Christmas Celebration

Hi all, I recently took part in a Christmas Caroline @ Orchard as CIP event. Rather fun and exciting to stand in front of the whole crowd. I have seen such performances many times before but it was my first experience standing on stage and playing the piano in the public.

I was helping out our school's choir as pianist for a christmas caroline our school organized, for the experience, joy, and of course, most importantly, the CIP hours, haha:) We had three days rehearsal and practice before we went to Orchard on the 18th so I was quite confident I can perform well.

We planned to perform simple and well known songs like Jingle Bells, Joy to the World, Hark the Harold Angels Sing. We had some free time in between the final practice and the real performance itself, so I made se of the time to make some friends. To my surprise, there were actually volunteers from other CCAs that participated as well.

The first location we performed at was Tangs Orchard. There was a mini stage for the choir to stand and sing, and we set up the piano at the side of the stage because it was near the audio cables settings.

It was not as simple as I thought - the technicians had to connect the piano to the damper / pedal, set up the audio amplifiers and cable the amplification wires into the piano. The volume of the piano had to be tested so it would not be too soft yet would not override the choir sound.

The crowd that gathered around was, to our pleasant surprise and fear:), quite big. We were performing beside the road, and with the crowd, it was really hot. Everything went fine except for a technical glitch in the middle, where the piano suddenly went mute.

Nonetheless, the choir continued singing, and I calmly tried all ways to fix the problem before the next song started. Finally, the keyboard sound came back, and we all let out a huge sigh of relief, including my parents who were watching me.

Fortunately, the final stop at Wisma went fine.

I feel that through this event, I have learnt how to coordinate as a team member, and how to stay calm when there are difficulties (the technical glitch). It is indeed a good exposure for me to perform in front of the public, as well as a effective platform to build up my confidence.

I am looking forward to my next performance at Wisma Atria again next Monday, 8pm. Please come and support us if you happen to pass by. Thanks.