright? =) no more excuses such as lack of time!! =) i'm sure the second concert will be a greater blast!

Let us work hard together towards this common goal!! for j2s, the second concert (if there is) will be the last event for u guys, so do make sure u all leave a legacy for future generations!! hahaha sound like we are old ppl yeah? =Pp

alrite, see u guys during nxt prac! :)

posted by Michell Soh at 6:01 PM

The concert is over and it was a blast. I heard many praises from my colleagues and my superiors and so you people must be doing very well.

All the hard work you had put into this concert is worth it. This kind of experience can never be replicated elsewhere.

Remember, as a member of a performing arts CCA, you must be ready to perform anytime. And so practices will resume this Saturday.

The next performance should be on College Day, which is coming in a few weeks time. Whether we are invited to perform or not, we must be ready. Last year, your seniors performed Reverie during College Day, and they sounded better than they did during SYF. Take this opportunity to improve on the songs you performed during the concert.

Here is the video, taken by yours truly. The juniors must watch!!!

posted by the winner at 9:37 PM

Hie, i'm sure everyone had a great time at the concert. It was a success! well done! You guys have made history. I am extremely proud with each n everyone of you and for me, it was already a success even before the concert starts. You hv shown great commitment and teamwork, and as i told u earlier, the most important part is actually the processes leading to the concert...fond memories would be from these processes...and sooo many things that u can learn from these processes, u cant find it anywhere in any classrooms or schools, these are experiences that will forever be etched in your heart. Thru Reminiscence u hv learnt and experienced :
1) the joy of working as a team
2) sense of responsibilities and commitment....u take ownership in the event, u worked hard to raise funds and make preparations
3) u've learnt the ways of organising a concert, the logistics, the technicalities and the etiquette of being a performer
4) the bonding are even more closer now, i'm sure by now u know each other much much better
5) u've learnt time management and push urself to the very max ..Its not easy to memorise all the songs with all that complicated arrangement, and i did not purposely want to make ur lives difficult, i knew all along that u can do it, this is a very good example of "say 'i can do' and the know how to do will develop by itself"

Once again well done! I hope u will cherish these forever...and most importantly the valuable priceless lessons out of the whole process.

posted by Dzul at 6:28 PM

Hey all!
Just want to say that everyone did a great job at yesterday's performance! All our hard work did pay off. A BIG thank you to Malay dance,Harmoniorchid, Jie Ying n the other soloists. To everyone else, let's all enjoy our desrving break from CCA practices. See you all at the next practice!

Jialing :)

posted by jialing at 6:51 PM

It's over! Bet all of you are lying flat in your beds now...ZzZzZz
Just a short message:
All of us put on a good show, especially the soloists and MCs. It has been a courageous act on their part and they have definitely helped make the concert WOW! All the angklungnites playing melodious music together surely packs a punch, with the audience's screams as proof...Last but not least, thank you to the malay dancers, Harmoni Orkid and Jieying(the other jieying) for livening up our concert further! Hope all of the seniors that came to watch us loved the concert!!! ^.^ Thanks too to the three j1 receptionists for helping outside while we're performing!

ok dead-beat, going to sleep.

posted by if only i could turn back time at 11:53 PM

For girls only:
tomorrow remember to bring the following...
-make-up
-black hair tie/hair clips
-kebaya
-sarong (with belt and safety pins just in case)
-spaghetti strap
-cotton on T
-black jeans
-black/white shoes

For all: bring some snacks just in case, cause we'll be having a very early lunch.

And remember, j2 release time - 10.30am, j1 release time - 10.50am
Go have ur lunch first then take your angklungs and go to the atrium by 11.50am. Please check that your yellow ribbons on all your angklungs are intact before leaving angklung room.
Angklung room will be open from 11.20am onwards.

For the guys, remember that your release time is earlier at 9.40am. Meet at angklung room immediately.

posted by if only i could turn back time at 8:56 PM

posted by Dzul at 12:12 AM

To alumni:

Thanks to all alumni who have paid for their tickets. Your tickets have been confirmed and will be given to you when you attend the concert.

To those who have yet to pay, please pay me or any exco member by Sunday 6th April 11.59pm. If I don't receive confirmation of your payment, I will cancel your reservation and allocate your tickets to students. I have to do this because we have a long reservation list (ratio of 2 reservations to 1 ticket). So don't blame me please......

The following people please pay up fast!
Peck Yan (x2) (Sorry I know you paid for 4 tickets but still have 2 under your name unpaid)
Liting (x2)
Fabian (x2)
Sze Ying
Fadiah (x2)
Zheng Liang (x5)

---

To members:

Tickets will be released for collection on Monday. I will inform the exco of how many tickets will be sold to students and they will prioritise according to who reserved earlier. Please be understanding if some of your friends don't get tickets.

I will pass the tickets to the exco who will then issue to the members. Please ensure that you receive the money before you pass the ticket to your friend. We are dealing with the Esplanade and all accounts must be balanced.

posted by the winner at 8:04 AM

Just a last reminder for those reading this blog at this time...remember to bring:

kebaya
spaghetti strap
sarong + belt(if you wish, to secure the sarongs)
cotton-on T
black pants/jeans
black/white shoes
black hairtie+hairclips

ok that's all...LET'S MAKE TOMORROW'S FULL-DRESS REHEARSAL OUR BEST PERFORMANCE SO FAR!!!

posted by if only i could turn back time at 10:32 PM

here's how to access this song and many others in case some of you have forgotten:
KM > Student Centre > Music and dance groups (at the bottom of the page under 'CCA') > Angklung Ensemble > Scores (under 'Angklung Group Public Resource Library') > Itsy Bitsy...etc.

posted by if only i could turn back time at 10:49 PM

Click GO once and Click CHAT once again :)

Mr Dzul

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