it's the same with every concert. you wait backstage, you're so nervous and tensed up you can even feel your own pulse. everyone's getting emotional, some are even freaking out. you start hugging your batchmate, your sectionmate, your best friend and anyone and everyone else you can find comfort in. your mind's blank. the only thing you hear is only the song you're going to play up there, and the millions of jiayous and good lucks that everyone is wishing each other. you hear the crowd screaming and clapping outside, and you feel your heart racing.

you go up there, you start playing the opening piece, and you just lose it.

you lose yourself in the concert, in the wave of mixed emotions and feelings overwhelming you. you recall all the hard work the band's been through to put up this great show and you think, this is it. tonight, you're going to give it your all. you're going to do NYCB and MS CHONG proud.

yes, yesterday's experience was the same with any other concert i've played in. before the show, i cant think coherently at all. my mind's blank, i feel so nervous and i just start going around hugging people, trying to calm myself down and encourage everyone, including me, that yes, WE CAN DO IT.

the only difference was that, as sec 4s, yesterday was our last concert as part of NYCB.

just that last part of the sentence made many of us sec 4's emotions running high, and many of us started to break down even before going on stage.

for me, it's sort of after.

yesterday, we, the nanyang concert band played for LIMELIGHT at the ESPLANADE for a 1600++ audience. :D almost full house.

everything came and went so fast, it's like we havent really had the time to experience it all. it was all just a blur, a rush- going on stage for limelight felt just like an hour or maybe just half an hour. everything was just moving so fast, we didnt have time to comprehend and really experience and speculate everything.

after concert, realisation started to set in (for me, as some of you might know, i have very slow reactions to this kind of thing) and it finally hit me- our batch's last concert is over. where do we go from here? how can we live on without band?

limelight was seriously great. the atmosphere, the band, we just went out there and played our heart out. no matter the outcome, like what cheryl said, "it's the process that matters." we braved alot alot of obstacles and fears to come this far, and we finally made it, yesterday, as one band- NYCB.

hymm was definitely my favourite of the night, and im sure of many others. it just sounded so good, all of us feeling the music together, all of us cresendo-ing and decresendo-ing, holding that climax of the whole piece with our very heart and lungs, it was all so very emotional. i bet alot of us cried, or at least wanted to during hymm, cause i know i did. im so touched by it. memories of these 4 years just kept replaying through my mind throughout the whole piece, all our stuggles, and strife, and finally conquering everything, having peace at mind, ending in a happy, emotional ending.

sorry im not very coherent right now. the above paragrph sounded very weird.

i shall do my "thankyou speech" now, and do the emo "nycb experience" thingy tmr. ziyan's post triggered many of my heartstrings and im damn emo now.

anyway, I LOVE NYCB LOTS LOTS LOTS. <3

a very big THANKYOU firstly to my section, namely MIANJUN and MICHELLE, for walking through this year together with me, (for mianjun, TWO YEARS TOGETHER :D) and for making my day always. especially when im down or im having an emotional roller coaster, you guys never fail to make my day when i see you guys prac so hard, coming back for lunch pracs when i tell you guys to, and for doing the silliest and most ridiculous things i've ever seen (especially mianjun) just to lift my spirits and make me laugh. you guys are the reason why i look forward to every band prac even when im oh-so tired and when im so stressed with academic life.

next, to BATCH MATES. 四年在一起了！当然有感觉啦！:D a very big thankyou to you guys for walking through 4 years of NYCB together with me, playing every single piece that i've played in my nycb experience, experiencing every single concert that we've been and played through. you guys are also the reason why i look forward to every band prac, with all that madness, craziness, randomness, and of course, gossip. without any one of you in our batch, i guess our journey would have been very very different.

also, thankyou HORNS, TUBAS, EUPHOS and CLARINETS. i think these are the sections which i've been really close to, cause you know OUR SECTION IS LIKE 3 PEOPLE SMALL, and hence we keep sticking to other sections, cause you know, THE MORE THE MERRIER. :D

thankyou HORNS for your very lameness and GAYNESS. like seriously! i never knew ziyan was THAT GAY. and obviously, like senior like juniorssss, so the whole horn section is gay! :D you guys never fail to make me laugh at you'all and every single one of you are so crazy, yet lovable! :D

TUBAS. thankyou guys for being the ones playing beside our section everytime! :D "doesnt being the person playing beside you in every band prac mean a thing to you!?" haha. we could always rely on you guys to get scores, since we play the same parts sometimes, and just listening to you guys playing beside just was a very comforting thought, like you guys were always playing beside us, and we'll always have you guys to rely on if anything goes wrong.

EUPHOS. thank you guys for being my closest gossip friends in band. haha! qianwen and kexin, you guys are like the people whom i always eat with, and we always go hungry together, and quin is always laughing at me ALWAYS MAKING ME LAUGH. :D and omg i still cant believe she actually gave me her gummies. :O

and CLARINETS. the clarinet juniors are all so lovable and they never fail to hype me up! :D with Fingers and Toes, their rubbishness never fail to crack me up, and some people like HUIZHEN, CHINGYING, SANDY, CHUNHUI, SHIRLYN etc are just so lame! :D omg they never fail to make me laugh and lift my spirits for the day, no matter how tired i am. and of course, there wouldnt be a mad section without a mad SL! tianhui's madness never fail to crack me up. she's just so hilarious but serious at times. :D oh oh i still remember your SEXYBACK DANCE. :D

okay, i also want to thank the BAND- NYCB in general for making yesterday such a wonderful memory for me. 4 years in NYCB, and i guess yesterday's experience would be the highlight of my entireNYCB EXPERIENCE. I LOVE YOU GUYS LOTS. <3

a big thankyou also goes to the teachers, mdm chia, matthew lim for making our experience so much more amazing and magical, and of course to MS CHONG, the person whom the band looks up to. :D thankyou for bringing us here this far, to greater heights, thank you for lighting the passion in every single one of us with yours.

and i bet that passion lives on forever...

and last but not least, a very big thankyou to all those who came and supported the band yesterday. thankyou FOUR TWELVE, for showering me with all yout gifts and encouragements, you guys are love! and of course, thankyou LIUYI, SOK, SHENA, SHAUN, KY, HAN SHENG, etc etc and all those who came under my order TO SUPPORT ME. HAHA. especially shaun, sok and ky who showered me with flowers! :D i was very surprised cause i wasnt expecting that at all. and KY IS THE BEST, cause didnt even need to persuade him to come for limelight, unlike what i had to do with many other people. THANK YOU GUYS ALOT ALOT ALOT. :D DANKE! LOVES!

Labels: band