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Sunday, February 22, 2009 @ 12:33 PM

A BIG HELLO WELLO TO MY DEAREST SAC SUPER AWESOME GUITARISTS!
(I have to post here, cos it's too long)

I miss you people so so so much! Unfortunately, I’m not able to visit you all as my new timetable now restricts me from doing so (I end at 5pm on Mondays and on Fridays, I have CCA over at TPJ here which ends at 7pm). So I thought I’ll just drop by a message (it’s really what I want to say to all of you from the bottom of my heart)

WARNING: IT’S VERY VERY LONG but I hope you’ll read till the end, I stayed up till 1am to type k!! (I know some of you will go, it’s Angelyn, so it’s definitely long. Haha sorry la, no choice)

The Competition is drawing near, SYF too. I know all of you are a little sick of playing your SYF pieces over and over again. No matter how you feel or how sick you are of the pieces, please spare a thought for your leaders, especially Maria and your presidents! Maria has been putting her heart and soul in every practice, trying to improve the ensemble’s standard everytime, trying to secure our Gold with Honours once again, cracking her head to think of various ways to speed up improvements, doing her very best just so that EVERYONE OF YOU can enjoy the fruit of success! Come on, we’re all part of the ensemble, you’ve chosen the Guitar Ensemble as your CCA, you are part of the SYF team, you are representing the ensemble and the school, so please, co-operate, do what Maria says and really give your best shot for the remaining practices you all have till the SYF!

I know you all have been hearing a lot of “giving your best for the SYF blah blah” and you probably think that “I have a life as well, my life doesn’t revolve around guitar or the SYF” If that really is on your mind, then what about Maria? She has to spend time thinking of which areas the ensemble needs to work on, give instructions to you all, tries to get your attention every practice because some of you just can’t stop talking. She has to study, play, eat and sleep as well just like you all!

If she can give her best shot, so can you! The ensemble will not succeed if only one person is striving for excellence, EVERYONE OF YOU MUST DO THE SAME, ok? You are all the SAC GUITAR ENSEMBLE MEMBERS, so ask yourself, what can you or what have you contribute to the ensemble? Some of you are treating the ensemble like a playground - for the sake of coming here, so that I have this membership so I won’t be CCAless. Without being in the ensemble, will you get to know the friends that you’ve made in Guitar? I do know that some of you are really close, and it’s the GUITAR ENSEMBLE that brought you all together as friends, so yes, without the ensemble, you probably won’t get to know the person sitting beside you during ensemble. So, be a contributing member, and just go all out for this final lap! Your seniors (and I mean the really senior ones like those in the 2005 batch) are very supportive of you all, and are looking forward to see your stunning performance on the SYF day. I’m sure some of them will be turning up on your SYF day as well (sadly I can’t be there, but my soul is there, haha).

So I really ask for you all to exercise self-discipline, do not talk when someone is giving instructions, respond to whatever comments that have been given, feel for the music (it’s like when you listen to a fast music, you feel the groove right? It’s the same for your SYF pieces!), get the rhythm into your head and move your body according to it, I mean like you can NOD your head at certain appropriate bars, take DEEP BREATH at the start of your piece, LOOK UP LOOK UP LOOK UP at the conductor always and LOOK CONFIDENT! These little little details/actions are really important! If you are keen, get the SYF 2007 video from me, observe how we really shake our head like crazy (hahaha). When I saw the video, I realize that everyone was really moving to the music. Some of them in 2007 were reluctant to sway, but on the SYF day, everyone ignored the ‘how-unglam-they-look-on-stage’ and just gave it all out! So I’m sure you all will do the same as well! I’ve also watched the last year’s competition video as well, and I do see that 90% of you were really moving to the music, so I hope you all can do the same for now as well! Even though we didn’t emerge as the top in last year’s competition, but we felt like winners right? Becos we knew we really tried our best! And for that, I’m really proud of you all, so I hope to see this determination and ensemble spirit again!

Just as much as you all strive hard for the musical aspect, do remember to stay united as a team! ALL FOR ONE, ONE FOR ALL! With unity, naturally, all of you would feel like you all are producing good sound, good tone, good music together as an awesome team (that includes your instructor and teachers-in-charge ok!!) If possible, go for lunch together, bond with each other. Make even more guitar friends! I heard that you all exchange notes on Valentine’s Day, that’s a good start so do continue to keep it up!

Over at TPJGE (just in case you’re slow enough, and you haven’t known, I’m in TPJ and in guitar again & I’m playing for SYF) here, they are really bonded. Every practice is filled with laughter (they always have something lame or funny to say) and that drives away the tiredness after long hours of practice (oh yes, it’s 5 hours of practice here at TP per session) I get really tired after every practice in TPJ, becos it’s really like 5 hours of playing the guitar and more playing of the guitar non-stop. I don’t feel tired during SAC’s practices last time, maybe becos I was conducting, but anyway, my point is, although hours of practice maybe unbearable, but try to inject some laughter during practice time, lighten the atmosphere (as much as you’re all geared up for this last battle, you need to relax a little right?), share jokes with the ensemble. Once again, you’re an ENSEMBLE, you LAUGH, CRY, SMILE, FROWN together! Your hearts beat as one! :DDD

To the current committee/section leaders/all Sec 4s and 5s:
I really hope you people are all hungry for excellence and geared up to lead the ensemble in this final lap. You can, you will, and you must be ready to fight this last battle! Make this final lap your most outstanding contribution and achievement to the ensemble! Sec 4s and 5s, leave the ensemble with pride and glory and you can safely tell yourself that you have finally contributed something to the ensemble after all that the ensemble has provided you with (friendship, experience) for the 4 years of your secondary school life. Get done and cleared with SYF so that you will leave the ensemble happily and pursue academic excellence solely! Maria, Jeanette, Michelle, Amanda, Jia Yan, Zoe, Justina Lim, you all have done very well in the expression part during last year’s competition, could see you all nodding/feeling to the music, so do the same way and make the rest do as well. Train the sec 2 batch now so that they will be prepared to expect the same level of intensity in SYF 2011.

To the probation committee:
Do work hand in hand with your current committee to share the workload during this tough period and inspire your ensemble members to all understand the situation now and that they have to buck up. Come up with some motivational thing to lighten the atmosphere and also unite the ensemble with Mr Choo and all the teachers. After SYF, do thank your current sec 4 seniors for what they have taught you all and organize a really good Farewell Party for them ok? (: Don't forget to lead your sec 1s as well, make sure that the ensemble is a well-disciplined group, and be bold to implement new way of working/initiating ideas that the past few committees have never done before. Being in the committee is like leaving a mark in the ensemble's history.

To the Sec 3s:
It is your FIRST and probably the LAST SYF for you all (unless you join a JC GE) so do make the best out of it! It's a once in a lifetime experience!

To the Sec 2s:
Learn from your seniors on how they manage the team during this crucial pre-SYF period, you are lucky enough to get a 2nd chance again 2 years later, and you guys will be the ones leading 2 years later, so do learn from them!

With that, I wish all of you the VERY BEST! See you girls at the competition! (Eh I’m your opponent now! Haha, don’t worry, I’ll be rooting for you all still!) I am sure you all will feel the sense of satisfaction, relief and pride after the whole SYF thing is over! And I'm also certain that you'll definitely miss this whole exciting period when you look back later on in life!

REMEMBER: ONLY ONE TEAM (all of you + Mr Choo + teachers-in-charge) CAN ACHIEVE TOGETHER.

LOVE YOU ALL LOADS!
-ANGELYN ANGELYN ANGELYN WEEEEEEEEEEEE! (:
(on behalf of all your seniors!)