NYSEcellos!

Hello!

2009-12-18T04:50:00.000-08:00

Hey guys!

Guess who?! I'm an intruder here, cos I've officially graduated for, hm, a year now? Haha sorry for trespassing but I just couldn't resist! Could you guess who I am now? :D If not,... you're a purple turkey with rubbish for stuffing. Heh just kidding.

Anyway, I just wanted to give a shoutout to say HI to all of you! I actually wrote a note (rather hastily and hence the horrible scribbling, might I add) a long time ago, addressed to all of you. I passed it to Tingwei but I'm not sure whether you eventually got it. Hope all's well, and your performance with you-know-HU went great. I'm sure it did. I came to visit yall again before that performance but unfortunately some of you weren't around, I'm afraid ):

All in all, look forward to seeing some of you over at hwachong next year (hello yuhe and karo! you two better take an arts combi so you might end up in the same fac as me) and rock on ;) I'm actually hoping I could take you all out once next year, just for a get-together meal before rhsl or something.. let me know how that works out?

P.S. I'm at http://melissaongsc.tumblr.com and http://twitter.com/melissaongsc now. Follow me if you've accounts at either!

P.S.S. Merry Christmas and Happy Thanksgiving!

Love you all,
Melissa

2009-06-10T09:09:00.000-07:00

YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO disobedient cellists.
Firstly, only 1/9 people replied my email!
Secondly, WHY NOBODY UPDATE D: it's very saddening to see our blog slowly dying again.

ANYWAY..............
to inform and update all those who didnt turn up for the camp, we had some new pieces! and some really needs you to lock yourself up and just practice.
okay
1) Walzer.
nice piece with lots of tenors. haha. practice

2) Parry suite
Sec 3 & 4s should have heard of this. Sec 2s& 1s = practice!

3) Don Quixote Suite.
Quite simple.. except a few running notes here and there. but still go practice!!!

4) Andante Festivo
ah.. this we only played once, but it's quite easy la. can sightread ;D

how do you all practice ( for people who didnt come )
if you are hardworking enough(you all should be ok!) you can email me and i'll gladly scan the scores to you!
for those who came, go practice okay! dont leave everything to ME to help your produce some sound okay... D:

JIAYOU! JIAYOU!
my dear stella shall now update this soon-becoming-dead blog.
byee!

BLOG REVIVED.

2009-06-05T07:18:00.000-07:00

hey cellists!
our blog is finally revived!
okay anw, let's all put the SYF behind us kay? and focus on our festival of arts concert coming up in July:D
continue to work hard!
and congratulations to TianJiao and ZiQing for being promoted to the ME.

weiyu

PSSSSSSS: PLEASE HELP UPDATE BLOG. EMAIL FOR USERNAME AND PASSWORD :D

2009-02-14T07:26:00.000-08:00

Hellos Cellists!
As you can see, I have changed our blogskin! However, there are still some technical problems, and i will sort them out later. Also, i'll add some nice music, like our gareth walters piece soon(: oh, you can help add (:

Sec one cellists! Please get the blog's username and password from me! email me at limweiyu@hotmail.com for the details!

A reminder for all cellists in ME, please bring your own bows on tuesday as your bows are being fixed and it might not be fixed by tuesday. Those who are sure that their bows are not the ones that are sent for fixing, dont need to bring their own bows. Stella, please remember to bring the school bow and give it to regina(:

okay, that's all for today. HAPPY VALENTINES DAY! :D

2008-12-26T06:00:00.000-08:00

THIS BLOG IS STILL DEAD AH. ><>

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

STELLA!:D

2008-12-20T03:14:00.000-08:00

Hello hello hello.
Im a person who keeps her promise, so here's my long awaited post (:

hmm. i think the cello's section's pretty okay in a way... some people are improving, like Lois and Zhi yuan. Especially Lois, she used to be much weaker than us, but now, she's comparable to us. Zhi yuan, is improving, cause she tries her very best each time. although she's struggling a little, she's improving lots, and it's a good thing. her intonation improved lots. (: kay, although we were rather a disappointment for the concert, dont let this affect our playing, let this be an motivation for us to improve ;D

kay, you know i think we really shld change the blogskin. cause it's so purple-lish at the side :/ yeah, shld change to something nicer. i mean not that this skin's not nice, it's just that it's kinda boring now since we had it for how long? will try to help search for skins, then i'll probably let you know the names of the skins, so you all can go to http://www.blogskins.com/ to see how they actually are like. yeap, so it's going to be like a vote. (:

regarding the hci-nyse cello section outing. i think it's best we do it next year. cause many people are away, like run xian.. hmm. so yeah, i think it's better if everyone's present so we can like have a proper outing. not like some ppl are missing, it wont be a proper one then. oh, i think we shld also invite those ppl who didnt play for combined to join us in this outing too, cause after all, they are still cellists, and they are still part of us :D yup, and maybe we shld take a group photo! that'll be soo cool.. ok, maybe not ?

hey, check out this song called unbeautiful by lesley roy. it's a nice song. i think stella shld have heard this song before. she's like the song queen. oh, whitehorse by taylor swift is nice too(: check out those songs. dont listen to syf pieces all day, listen to other music besides classical. have a range! dont stick to just one ... :D

okay, i think i luo suo long enough liao. kay, practice hard! oh, please remember to practice the st paul's suite for the sec 1 thingy. yup, i think everyone's involved in this one. if you dont have the score, feel free to email me/stella/peining. but i think you guys shld have the score :D

MERRY CHRISTMAS in advance!

<3,weiyu!(:

2008-12-18T04:22:00.001-08:00

HELLO! YO!

WEIYU ARHHHH....... NEVER KEEP YOUR PROMISE ONE! SAY UPDATE NEVER UPDATE! TSK! THINGS MUST BE IMPROVED. PEOPLE! UPDATE AT LEAST ONCE A WEEK CAN?! tsk. aiyoh. revive got no use if people dont post! tsktsktsk. i am very disappointed.

HAPPIER THINGS! STELLA DOMINATION! if you guys dont faster update, im gonna fill this blog with pictures of me and POST ABOUT WHAT I WEAR! EVEN MY PJs! THOU SHALL NOT BE SPARED OF MY M&M BOXERS! fearrr the wrath of the m&m boxerssss.....

the following space shall be filled with my bee-yoo-tiful name as a warning and a preview of what the dark future will be like if you dont faster post.

STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA!
STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA! STELLA!

how does that feel? all the greatness surrounding you on the screenn...:D yay! HAHAHAHAHAHA. POST POST POST! since i cannnot copy and paste, the above was hand-typed by MUAH! so appreciate it like a work of art! WOOTs!
thank goodness cannot copy and paste, or else the blog would be too great! HAHAHAHAHAHAH! jkjkjkjkjk!

LOVEEEEEE!
STELLA! shall i type more?:D

2008-12-10T08:38:00.000-08:00

YO!

my god, we haven't updated in what, SIX MONTHS?! tsktsktsk. haha, we forgot the password... but BRILLIANT STELLA had a brain blast and remembered the passwordddd! yea! the password is ___________ (fill in the blanks)!:D sheesh, did you think i was thaaaaattt stupid? haha. no comments on the nyse-hciso camp. leave that to WEIYU to elaborate!!!! woohoo! yeah.... hmm... aiyah. i damn sian with my score, so i decided to make it MULTI-COLOURED! i went crazy with my felt tips. MUAHAHAHA!

now that we got the password, people ah.... dont be so sian and keep pep-talking on the blog okay...... BLOGGING IS SUPPOSED TO BE FUNNN!!!! WOOTS! haha, maybe occasionally as a last resort you may want to highlight our faults.... oh yeah, and pls, I BEG OF YOU!!!! DONT USE guy WORDS (like some people who TRY and fit in with the opp neighbours) because it's so lame and you may appear to be very desperate to some people. things like "kpkb", "own". it's just damn annoying....
(the above are only some random and obvious suggestions.....)

LET'S TALK ABOUT HAPPIER THINGS! LIKE RAINBOWS AND BUTTERFLIES AND STELLAS RUNNING ALL OVER THE WORLD! STELLA DOMINATION! haha. JOKING. ><
feeling in a lame mood. BUT not lame enough to bring myself so low to say those ugly slangs.
HAPPIER THINGS! HAPPIER THINGS! woots. sigh.....

breathe breathe breathe........

uh, yeah. i guess that's about it! and people! remember! DON'T GET DISTRACTED!!! ><
MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

AUF WIEDERSEHEN!
DEINE STELLA! woots! rachael translate!:D

2008-06-19T11:15:00.000-07:00

STANDING OVATION!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :]

WELL DONE NYSE (CELLOS TOO!!!)

we were great back there on the magnificent stage of the Carnegie Hall. my, how the audience cheered and applauded!!!!!!! :) it was seriously memorable, unforgettable and touching. our hard work has been paid off!!! everyone was either smiling a lot or tearing uncontrollably. even mr sze was pleased. yay... that night's concert, the conductors were invited up on stage to receive flowers. did you guys see mr sze's proud and pleased face when we all cheered and screamed for him?! kinda crazy huh, especially in that grand hall and all.... bleahs.. :X

well, we sure did not upset / disappoint our seniors' 07 as well as jiale's batch! *mel and audrey! aren't you guys glad??!

though i must say we had still been out-of-tune and some parts were not together. coughs..... wonder the audience didn't hear it. i reeeeeeeeeeeeally loved the ending, when everyone finished the piece with a drastic bow movement. it was too grand. it was perfect. me and audrey were kinda sad that it was all ending. sobs.... >.<>

btw, the jap wind band was seriously good! damn together. so disciplined. they were a large group too. the soloists were great! especially the oboe one. :] rights, was glad i managed to be the first to post about the trip. it's short lah but me love it... the NY trip had overall been great. me loved it even though we were all tired. really enjoyable......

love,
rachael :]

2008-06-06T05:40:00.000-07:00

Yo!!

Nice post, stella! hahaha i pity yr skirt): hahaha! ronald is an ugly clown.

anw, on to our playing!
the main problem is,...
our technical problems.
and to sum up the main problem of our technical problems,
INTONATION.

i'm not that concerned with phrasing or whatever, because seriously all you have to do, is to listen to the violin1s!

now, listening isn't all that hard, isit?

HAHAHA WRONG.
warning: the paragraphs below are again part of Melissa's incessant ramblings, they ARE important, mind you, but for those big busy businesswomen out there, i've highlighted the really important point that i really need you to take note of. Thank you(:

Listening is an important ensemble skill. just like watching our ~~handsome~~ conductor is. Just kidding. (Mr. Sze, please don't read this blog) Listening doesn't just involve listening, in the sense you don't allow what you hear to just pass through one ear and exit the next. Listening involves three steps: you listen, observe, and apply.

The normal "layman" audience we find, those kind that doesn't have any idea of what music is, will just listen. And after listening, their comments will be like "oh wow, si beh nice LehHhxZ! you all play very pro leh! like cd liddat! wahhhh! i very xian mu w0rHhxXz~". *cough* listeners who are more musically inclined will be able to listen and observe. Their comments may be like "That was a rather fresh interpretation, I especially liked how the cellists were able to deliver that solo passage with such meltingly beautiful tone and flawless techniques!" But what really differs us from the audience is that we do not just listen and observe, we listen, observe, and apply. Hey, we're PERFORMING the piece! SO, listen, observe, apply. For example, if we know that the v1s are having a melody that we also have in the later part of the piece (e.g. letter I of Borodin 4th), listen, take note of how they play it. Their articulation, the length of bow they use, the type of bow strokes they used, where they do their dynamic changes... and copy it. That's only if they're having that melody before we do. If we have it before they do, (e.g. Beginning of Borodin 1st), then by right they should try to copy us. But, we'll leave that to them. (:

Another thing,
WATCHING THE CONDUCTOR.

A string ensemble can't just function with, let's say, one entire violin section, or one entire viola section. We need the whole range of tones, pitch and colour from the whole of the string family to be called a string ensemble! But being a string ensemble is meaningless, we need to be a string ensemble that plays well! RIGHT? *glares* right. (oh gosh why am i talking to myself-.- must be Carnegie stress, sigh.) so, anyway! What is the most important thing an ensemble must have?

COMMUNICATION WITHIN THE ENSEMBLE.

Let's drift away from string ensembles for a while, shall we. We shall go breifly into communication within members of an orchestra. Have you all watched the Berlin Philharmonic before? Through dvds, youtube, whatever..? Well if you haven't, please do so, NOW. NOWNOWNOWNOWNOW. GOOOOO open a new internet window, type "http://youtube.com", hit enter, wait.... then type "Berlin Philharmonic" in the search thing. Now click search and wait.. AIYA WHATEVER, I'M TALKING NONSENSE. Sorry. Anywayy, yup notice that the orchestra is NEVER together with the conductor? This is what we're talking about. Unity, such that the orchestra/ensemble can totally function on its own without the conductor. Then, what's the conductor for? Well, that you'll have to find out for yrself. HOWEVER, the conductor is still the anchor of the whole ensemble. At our level, we're not ready to go without the conductor yet. And since we're all human, we have a tendency to rush/slow down, we need to watch the conductor aka Mr Sze at all times.

AIYA, i've crapped so much that i DON'T KNOW WHAT ELSE TO SAY.
alright, let me summarize:
1. Listen to all other sections within the ensemble. Listen, observe, apply. And provide support. remember Flounder?(:

2. Try to communicate with the other sections. Or at least watch your pretty section leader who will try harder to lead you all in on important places.(:

3. Watch Mr. Sze at all times! Everyone should have memorized their scores by now. If you haven't, start feeling guilty and do something about it right away!

Well folks, that's all for our weekly dose of "Melissa's Incessant Ramblings Which Make Sense!" Be sure to check back for next week's episode before our Majestic Departure to the World Renowned Carnegie Hall!(:

2008-06-04T04:52:00.000-07:00

HELLO! uh, last... monday? the NYSE cellos went to SERENE CENTRE for an afternoon of FUN AND EXCITEMENT and a dirty skirt. 1st, we ate at macdonalds where melissa bought a filet o fish student meal with a coke and stella bought a filet o fish student meal wih a sprite and weiyu bought a chicken nugget student meal upsized with a coke (?) and rachael bought a McChicken burger, alone(so lonely), and shared weiyu's upsized fries and coke. i cant remember what peining bought but i think it was an EVM? yeah. audrey skipped lunch and headed for dessert at Island Creamery! Teh-tarik and Horlicks isn't the best combination... but it seemed nice. (: ahaha. McDonalds is where melissa ae her first fry(?) (pl. fries mah.) with ICE CREAM, teh tarik and horlicks. ahaha. next we headed out to ISLAND CREAMERY for dessert. where rachael and weiyu had a ReversO each and stella had a cookies and cream and peining was tempted to buy and was on the verge of buying, but didn't buy. later on, we tried to take photos. haha. stella had an inredibly short arm and thus it was unable for her to take photos using the primary camera on her phone without cutting someone's head off. luckily, we had the UNKNOWN ISLAND CREAMERY PERSON WHO PUT ON ALOT OF MAKE-UP! who helped us take the photo. after that, stupid stella realised that she could have used the secondary camera to take photos without cutting anybody's head off. yay!

after that, we went out to find a scenic location in the small small serene centre to take photos. we settled on ronald macdonal's chair and stupid stella made another stupid mistake by hopping into ronald's lap without looking and ended up plopped into a puddle of burnt cigarettes+water that had collected in uh... uh... ronald's "place"//"little brother" of plastic. yuck. it smelt bad.

then we finally settled down to take photos with the ultimately ugly ronald macdonald.

Reported: Stella Tay! (*clapclap*)

2008-05-31T08:22:00.000-07:00

Hey people,
thanks melissa for the erm, nagging? oh wells, it's good. I mean, what she say makes sense. If i can understand what she said, im sure the others will too(: so 加油! only 12 more days to go! it's really scary. Have not blogged for like months cause apparently i forgot the username and password. oh, i think stella's design is nice too(: maybe we can sort of merge stella's design with melissa's?? anw, i think black background with limegreen words's nice. cause we already have a black background t shirt with hot pink words+orange words for our strings carnegie tshirt. so i think we shouldnt have any black+pink anymore(: Okay, as you all know, we're having a cello section lunch on monday, after strings practice, at serence centre. we shall indulge ourself in Island creamery ice cream, and mcdonalds! how delicious, but it makes us fat. SO, EXERCISING IS NESCESSARY sometimes(: Go out and play in the beautiful sun! Get active! :D anyways, nothing more to say. shall blog again. some time(:
<3 WEIYU!!

2008-05-29T08:44:00.001-07:00

LO AND BEHOLD

it has finally been decided that the final design of the shirt will be...
*drumrolls*
the original mummy holding the cello thingum!!!!

with melissa's undeadmummy beating stella's gaypurple in the ratio 2:1! woots!

but still, more editing will be done to the design, because the mummy alone looks a little lonely.. (geddit? hahaha)

so, great job ppl, now we'll have wait for our beloved stella to use her fabulous drawing skills and finish the design, then we can send it in for printing!

alright, but we've STILL got a few more things to decide about the shirt.

please vote ok! email yr votes to nysecellos@gmail.com
(we really should use our email more, eh?)
here're the things that need to be decided:

1)colour.
choices:
1) black background, pink words
2) black background, limegreen words
3) others. (please suggest! eg. pink background?)

2)printing/embroidery?
please email yr choices in this format:

so, it should look something like this:
Melissa loves melissa and nysecellos
black background, pink words
printed
audrey ~~rocks~~

hahaa. OK that's all, folks! please email ASAP ok! we shall be faster than the rest of nyse in printing our shirt BWAHAHA. thank you for yr cooperation! :D:D results will be posted here as soon as the votes are all in, so please check back often!! arrrrrrigato!

MEL (:

oh hold on.

i need to talk to you all! got some stuff to say, but i haven't been able to attend rhsls this whole week because I have remedials,..

*ahem*
firstly, my deepest to all "outsiders" who chance upon this blog, please do not leave with a bad impression of us at all costs. read the following lecture at yr own discretion. Thank you.

My dear Cellists,
Firstly, let me apologize if I sound naggy, or if I'm being naggy. But please read this whole thing ok! It took me time and effort to write it >< You can scold me, pinch me, beat me up, ...etc. when our trip is over. But for now, please read what I have to say. It is exactly 2 weeks more to our departure for New York, Carnegie. As we all have been trying to plant this into your heads through countless methods such as hammering, drilling, threatening, blackmailing, heating, titration, distillation, electrocution and bribery, etc. countless times, Carnegie is really a hall of great prestige. Many renowned musicians have held performances in Carnegie. Cellist Jacqueline Du Pre made her American debut there. Other cellists have also held performances there, such as Yo Yo Ma, Mstilav Rostropovich, Janos Starker, Pierre Fournier, as well as my teacher's teacher, Ralph Kirshbaum, just to name a few. These guys are really the top of the top - the best international cellists around... And they have performed in Carnegie! That is why we are all very very pleased and honoured that we are given this opportunity to perform there as well. We are nothing compared to this cellists, but yet we actually have this opportunity presented to us! WE didn't have to do anything, it just presented itself to us. Wow... It's really something worth opening a few bottles of wine(heh) to rejoice about.

I know we're all been working hard. I can see, everyone can tell. But the fact still remains that our section needs a lot more work. It isn't because we're lousy, it's just because we have a lot more passages to work on this time. Most pieces have more violin1 melodies than cello melodies, so we don't have to work very hard. But for Borodin, I would say that both the violin1s and cellos have a number important melodies, and this time we don't necessarily have a lot lesser melodies than them. Therefore it is only natural that we have to work much harder to play this piece well, and it's the reason why we're all struggling now. But still, that is hardly an excuse for us to skive. We need to work extremely hard so that we can catch up to that standard, and play all our melodies with confidence. I'm not asking for flawless playing, not at this point. But all I ask is that we all are able put our feelings into the music, and give the American audience a performance from our hearts. But to be able to do that, we must still at least be able to play with acceptable intonation, so that an "A" note can at least be distinguished as an "A" note. I'm not asking a lot, just the intonation. Because I believe that if we put our feelings into the music, the rest (phrasing, dynamics, articulation...) will come out naturally. It's not impossible at all! Just the intonation, and feelings. Two simple things. If we're able to achieve these two, we'll be able to enjoy ourselves in New York without having to worry about our performance!

We won't get to practice or rehearse once we board the plane heading for New York, so all we have left, is the remaining time we have left in Singapore. Please, let's make good use of it! When the time comes I'm sure we all don't want to be panicking backstage, peeing in our pants and all... So please, work hard! When we actually perform on stage, everyone gets nervous, so do I. So does our beloved concertmistress/pres. So does our cello teachers. So does our wonderful conductor. It's only natural! If someone doesn't, then... that person is inhumane. And when we're nervous, we're more prone to errors. There's a high chance that we'll perform worse that our usual standards. So, we need to achieve a level of playing whereby even if we do end up screwing up on stage, it won't sound too horrible. That level is definitely within our reach, we just have to gnash our teeth and work harder for these 2 weeks. We'll get bald fingers, rough hands, sore arms.. But in the end I assure you, the experience is worth 10 times all of those physical injuries.

Jiayou! 2 weeks left, it's the last lap! If we don't work hard now, we won't ever get a chance to. It's now or never....CHIONG AHHHHH!

MEL (:

2008-05-26T02:33:00.000-07:00

hello! anyway, i just edited my design.. sorry to sound bossy, but i think we should really hurry with the choosing and all... cos it took super long for my class to make our class tee... so i think it should take quite long to make ours.. so can you guys like, vote, who wants whose? (: yeah... and the mummy design.. i tried to make it on photo shop, but it took me VERY LONG to just draw the outline.. and besides, sorry to say, i find it very... plain... but if you'all want then i can try to make it on PS. (: haha

and please hurry, cos my photoshop trial is expiring soon.. thanks!

<3>

2008-05-22T05:26:00.000-07:00

Hello! anyway, here are the t-shirt designs. the top one is done be me! (stella) the "carnagie" word is a bit covered, but i can fix that. and i have no idea how to spell carnegie/carnagie. but i can edit. the second one is by our "dear" section leader, MELISSA. (see? BIG fonts, as requested. (:(: if you ask me, i think mine's nicer. haha, no lah, jkjk. it's up to you! haha. so yeah, i guess im done! (: cya!

STELLA!

2008-04-17T07:05:00.000-07:00

hey cellists!

carnagie's drawing nearer and nearer! i bet your excitement is experiencing an increasing acceleration, no? do you want to enjoy yr 4 days in carnagie? if yes, it is time for...

SECTION LUNCHES!!!!!

need i add that section lunches are the best way to get a section truly bonded as a single... section? on one loves chatting better than over sumptuous delicacies and fragrant ~~tea~~ drinks! so, please come and have lunch with yr UTTERLY BELOVED cello section! we'll have them every wednesday lunch, meet at audrey/melissa's classroom (405/406, we're neighbours:D) then we go down to the canteen together. let me explain my rationale for choosing wednesday: tuesday and thursday lunches are reserved for individual sectionals! ;)

so what are individual sectionals? individual sectionals are, like section lunches, a very very convenient and effective way of getting to know your seniors (aka me and whoever else who wants to tagalong) better! i decided that individual sectionals will be much more effective than group ones, cos like what ms tan said today, we realy have a large gap in standards in our section. so,.... here're the list of ppl going for carnagie:

audrey
karo
lois
melissa
peining
rachael
stella
weiyu
yuhe

so we'll have individual sectionals during recess. each recess, one of you shall bring yr cello to somewhere (classroom, maybe) and i will personally give you one on one for areas you need help on for our beloved borodin (alliteration!) :D individual sectionals will start next thursday, i'll confirm which lucky person's going to get that first i.s. on tuesday. till then, adieu, my darlings(:

MEL! (:

2008-04-13T06:15:00.000-07:00

hey everyone!
just a few words about the concert!

i must admit that i was a bit worried about it considering what i saw during the fulldress rhsl on tuesday (cough), but it all turned out well! everyone (or most) played a whole lot better than during the rhsl, and i could tell that everyone was really trying their best on stage! quite shocking considering how much concentration we usually put in during normal rhsls, eh? ;) having said that i think it would really be good if we could put that same amount of concentration into every rhsl we have! we seriously need it if we want to be of adequate standard by the time june arrives lah. but wells anyway, good job to all performers! karo, lydia, peining, yuhe, all of you played quite well, i'm proud you're part of the cello section! ^^ don't bother about what mistakes you all made ok, what's done is done. it's over. look ahead! well, of course it could definitely have been alot better as well, but what matters most is that all of you have improved! keep up the good work and i expect to see greater improvements alright? (: rachael did a wonderful job in emceeing too! haha rachael you look quite alot more mature in that dress you wore! yayyyyy! rock on cellists!

WORK HARD AH.

sectionals and other stuffs.

2008-04-11T03:10:00.000-07:00

hey. 为了大家，i've decided to blog again! :] yay.....~ lol

muahahaaaaa. kay, now we are going to have lots of sectionals - according to mr. sze. oh wells. it was a damn obvious sign that we, cellos, are practically lousy in playing. i'm sorry to say it so straightforward, but i really think we don;'t sound as good as the past few years' cello batches. we can't even play notes in tune. what are we gonna do??! we seriously gotta start bucking up and practise like siao. don;t care what work/SIA you have, but seriously, cellos, hope that all of us will jiayous. can????! i assume that no one wants to go to NEW YORK playing at our present standard. not to mention we spent quite a sum on this trip. **coughs...** i can already tell melissa and the cello seniors are starting to cough blood already, just listening to our playing. >.<>

wails. tomorrow is Stringed Soliloquy! argh........ me hate MC-ing. never knew it was so difficult lah!!! must have this; must do that etc. oh wells..... :( oh ya! special good luck to peining, karo, yuhe and lydia who are playing during the concert tomorrow! hey hey. me looking forward to listening to everyone's playing. (that is; i'm behind in the stage)

kay kay. just wanted to post a short letter here. byebye! see ya all peeps!

ps: don't all my lovely posts look colourful all the time??! ego-ing here...

love,
rachael :]

2008-04-06T07:10:00.000-07:00

yooooo everyone!(:

eh no one's come up with any designs so far! i've got a few alr.. let's all come up by some by thurs ok! if we really can't come up with anything let's just forget about it k? :D

cheerios,
mel! :D

2008-03-29T18:14:00.000-07:00

HEY YO!!!
hmm... melissa, you're to small to be the farmer! you should be the... hmmm... barn mouse? haha jus kidding... XD. about block test.... very disturbing... stupid LA teacher made this stupid comment that made me VERY DISTURBED! UHHHHHH!!! kill him. :P heh heh heh... or should i torture him first? oh yeah, cannot... got SPCA. Singapore Prvention of Cruelty to ANIMALS!!! wahaha... XD. actually come to think of it, there are no sloths in farms... unless it's a sloth farm... which totally dosen't make sense... wahaha... i shall be a komodo dragon. cos they're very slow(sometimes) wahaha... XD. yeah, wait... i shall be a VISITING komodo dragon (come and eat all your animals... ) WAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! XD. haiiii.... so sian... now block test over nothing to do... haha... jus kidding. i wish for money.. wahaha. hmm... yeah... gosh, alot of crap...

2008-03-29T06:10:00.000-07:00

hey cellists!

aren't you all glad that exams are FINALLY OVER? :D:D:D well i'm not -.- cause now all my stupid sucky results are flying back to me! ): i did really badly for math man! I COULD HAVE GOTTEN FULL MARKS OK! i'm just so bloody careless. so careless that i didn't even realize my careless mistakes when i was checking through (i checked through the paper twice can!) booooo ): but my other papers (so far) were quite good! 85% for both LA and HMP! and I ACTUALLY PASSED 50% FR CHINESE. HAPPY ^^ hope you all got good marks too!!!!! if not, well, jiayou! it's only CA1, weightage not very highhhh ;)

ohoh rachael, the first two desks of our pretty farm weren't around on thursday! i was gone for YO concert, audrey was gone for CIP, and well you and yuhe weren't around too. DAMN COOL PLEASE :D hahahaha i hope you all didn't die arh! tell me what hpned during that reh on tues k! (:

btw, i've updated the links! YAYYYYY(: oh and btw i think we need to decide what to call our section. i went to stella and weiyu's blog, and i realised that stella calls us NYCE, weiyu calls us NYCS. hahaha hmmmm i wonder.. nanyang cello ___? OH OH NYCF. NANYANG CELLO FARM HAHA

let's see who's in our farm!
stella: the slowest animal on earth aka sloth ...
weiyu: ...
lois: ...
peining: ...
rachael: ...
zhiyuan: the slowest animal with the highest pee capacity level on earth aka tortoise ...
karo: ...
yuhe: .. hoho this is such an easy one. fish GLUBGLUB
audrey: pig OINKOINK
lydia: parrot SQUAWK
yours truly: FARMER <3333333

hm. ok we'll decide for weiyu, lois, peining, rachael and karo next time x)

oh and people, now that exams are over, please think of the DESIGNS ok! (and please also keep the THE THING WE'RE DESIGNING a secret. you knw what i'm referring to ;) ) i've got a few ideas alr, but all abit lame -.- hahhaa

oh yeah! carnagie! ahhhh i'm really quite worried for carnagie lah. our standard is seriously..................... ok i'll talk to you all about it on tuesday, but zongzhi i'm going to make you all work a whole lot harder, but don't worry i'll be working with you all all the way!! (: go go cellists! <3

LET'S MAKE USE OF THE NYTRIP TO GET FULLYBONDED (: haha! i'm thinking of having lunch sectionals closer to the trip, maybe two/three weeks before, and then section lunches every lunch one week before the trip! yay we can go do alot of cool stuff together! haha I'M GETTING SO EXCITED ^^ haha i tell you i'll be REALLYREALLY HIGH on the night before we leave! hahhahaha! WOOOTS!

signing off,
MEL! (:

back from camp

2008-03-28T22:56:00.001-07:00

hey hey hey there my dear cello-mates !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :]]]]]

sorry for not coming for CCA on the thurs. was away in camp at ....... JJC!!! (jurong junior college). i must say it was damn fun! woah........... though yeah, i sorta miss cca. was actually wondering what you guys were doing then! nothing much happened right? heard from jiaqi that you guys had rehearsal then sectionals. man, lots to catch up!!! anyone care to tell me the changes made for the movements?????heehee. heard that mr sze is having a good mood nowadays. it's great to hear that. hahaaaaa. it's nice when he's all smiley; not shouting and screaming at us!!! nonetheless, we still have to practise and practise and practise!!!! :] yeah!!!!!!!!!! it's a really important thing to do to ensure that we do not play badly! as we all know, we have a bad reputation for you know.... mahem.... need not elaborate. (sorry mel, we will jiayou..... :p)

well, it's going to be april already. how time flies!!!! it's going to be the trip to carnegie at new york!!!! argh. juniors, you were right! it seems like two months. but if we count the number of days we have left, it's terrifying! oh wells........... jiayous NYSE.

quite sad ya guys know? i just realised that everyone has started to not tag or post anymore on this wonderful blog. POST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! TAG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! *****melissa and cello section especially!!!!!! heeeheeee :]

kay kay. me going off now. take care everyone. and let's work our way to the new york trip!

love, rachael

2008-03-20T09:43:00.000-07:00

hey yo everyone! i'm here just to post one video! will update proper after tests(: meanwhile, jiayou everyone! just a few more days (:
hahaha the name of the video is "Stringfever-History of music", by these quartet called "stringfever". these guys have really funny expressions, and their instruments are really cool! electric strings... all of them have 5 strings lah! xD oh and i think the part 5:13 is the funniest. take note of that part man;)

2008-03-17T21:26:00.000-07:00

HELLOS.
im blogging in school, during recess cause i just dont feel like eating. well anyways. i cant believe that we're having block test tmr. it's like really fast? and yeah, we should practice our parts you know. i have a suggestion: maybe we should like take turns to listen to how awful our playing is. yeah. then it'll maybe motivate us to practice more? i dont know how big carnegie is but oh well, from how melissa say it. it's like a really grand place? something like singapore's esplanade? yup. we should practice. cause if not cello will always be the lousiest section in the ensemble. so practice ya?:D

Life has been pretty complicated for me these days.. yup. and stressful. i still cant get rid of my habit of doing things at the last minute. i rushed through 2 assignments yesterday. hiaz. i cant believe my chinese teacher actually accused me of lying for not doing homework- indirectly. i was telling the truth okay. like wth. hiaz. now i've became the black sheep of the class..

i cant wait for the new york trip. me and stella are counting down to 13 june! which is 88 more days to go! yup. oh ya, stella said that every cellists should chat online together on the day before the NY trip. and yay! melissa's going to new york too((:! hahas. and it's not that i like mr sze and not like mrs ho, it's just that i find it a waste if we just like shop shop shop in NY. and like what melissa said, mr sze has went to NY a lot of times, so he can like bring us to famous places in NY(: yup. hiaz. so sad cant be in the same room as mel. i mean regina's nice!, but i can make fun of melissa more if im in her room. like i can take a pic of her when she's sleeping or sth:D? hahas(:
oh well. anyways, good luck for the block test tmr((:

weiyu

2008-03-15T21:54:00.000-07:00

hmm.. okay. haha. this vid is like really crazy. notice cellist shaking head with long hair. FYI, they all have spectacles on at the beginning... somehow managed to make them DISAPPEAR in the midst of performing...
before>bespectacled
after>went for lasik surgery while performing and spectacles nowhere to be found!(?!)

<3 stella
p.s. thanks for fixing the tagboard! :)

tagboard?

2008-03-14T20:54:00.000-07:00

hello! erm... where's the tagboard? i can't find it, so i have to post... heeheehee... :) anw, you can't trust me to do anything with the template... 'cos i'll mess it up... honestly... mess until jialat jialat... :):) haha...
<3 stella
p.s. 救命! haha, anybody who's free can you check out the tagboard problem? :) TY!!! :) hahas...:)

enjoy...:)

2008-03-14T02:47:00.000-07:00

hey everyone!

i've posted some recordings of borodin on the left! should be quite easy to spot considering i've used bold, italics, underline and strikethrough on it 0.0 haha. go listen ok!

i think we should all form our small quartets to practise borodin AFTER YOU ALL HAVE LEARNT YOUR NOTES AND EVERYTHING, HINTHINT;) why? cause it's originally "Borodin String Quartet No.2 in D major", only we're playing it as a string ensemble, so playing it in its actual form would probably let us get a better idea of how it should sound. besides, it's really alot easier to listen to each other in small groups, agree agree?(: maybe i'll go ask jiale at a later date. bwahaha

on a more serious note, jiayou and all the best for block tests, everyone! don't forget to practise once those migraine-inducing things are over =/

meeeeeeeeel.(:

MY FIRST POST!

2008-03-13T01:09:00.000-07:00

HEY! MY FIRST POST IN NYSE CELLO SECTION BLOG! AHH!!! THIS DAY MUST GO DOWN IN ALL HISTORY BOOKS! cos im very important. haha. kidding... :):) i like sweets so i cannot stop eating because, well, they ARE called sweets, so they're sweet? hehhehheh... i am not retarded. i am MISUNDERSTOOD! dosen't mean somebody always says wierd things means the person is retarded... OH-KAYYYY???? hahahahaahahahahaha... never chat with me online. the whole window will be filled with "haha"s. heehee....... MUAHAHAHAHA! funny... i am not retarded by saying this.. ok, TYPING this... FYI, this is not a "retarded" post. OH-KAYY?? hahas... hmm... your eyes shoukd be BURNING now... too much crap. :):) DOES NOT=RETARDED! (ahem ahem... WEIYU PLEASE TAKE NOTE). =.= yeah... so i guess i should end here? yay. ok, THE END!!! thank you, thank you...

<3 stella-ella-ella-eh-eh-eh.....:)

hello again...

2008-03-09T03:36:00.000-07:00

great to be back again. hahahaaa. i think the latest one who posted was weiyu, right? nice to know that a sec one is starting to post! now our cello blog is not dead!!!! yay.... speaking of which, where on earth is our tagboard?! i can't see it!!!! wailsss ..~~~~ sighs....

camp's over. i tried to post during the camp, but no idea what happened to the computer, cannot post it on the blog. so, a whole post of 'wonderful stuffs' gone... >.<

yups, i'm sure really excited about the NY trip as well. though i'm also worried at the same time. i can't play well. i;m afraid that i'll cause the whole performance to be lousy. i'm always out of tune.... sighs... my parents have been stressing on how dangerous america is and all. yups..... just listening to them and mr sze talking about NY sends shivers down my spine. brrrr....... :X oh wells. just hope we'll all arrive back in singapore safe and sound. lots of terrorists attacks around the world. i agree with weiyu, mas selamat incident is really getting nowhere. i;'m not going to say anything bad or offensive here. (this is a public blog for goodness sake. who knows a police or mas selamat himself sees this???!!!!! ) sighs.......... i really hope that singapore will catch him soon. MM Lee is really right. there's a reeeeeeeal high possibility that he'll come back and bomb singapore if he has escaped. who doesn't want to take revenge?? and singapore is so small and all. i'm really getting quite worried down here. it's been around two weeks. bah. kay. just hope we'll all stick together in NY. ***fingers crossed... ...***

heeeeheeee. i know weiyu. NYSE seniors are the best. i've been really nice as well, right? muahahaaaaaaa. that was what i thought about NYSE when i've been in this cca for around a month. everyone is seriously nice and kind. we're lucky huh? (rmb i'm only one year older than you; whatever i say makes sense!!!)

kaes. shall stop crapping here. or else melissa may start to complain about long posts. have fun everyone! can't wait to see everyone in the oh-so-beautiful gowns. ahhaahahaaa. :] can't wait for june. fun fun fun!

love, rachael :]

2008-03-08T07:32:00.000-08:00

helloos!
im like the first sec one cellist to blog :D cause the retarded stella should be retarding at home that she has no time to blog. wait, that doesnt make much sense, but oh well. im feeling soo hyper now even though its really late at night.
i totally agree with mel on using brains sometimes is better than drilling. but, you see, i dont have much brains, so i have to drill those difficult parts like siao..
the last strings session was on tues, and i've yet to kill audrey for not moving forward. i nearly died when playing with melissa. i was like, trying so hard to keep up cause i didnt really practice those parts. but i know them now. so ya..
bringing the flight case home was really difficult. cause the flight case is like as tall as me?? or maybe im taller abit((: and i dont think i will be able to fit into the flight case. cause im not as puny as melissa(:
the strings seniors are all very nice and friendly(: they made me feel really welcomed on the first day i came for practice((: haha. but i got a shock when they gave up the pieces, cause its like 10+ pages long. back in my primary school, the most number of pages is 2 only...
cant wait for the new york trip! but i heard that some building in times square got bombed): so sad. it was in the papers.
and oh god, im so sick of mas selemat's picture. it's everywhere. it's at the guard house, it's on buses, its even on one of the CCA boards. i wonder what it has got to do with that CCA. oh well. and i've yet to receive his picture, and i dont want to receive it. no i dont.
nothing more to blog about. shall just stop here(:

2008-03-03T04:48:00.000-08:00

hey everyone!
i'm finally here to update! bwahaha

first off, to reply rachael's post: yes, friendship problems are tough aren't they >< they make us quite sad at times, but then again we all need friends! ironic, huh. i've had a few friendship problems in ny, but there was only one that really had a lot of impact on me. when i was in sec2, i had a bestfriend whom i was reallyreally quite close too! then one day we had a fight, and i didn't treasure that friendship enough to try to patch things up with her. so it just ended like that, with both of us sad and pissed. for me, after it ended this is what hpned to my feelings k. it moved from sadness to sadness, loneliness and misery, then on to hatred (i did really idiotic things at this stage) and then on to remorse, to hope, and then it all faded away. and now when i really want to make amends we've both changed such that it seems abit impossible to patch up. sad ): so, treaure yr friends!

ok moving on.... OMG I DON'T LIKE THOSE PICTURES, BOOHOOHOO. you all bully me! hurt my fragile feelings): eh if you all wanna take, take those that are more glam leh! like hmm i can dress up as a socialite, grab a small cute dog and pose for you. free of charge k! omg i'm so nice

and about our slack section.. haha. that can't be denied lah. it's true! we are slack. and i've got some reasons why!

1. yr SL is basically a super slack person who basically practises only when she needs to (=x)

2. yr SL finds that hardcore drilling is not her cup of tea(or coffee, whatever), she feels that we should use our brains to practise instead of hardcore drilling.

...not that drilling isn't effective; it is, it definitely is! but just that i believe that practising with yr brain will get you to that desired standard faster than drilling. and i really hateee drilling so i can't bear to do it to others. i always hoped that my section would be hardworking and dedicated enough to practise and think of ways to imrove by themselves. not that you all aren't ok, most of you are! only a select few isn't working enough..(hmmm, maybe i should try drilling eh. since it works on all the other sections. only i die of boredom and you all die of misery lah. but that's fine, we'll all die together xD )

3. i would say that cello teachers are generally less demanding than violin teachers (idk about viola or bass teachers alright). but again that's just my opinion from the years i've been learning both instrus

4. look at our orchestra parts lah. look at it. mozart loves giving us repetitive notes. and haydn's not far off either. when do we ever get the solos (which are actually the ones that really forces us to prac)? rarely! BUT! when these darn solos do come up they're often at a standard which is beyond alot of us. so we do try, and mind you we do improve, but if one compares our standard with the other sections it really is far awayy. unfair? maybe.

in conclusion: there are premises as to why we aren't too hardworking, and we do try to improve! but still that's no excuse. we need to try harder! sure we can play the simple parts, but the hard parts we're still a distance away. we can't be the section that pulls the rest of the ensemble behind just because we can't play the hard passages! so, come on buck up everyone! noone can't help you if you aren't willing to help yrself mah.

sectionals should be when you all have practised the piece at home alr, and there are some fingering/bowing/articulation problems that needs to be sorted out, then we all discuss it together dur sectionals. intonation, dynamics and whether you're basically able to play the piece or not should be settled on your own, and not having the seniors check whether you've practised and force you to practise on the spot during sectionals

ok i'm sorry i know my post is rather wordy and boring. but at least i updated! righright? yeeees. mel is nice!

alright, toodles!
MEL, your every friendly, considerate, caring and nice SL! (:

post. another one by rachael :]

2008-03-02T20:01:00.000-08:00

all right!!! me currently in school trying to kill time and all... feeling quite upset about some friendship problems now.. sighs.. can't help it. sec school's just too complicated. good thing i have my family?! >.<

oh wells, no idea what to crap about. comment: great pics of mel!!! muahahaa..... a nice model for our dear cello section. way to go SL! :] imagine what the other NYSE members have to say about the pics ....

hmmm... CCA's going on as usual. lots of comments from Mr. Sze that the cello section have not been practising hard enough. i;'m seriously getting quite nervous about the whole performance in NY. no idea if we'll do well. ok, correction here. we WILL do well. hopefully ...... the high notes in the pieces for cellos is so difficult to play. argh..... save me. save us! bah

camp is just a few days! yay... ~~~ though the programme sounds ok only. sheesh........ lots of prac for the drama performance. also have to do loads of prep for the NIGHT TRAIL. a great and wonderful thing that my class got to do this. muahahha . (again...)

ok. just wanna say jiayous everyone in NYSE. work hard for the performance at the Carnegie Hall!!!!! show them what we've got!

love,
rachael :p

the cello-coffin

2008-02-26T04:16:00.000-08:00

think that the cello can sometimes be the death of you? like you really want to rest in peace cos you practice a lot?

well, we have the newese model of a flight case for cello. which can double as a coffin for small built ppl like the microscopic melissa. here are the limited edition photos of our model.

rest in peace, we'll always remember you.

nope, that's not all...

of course, we gotta close her in.

than the sideways position :D

legs tucked in

oops carn really close

looks like microscopic still needs to lose a bit of weight..

haha..that's all about the coffin case if you really need a rest. though its only advisable for puny or smaller ppl. take your own risk, this post or blog is not responsible for any mishaps.

finally here

2008-02-23T08:01:00.000-08:00

why hello all of the dearest cello mates!!!!

i;m finally in here. thanks to the nice and kind melissa.

kay, keeping this post short. just wanna show that there are people who are showing love and concern to the blog! wanna prevent this lovely blog from being dead. errm, of course it had been for quite long time.... hehee :] ok, i;m being quite lame here.

kays, just wanna to remind you guys to continue posting and tagging. hope someone sees this blog again. sighs... :p

take care everyone! may the NANYANG STRING ENSEMBLE rock on forever!!!!!!!!!!!

ps: seniors!!!!!!! and everyone in the cello section! POST!!!!!! TAG!!!!!!!! >.<

love,
rachael :)))))))))))))

2007-09-05T05:58:00.000-07:00

ITS done!!!

okay, erm.. sadly, the pic is pathetically small, if i enlarge it any bigger, it will be pixelized... yeah so plz bare wif it><

anyway, i hope u all dont mind i adjusted the levels [of the image.. as in, auto levels] and added our names!! and the COOL "The CELLO Section" on top... i LOVE tat font yeay!! if u all dont wanna, i can take it away><

P.S. erm.. sry ho mel, your head is very out of shape... HAHA..

here is the original one

Love

*_Yuhe_*

2007-07-08T06:33:00.000-07:00

HELLO CELLISTS
in case you didnt knw, nysecellos@gmail.com actually EXISTS!
so, our dear audrey's going to post stuff there next time(:
like reminders for attendance forms HAHAH
so do check it sometimes yeah(:
actually. please check it NOWWW
i sent all the pictures there! :D
the user and pw is the same as our blogger account's
yay!
andddd if you dont know what the user and pw is, ask someone.
like me.
or audrey.
or anyone. HAHA.
k that's all!

toodles!
MEL(:

2007-07-08T06:16:00.000-07:00

HEY CELLISTS HAHA SECTION PHOTO:D:D:D

yayyyyyy i love nyse cellos! taken with yuhe in our superbly designed dress!(: (: and michelle with her vietnam hat(?)! haha

Love,
Audrey(:

2007-07-07T08:18:00.000-07:00

well! secfours are leaving!
frankly i think it's nothing much to be sad about, since we'll still be seeing them in school, and for the sec3s, we might join them again in hci if we join strings! i guess i would really be sad if they're leaving JC, not nyse, cos there's that uncertainty whether i'll ever meet them again, or whether they'll still remember me when we meet again. haha sorry if i'm breaking the MOOO-d here (: but, here's a dedication to the dearest sec4s of the cello section all the same:

Lu Theng, i reallyreally admire you cos you're like so hardworking, and when you get scolded by mr sze or criticized by me you don't appear to disappointed the last bit, instead you work alot harder and improve loads the next time... i think i will just wail and sulk about it and probably take awhile before i'm willing to prac more :D and also thanks for being such a nice and caring senior, always there when i needed help or cheering up, i'll really miss you! love the choc(:

Michelle, thanks for always being enthu and trying to help improve the section, and helping me conduct sectionals when i'm away(: will miss you :D

Shi Ru, thankyou for..alot of things! thanks for giving me opinions/feedback on the section so that i could try to improve on the weaker areas, and thanks for the gossipy sessions we had (but not alot lah right, mehhehheh). yup it's really cool to have people sharing the same opinions about uh.. stuff (: and thankyou for also being there when i felt down (haha camp :D) it's been really fun knowing you, sharing opinions with you and being totally crazy! will always remember the first time we met at the piano 2 years ago, and that we actually performed at the same yamaha concert when i was 8! :D so coool! i'll really miss you, and the really fun times we had during syf2005. and 2007. (:

Tingyun, yo! haha so talented, project superstar person :D:D thank youuu for trying hard to improve on yr cello, really appreciate it(: although you always miss rehearsals rather often (HEHEHEEEE! bish!) i'll still miss you k, the cello section looks weird without you! take care and hope to meet you around sch smtes! i'm sure you can recognize me despite that funky hair right :D

hoho i hope our dear juniors will miss us as much when the sec3s leave! HAHAHA :D

Love,
Mel(:

/

hey cellists hahah combined post! actually don't need combine post haha can seperate but it's cooler lor!! HAHA:D aw to show we so got mo4 qi4(: hahaha!

anyway mm yup sec4s are leaving, or rather, left alr cause it's last day today): haha well at least we have the last tango to remember this day by! (boohoo mellllllllllll!!!!!) but we were not bad today right!:D openhouse was kind of cool lor, the parents said we played well HAHA and some parent said melissa's very good and is the best cellist!! HAHA (don't deny ok mel) It's a sad day and i know i was very emo abt it (i know you all seem ok haha), but yup mel's right, we'll still see them in sch!(: (even though we don't get to play like that again) and we can organise cello outings and section lunches! yayyyyyy haha i love section lunch! strawberry pocky(: so anyway, to thank the sec4s, here's dedications to all of you!:

Michelle - haha thanks for being my deskpartner (most of the time! haha) and being funny and all! haha i know i shouldn't cry or feel sad haha but thanks for comforting me and always helping us improve, and i always follow you when i don't know how how to play:D you're a good cello player! mr chan and us will miss you): haha and thanks for being a good quartermistress:D oh and blake rocks hahaha! so coolio(: will miss sitting with you in ensemble):

Lutheng - hey haha you're always so hardworking and have that "never say die attitude", always striving to improve(: and you're always being so nice and caring, comforting us and being there for us all the time! you always help the juniors so willingly, and always 'give way' to us! you always tell me "jiayou" or "don't worry, you play well!" haha ahh very sad when you gave me the chocolate today, but just want to say thanks for everything!(: i'll miss your hardworking and caring attitude!

Shiru- ahhh shiru i was so sad you never go openhouse): but nvm, will still see you in sch right:D hahah bleah you're always so funny and making us laugh like mad! haha your sectionals are serious but still funny(: thanks for everything, from helping me calm my nerves before syf perf and always encouraging me to always being there for us, and making the mood of the whole section funny and lighthearted, it was really fun having you around! i still remember the section lunch that you put chilli on the lunchbox! haha it was really coolio(: will miss you and your funny jokes):

Tingyun - yesss hahah campus superstar, so cool la i bet i can't even get into the first round! haha but anyway, even though i don't know you that well, but just want to say thanks, still remember the times in TE when we were struggling and depending on you! haha and you were like encouraging us(: yup thanks and i'll miss you too!

yup thank you sec4s for all the fun lunches and fun times, and the "being mad and crazy before SYF" HAHA! we will always remember you all! don't forget us too k, must come back to visit! dont say "we'll come back!" and don't come back-.- hahaha ok promise ok! and join SE in JC!!!! yay:D

haha aw mel yupppppp hey juniors! see how much we miss them alr and we're so sad): (hint hint) HAHAH! ok ok jk i'm being ego haha. ooh it's late haha see you everyone! and we'll all jiayou together even though the sec4s have left! we love nyse cellos07 forever(:

Love,
Audrey(:

2007-06-05T20:30:00.000-07:00

Hello cellists! (And to all other readers.)

I'm surprised I thought of a name like Revenge of the Tenor Clef; I'm not even a Star Wars fan. (Sorry Mich!) But, we could probably come up with more names to create a saga of our own, :D Violist readers, look away NOW. We can do it Lucas-style; eg. Attack of the Violas for Episode II. (Violists who're still reading, it just shows viola players just cannot follow instructions, sigh. Now don't ask why viola jokes populate the arena of musical funnies.)

Anyway to all you cellists, particularly the ME cellists who played in SYF this year, you've been one hell of a section and we've had one hell of a time together. Though you can all probably say for sure that I've been the most unenthusiastic member of our section over the SYF period, I sincerely do appreciate the company and fun this section has given me. Sorry about the incessant ranting and occasional screaming or ticking-off from me, SYF was certainly annoying - in many ways - and I'm sure you'd all agree. However, that mundane, routine, evil thing called SYF is a bug which only buzzes around every two years, and it didn't - and shouldn't - affect how we are as a section or deter us from our rightful amount of fun. Thank you all, ALL, for making my time in NYSE special.

Sure, it's true I still miss the old 2005 section; it was brilliant and there's no way those months, those years can be brought back. But this present section, though somewhat pale in comparison as far as musicality / technicality is concerned (I'm honest, you guys know it.), has managed to claim a place in that invisible scrapbook we know more commonly as our memory. Melissa's very comical antics, Audrey's boohooing and amusing exclamations, Michelle's extremities and self-censored expletives, Yu He's determination and devotion to learning the instrument and improving her playing... There're a multitude of reasons that have made you guys one great lot of people, and those listed above are barely a handful.

Before I say anything else, I must say this: please call yourselves CELLISTS and not CELLOS! Cellos are those things you use to make music, and they're made of the same material that Pinocchio was made of, for goodness sake!

CELLISTS, you have made my time in NYSE so memorable. There're so many positive things I could say about all of you, that even though I've bombarded you with tons more insults than my math textbook has endured, you must remember that these good things outweigh the negativities.

Audrey, I truly admire your discipline; it's not every day one comes across someone like that. NYSE is very fortunate to have you at its helm now, as its new Vice-President. I know you'll do a great job.

Yu He, please infect your juniors with your amazing attitude. As you can see, some of them are already evidently in dire need of some of jabs of your perserverance and Energizer battery life. Your undying spirit is very admirable.

Lydia, stiff your vibrato may be, but you too, have a fantastically good attitude that you should spread. Squawk your stuff into your juniors, do.

Michelle, relaaaaaaax lah! :D

Lu Theng, you too, have an unbelievable attitude. Thanks for displaying so much care towards others in the section too, especially when SYF was reaaally getting us down at one point in time.

Last but not least, Melissa Ong Shi Chingggg, you have been phenomenal. You're living proof that a person's height is not a measure of his or her kindness. You were always reminding me not just to care about the music alone but also everyone else's morale, and you certainly have contributed much to that intangible bundle of memories that're now safely locked away in a treasure chest we all usually call the mind.

As you all should already know, my opinion of the ensemble isn't THAT high. I can say we're an average ensemble: average people with averagely average playing standards and learning attitudes. Thankfully we have one hell of a platinum conductor (who looks set to star in Episode IV of our saga, keeping the same title as the original Star Wars one - A New Hope) who has taken our ensemble to greater heights; heights that seemed so high, Melissa had to stand on a dozen chairs and crane her neck before being able to catch a glimpse of them. (The second part of the previous sentence was [not] a joke.) Mr Sze has been brilliant, absolutely brilliant, if not sensational, and I'd say it's due to NYSE's excellent collective karma that Mr Sze has come and worked miracles with the ensemble.

Cellists, you all know how our section's name was slandered all throughout the SYF period. Immediately upon detection of anything that sounded remotely like some discrepancy in the music, (index) fingers were pointed at us. Be it the articulation in the Dvorak piece or the intonation in the Passacaglia, we had people staring daggers and wagging fingers at us. Don't disappoint Mr Sze anymore - any further. I myself am guilty of a myriad of musical crimes. I know how pressurizing it is, to live up to a legacy someone before you has left behind, or to fill a void left by someone.

Thank you all for bringing something fresh, different and fun to my life. I didn't realise that the SYF Central Judging performance on the 20th of April this year was going to be my last performance with you guys. I realise it now, but nothing can rewind us back to that special ten minutes on that stage, or that agonising wait for the announcement of the results.

As Elvis famously sang in 1969, "Memories, pressed between the pages of my mind. Memories, sweetened through the ages just like wine."

To all of you, keep those leaves of your memories safely pressed, and don't take that Cello Chardonnay out just yet; you know it's sweet, and it can only get sweeter.

Yours very sincerely,
Shiru

2007-06-04T02:19:00.001-07:00

hey people! i've put in some music! aka GLINKA :D
tell me if you dont like it k!

MEL

2007-05-30T23:10:00.000-07:00

HALLO ONE n ALL!

TADDA!! yes its me!! [hallo??!! spot light plz!!]

[a moment of awkward]

HUm... okay, lets rehearse the entry again n lets hope the spotlight works this time...

HALLo One n ALL!!

TADDA!! yes its me!!! [spotlight shines] *grins*

[drum rolls.....]

who do u think? haha...

anyway, erm... my first time posting here... *nervous*...

firstly, i would like to congrazzz audrey!! *claps*...

n i did this pic for nyse cellos... i did the same thing for my cl sia cover page, but i thought the bg tat i made was very nice!! [ego-ing]... so i decided to change the words the NYSE ><... anyway, here is the pic!!! [finding the button to upload pic.... ]

lolx.. click on the pic for the bigger version.. haha.... anw, hope u all like it!! n the words below... if u all have any better suggestions, plz tell me!!!! cuz mel n i were having a hell of time trying to think of it. and apparently, both our brains ba4 gong1 since holiday started... hehe...

tats all for my post!!!
SaYoNaRa!!

-annonymous

plz be reminded to bring your umbrella!! the blog is rainning!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
P.S. if u all dont like the rain, plz tell me, i will go n delete it ><

2007-05-29T18:03:00.000-07:00

hello cellISTS!

ohman audrey, they're not cellos lor! tsk!
oh boooo i didn't got for hcse concert after all! had vjc reh instead!
omg they made us pay for the food that they provided!
eeeeek. next time i bring my own foooood man.
gah and the three of us (yuhe, shiru, me) were just nodding off during reh lahhhh
and shiru and i were so disappointed when we werent gna play glinka after all!
GLINKA IS NICE
we should all love glinka~
just as we should all love MEL! :D
why?
cos mel is nice!
mel is kind!
mel is caring!
mel is smart!
mel is utterly adorableeeee x]
haha kiddingkidding!

(omg kidding is a dangerous word to type! cos 'd' is close to 's' on the keyboard! :O)

OH AND LET'S ALL CONGRATULATE DEAR AUDREY
ON BEING VICEPRES/SECRETARY!
WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
and so yes we shall all be cooperative with the new exco!
yesyes? cos audrey's the VICEPRES:D
haha okay i know audrey feels weird being called vicepres. HAHA
YAY we should like go out to celebrate!
but not much time right. boo. nvm see how
maybe we shall just being a cake
and smash her face with it!!!!!!!!
eh no then the cake will be wasted! :/
LOL OK NVM WE SHALL DECIDE LATER WITHOUT TELLING AUDREY

hm k
that's all folks!
rmb to bring flowers for vjc concert okay!
so many ppl performing! if you dont bring flowers i shall throw apples at youuu x)
haha kidding
toodles!

2007-05-18T08:58:00.000-07:00

hello cellos!

how come everyone not going for hcse concert huh!!! what no time no time no time! see ah the concert is beneficial for cello! cause mr chan wei shing is playing haydn! how can don't go! if dont go for other concerts (excluding vj) nvm but hcse got cello solo leh!! hahaha

ok i sound like i'm scolding-.- ................HAHA ok nevermind. i know everyone very stressed about work and have many activities on, so don't feel like attending cause too tired/no time right? ok ok understandable, but still!! strongly encourage everyone to go! must try your best to go ok(:

pathetically only me and melissa going): ): ): ):

so lonely! i'm sure everyone feels sad for us, so must go! hahaha and juniors don't think you can escape ah! also must go! esp people under mr chan(: (hint hint)

lalala ok it's exco interview tmr! ahhhhhhhhh BYE!

2007-05-18T08:03:00.001-07:00

booya!
mel's finally updating!
mmm, let me intoduce to you the

CELLO SECTION SWEET FUND
better known as the
C.S.S.F

fines are imposed on cello section members every sectionals if they
1) fail to play up to expectaions
2) forget their pencils
3) forget to pay a previous fine
4) forget to put on rosin
5) did not tune their cello properly
6) did not bring their stoppers
7) did not bring their mutes
8) offend the almighty and great section leader

the C.S.S.F is copyrighted
Nanyang Girls' String Ensemble Cello Section, Pte Ltd
twentysomething Linden Drive
Singapore somethingsomethingsomething

Nanayng Girls' High String Ensemble
Cello Section

Where the Cello is our Life and

Sweets are our Energizer...

And Mr Sze is Our Path to a Greater Understanding of Music.

(:

2007-04-21T08:43:00.000-07:00

HEYYYYY NYSE CELLOS! hahaha i totally agree for the section lunch thing! section lunches rockkkkkkkk right(: so fun!

and we haveeeeeee to go for an outing no matter where it is! hahah i'm quite interested for the dvorak cello concerto thing, dvorak rocks!(: and also, lets all go for hcse concert! euniceeeee will performing(: must support senior ok! hahahaha and mel your great section leader (HAHA) supports the idea too! let's make it a cello section outing(: tell mel if you're agreeable!

also, i got other ideas for outing! like, ICE-SKATING!!!! HAHAHAHAHA ok mel i can see you going "audrey is mad" HAHAHHA ok ok i'm joking(: i dont see any connection between string ensemble and iceskating HAHA and i think you all wont want either(: i think concerts are the best la, most meaningful for us, fun and meaningful! soooo good right! lalala! hahah sorry ah i feel happyyyyyy now:D

and i want to protest! i'm soooooo not a bimbo(: shopping rocks but i'm too smart to be a bimbo! hahahaa i'm smart i'm smart i'm smarttttttttttt(: and noooo i'm not like what shiru said i was in SCH ytd before results were announced! HAHAHA lalala anyway!

just want to say THANK YOU NYSE CELLISTS for everything, thank you for all the hard work we've put in for syf, thank you for all the funnnnnnn moments(: i loveeeeeeee nyse cellists! syf has made us really closer(: go go go we'll improve more and more together!

P.S section lunches must include sec 4s! esp SHIRU even though she's leaving HAHA! ok only when she's free then she come lor, cause she got exams(:

SMILES,
AUDREY!(:

2007-04-21T02:24:00.000-07:00

HEYYY! let's continue to have section lunch and COOOL section stuff after syf!

our next aim is to be united as NYSECELLOS and this definitely includes our littlelittle cellists in TE! so we shall start by having sectionlunch every. uh. AHEM. lydia suggested every cca day which i agree with! cos if we have it everyday we'll become segregated from our class:D so who's also in favour of lydia's nicenice idea!!!!!

oh and we shall have a section outing too! what you girls want? movie?concert?lunch?or just like aimlessly haunting the shopping centre while audrey the bimbo goes on a shopping spree? hahaha let me know okay! but if you want to go for a concert, i can suggest this oneat the esplanade on 5 may, it's DVORAK CELLO CONCERTO played by this. person. nina somethingsomethingsomething. [so tempted to call her ninny. wahaha] yeah. so LET ME KNOW OKAY. email,sms,call,MSN,or tell me in sch, whatever. just tell me so we can all organize it together okay!

BYEBYE

YOU KNOW YOU LOVE MEL.

2007-04-20T05:11:00.000-07:00

WHOOOOOO NYSE CELLISTS!
WE DID IT MAN
GOLDWITHHONOURS!
WE ALL PLAYED SO WELL TODAY!! :D

2B2 was simply... fantastic! INSPIRING I TELL YOU! it was SO IN TUNE! although the beginning wasnt our best... but the rest came in rather smoothly, so niceee! yeah i was so proud of our section man! could just go around yelling "NYSECELLISTS ARE THE BEST. HAHAHA" uh, yeah zong3 zhi1, i really think you all played very well (:

and especially since you've all worked very hard to reach that disgustingly obnoxious standard of dvorak, we've had difficult times, times where we wish we could just HECK LAH, quit syf and stop the agony of struggling with the piece, but we've all overcome that and made it to the otherside of this heartwarming challenge with stronger bonds and greatly improved celloplaying and ensemble skills(: HOW REWARDING! so, take a break, relaaaaax, and unwind for the next 2 weeks! YOU'VE EARNED IT! ... yeah. really should relax before we will have interestingly FUN sectionals again :D i know you'll all miss sectionals rigghtttt! HAHA just kidding (: BUT REMEMBER TO PRAAAAAACTISE! oh and we should continue to have section lunch after tests lor! WHAT SAY YOU!

oh yah! and although our next impt event is just the CIP thing, BUT, we shall do equally well for it, and prove what a WOW section we are AS ALWAYS! and we shall PRAAAAAACTISE until mrsze has no reasons to scold us :D SO COOL!

GO NYSE CELLISTS! <3

- ur beloved SL-

2007-04-18T06:23:00.000-07:00

michelle[:

LOOK AT THAT EXPRESSION MAN.

audrey the retarded pig.

shiru is trying to be funny here.

2007-04-18T06:19:00.000-07:00

PICTURES! these four are the ones that shiru drew using chilli during sectional lunch -.-"

Still intact after being thrown into the bin! shows how strong we are[:

the nyse cellos :)))

2007-04-18T06:18:00.000-07:00

our dear blog is so so dead. i shall jolt it back to life with my post. apparently i had too much frankeinsten. bleahhs. poor frankie, poor victor, poor elizabeth. hahha. only those hu watch will knw wat im crapping. i dint knw that such a blog existed.i nt very in the blogging world, but oh wells. i think cellos rox! despite a lot of harsh criticisms i think we improved a lot. think back from day 1 and im so happy and proud to say im an nyse cellist. and now syf is just around the corner. i shall be honest to say tat we were nvr a united section fr the start, but we're trying and we're improving. i really luv the sectional lunch. we only started on mon but its quite fun.

to all these wonderful section-mates who do more than they need to:

melissa: my beloved sl! hahaha. u still win the title of being the puniest and most microscopic of all. thank you for being so dedicated and protective like a dear farmer over our cello farm. thank you for always being encouraging even though we suck and sometimes tell white lies so we dun cry our eyes out. (you do don't you?(: ) thank you my bestest best sl!

shiru: thank you for being fierce and making me almost cry. you were so fierce you made me quite scared. i was actually scared of you since sec 1 when you scolded me for taking a better soft case cello though i dun think you can rmb. thank you for your encouraging letter too. it's so sweet. and thankew for being slack and high and crappy at times, making all of us laugh so sectionals is not so boring. :)

audrey: my fellow t.e batch mate. we have already come this far. It seems not too long ago when we were in t.e. and now we're alrdy gg for syf sososo soon. we haf left jus tat last bit to put in our all. luv the way ur face turns so red lyk tomato and the way you say YOU KNOW as well as ur taitai-in-porche-car antics.HAHAHA. thank you for being so entertaining! :D

yuhe: fishfishfish.heheh.you are one of the most inspiring ppl i haf ever come across. thank you for tat determination and nvr say die spirit. you practice everyday its so inspiring. (wait, tat doesnt make sense to me. hmmm. nvm) you are also very cute, the way you talk and stuff. cos if u dun say i wouldnt knw tat you're older den me too. :D jiayou for the last bit to syf!

lu theng: my desk partner! thank you for always being there to help. lyk when my cello goes out of tune or i drop sth. you're always so nice to everyone. thank you for also trying so hard, cos ur hardworking is super infectious. heheh. sry i dint rmb ur bday (actually dint knw) in time, if not i'll prob gif u a pressie and mayb a surprise. lyk cake in ur face. hahaha!

michelle: thank you for being the super nice senior to practice with me during recesses. really appreciate your help. you're really super responsible for everything, including getting us back to the main focus of practicing everytime we get a bti distracted. thank you for being super patient to listen to my playing as well as collecting the monthly forms. rawk on!

i finally finished. im sweating now. -.-.- so weird. i really gotta study for physics le. having test after syf. NOT FUN. bleahhs.

lydia.the one and only.

PLEASE UPDATE

2006-04-29T04:08:00.000-07:00

please feel free to modify the template! (: and eh. post leh.. if not i feel that i'm very extra by creating this blog. =( and if u dunno the user and pass please come look for me thanks.

A RISE guy

2006-04-09T07:02:00.000-07:00

Hi girls! And guys yar from RISE and NYSE! I am from RISE, so definitely I am not Melissa. Or Eunice. Or watsoever. Well if you want a clue, I am related to a Baroque composer who composed a Prelude in a Cello Suite whom one of you cellos performed in the masterclass yar. So who am I? Ok enough talk yar, I am helping your dear Melissa from the NYSE Cello section to post and liven this blog a little yep. The cello masterclass you girls performed was reviewed and criticised at the same time (very harshly) by Lizheng from RISE. Its in RISE's cello blog and if you want to know whats the URl, you can feel free to ask your dear Melissa from the cello section. Meanwhile, there is nothing else to talk about and I will help edit this blog as often as I can. Please don't be alarm. I am not going to take over this blog. Remember, I am a RISE guy? And we are all the "minions" of Mr. Sze remember? (Sorry Mr Sze) And by the way, I didn't hack into this blog. Or maybe I did. But all the same, bye!

2006-03-14T22:02:00.000-08:00

hi everyone! welcome to the new...
*drumrolls*
cello blog!
proudly created by mel gong who was wuliao enough to do it. xD
please ask me for the userid and password, ty.

GONG.