My Spark: Spreading the love for music

Many people ask me why I sing in the SYC Ensemble Singers.

That is, outside of running my online boutique, TheVelvetDolls, being a blogger contracted with Nuffnang and working part-time with GetKlarity as the Editor-In-Chief.

With some fellow choristers in Hondarribia, Spain.

A group polaroid in Pamplona, Spain with the SYC Ensemble Singers

That's right folks, for the past seven years, I've spent seven hours (on average) a week in rehearsals with the SYC Ensemble Singers, which I joined the year I turned 21 years old. Apart from the seven-hours-a-week rehearsals, the SYC Ensemble Singers also travel every year, performing (concerts), competing (in international choral competitions) and learning (in choir ateliers/workshops). It is a huge commitment for me, especially in light of my super busy schedule, and I've had to work hard to keep myself in the choir in recent years, due to the high level of commitment required.

But when I ask myself if I should call it quits, or to leave the choir all together, I know that being able to sing as part of the SYC Ensemble Singers has become something that's grown to be a very important part of my life, and perhaps even somewhat part of my identity.

Because outside of work and personal commitments, this is how I'm doing something not just for myself, but for something that's profoundly bigger than just a singular me. When I'm singing in the SYC Ensemble Singers, I'm lending one voice to a cause to keep music well and alive in today's pragmatic society that sometimes doesn't pause to listen to such alternative voices.

Yes, we listen to pop music, we listen to the oldies, and we listen to the classics. But what about the living modern-day composers, that may become the Beethovens and Bachs of the future? If there is no one to give voice to our living talents, these voices will die out and face extinction.

When I first joined the SYC Ensemble Singers 7 years ago, I just thought it'd just be my way of keeping my passion for singing alive, but after so many years under the helm of the wonderful Jennifer Tham, I have learnt that I'm doing so much more than just keeping a passion alive. 

The one and only Jen Tham

As a singular SYC Ensemble Singer, I not just learn to become a better musician (coming from someone who cannot read music or sight-sing, even I'm impressed that I'm still here after seven years, and that is a testament to both the choir and how passionate I am for it!), I'm connected to like-minded souls, I experience different cultures through our international exchanges, I truly discover what commitment, discipline and dedication means. 

A treasured photo with the President of Singapore Mr Tony Tan and his lovely wife during the Cultural Medallion Award Ceremony.

In Turin, Italy for one of the largest festivals in Europe! Team Singapore Represent!!!

What it looks like before every concert. Game faces on!

..And after. Beer, food and laughter!!

As a collective group, we seek to promote the music of today through active commissioning and performance of the works of living composers. We explore the musical boundaries of what “choir music” is, what singing together means, we hope to showcase what a choir as a means of musical expression can be, and to inspire the proliferation of local choral works, choirs and choristers. 

There's so much I feel for music and singing in a choir that is too much for me to express: Read my previous blog post written some time ago about "Thoughts on Being a Chorister".

Having fun in Turin, Italy during an amazing choir festival!

Singing with two other choirs: Ateneo (from the Philippines) and Gaia (from Japan) during our massive THREE concert held last December.

Of course, it's also super FUN, there's always laughter, joy and a wonderful sense of camaraderie amongst my fellow members. I have been to soooo many foreign lands I would otherwise never have the privilege of experiencing and loving.

Aini, Woon, Fish and myself exploring Grenada, Spain after we ended an international choir competition.

I have made amazing friends like Woon, Fish, Aini and many more, because of the heartfelt experiences we've shared together, it takes some really serious stuff (like intense choral competitions!) to build such deep friendships. I love you all much!

Random trivia: Did you know that YZ and I met and fell in love (at a music cafe) because we both love to sing as well? :D

Circa 2007: YZ and I on stage at 木船民歌餐厅, The Ark Music Cafe where we first met

Random Trivia 2: The SYC Ensemble Singers sang together with Mick Jagger and the rest of The Rolling Stones during their last concert in Singapore *fan girl screams*

Woon and I with our memorabilia during the day of The Rolling Stones concert, SO so psyched!

All the above I've shared is why I started a Spark: Because music is something magical that speaks so loudly to me, beyond all tangible needs and wants. Singing and making music is something that speaks to my soul and satisfies me at a deeply spiritual level.

 And I want my magical experience and the love for music to be able to be shared with the people around me, my loved ones and friends!

My spark is for MORE ears to hear our voices and to keep our local music scene alive and well!

Some of my uber supportive friends who came down and enjoyed our concert on previous occasions!!

I'm hoping that more of my friends will come for my concerts frequently even if they can't understand half of what's going on at first. Hehehe. Look at YZ, he's a superb example! He really really enjoys SYC concerts now even though they left him confused the first 1-2 times.

And I've been doing what I can to share the music to my loved ones and friends, and I knew I had to have them sing for my big day, to which they so lovingly did.

These wonderful people accompanied our first wedding march-in with their beautiful voices and music. I love you all much!

I hope that my passion for choral music and my love for singing can spark off more widespread appreciation and support for the local music scene in Singapore! It's just a small wish of mine, but I truly believe in this cause. :)

Maybe take a first step by listening to some of these wonderfully composed pieces performed by us on SYC Ensemble Singers' Youtube channel first? (Psst, try to spot me if your eyes are sharp enough!)

What's your spark?

Spark off something you're passionate about at: www.dbs.com/spark, and take a step closer towards igniting your passion and to bring it to life :')

Find out more about DBS Spark Something on Facebook: www.fb.com/dbs.sg

Instagram: www.instagram.com/dbsbank 

Twitter: www.twitter.com/dbsbank


xoxo

Look for me on my other social media platforms here:

 Twitter   Instagram   Dayre    Youtube

Turin: Day 2

can't believe quite how quickly the days go by, and it's currently midnight of our 3rd day here in Turin! i've been good and have found time to edit some more photos, from our 2nd day, so here they are and i hope you'd enjoy looking at them! 

i'm just glad i have the time to sit down and document these days, every morning of waking up in a strange and wonderful land is a deliciously exciting experience i savor with my very being. feeling cobbled pavements beneath my feet, listening to people speaking languages that are incomprehensible to my ears, taking in the sights and sounds of a foreign city. it's an incredibly exhilarating whole new world, and i love it!

we look forward to breakfast every day: simple fare but oh-so-satisfying :)

baguette, scrambled eggs, ham, yogurt and muesli for breakfast every morning at the hotel! 

random flowers. purple and yellow. beautiful combination! 

something we don't do often enough in Singapore: to get around from place to place with our own two feet! it takes 20 minutes of leisurely walking to get to our rehearsal venue from our hotel. it's nice to have the luxury of time, and i think we spend at least one to two hours a day simply walking around and getting from place to place.. my feet are complaining from all the walking, but i actually enjoy it very much!

my comfortable pair of fuzzy zebra sandals that's been making their rounds on the cobbled pavements of Turin. they are from Sœurs! you still get 10% discount off when you quote my name, until the end of August! Sœurs is located at Cathay Cineleisure, #02-12.

rehearsal time. we rehearse for 3 hours every morning, and break for coffee in at the cafe next door, in between.

a chocolate croissant and expresso macchiato. need some caffeine to perk me up!

inside the cafe, it's just one of the many cafes peppered along the streets of Italy, it's hard to find bad coffee in Italy so you probably won't go wrong anywhere :)

Marissa and Fish! :)

after an exhausting morning rehearsal, we are all famished (or perhaps just greedy for more good food) and thus begins the search for our next meal: lunch! it's easy: we simply roam the streets and settle on any restaurant in sight. so far so good: i don't think i've actually tasted anything bad yet! when it comes to Italian food, nothing is ever quite close to the real thing. so cheap and good at the same time! always looking forward to our next meal!

a bolognese pasta stuffed with ragu (rabbit meat?!) the sauce is so meaty and rich and tangy!

vongole tagliatelle that won a thumbs up from everyone! i think we are definitely going back again for this dish.

ham and mushroom pizza, can't go wrong with this either!

on the other side of the table: 

and on our side.

we share all the food, so we get the best of both worlds! i love variety when it comes to food, and every meal hardly costs anything more than 9 or 10 euros (SGD15) after splitting the bill! yummy in my tummy.

and how else to walk off the gratifying lunch, but to walk and shop! seems like it's the perfect season for shopping, because every shop is on sale!!! there's a huge ZARA store just a couple streets away from our hotel, and we spent our afternoon shopping away! haven't got the opportunity to visit any of the luxury brand stores yet though, cos Turin is quite small and there aren't so many of those shops!

 

ZARA!

by the way, SALDI means "Sale" in Italian! now you know :D

SO CUTE! i still can't get used to seeing so many pooches on the streets and even in the shops! but they are all so well-behaved and adorable! how i wish i could bring my dogs around the shops in Singapore too! 

i wanted to buy more, but this is what i've got for myself so far!!! a pair of black shorts and a denim shirt that were less than 20 euros each, a pair of flats for only 13 euros, (all on sale from ZARA!) and a makeup palette from H&M for like less than 8 euros. cute daisies headband too, 

yay! pretty new buys :D 

when in Italy, do as the Italians do... eat lots of gelato!

i finally finally got my first taste of gelato this trip: we went a little gelato crazy on our last trip to Italy two years ago, but have decided to rein in our insatiable appetite for gelato just a little bit this time round! heh. Grom is a super well known gelato shop and it is deeee-leeee-cious! was so happy to find a Grom just 3 minutes away from the hotel, it's literally only around the corner!

a medium cup with three flavors costs 3 euros!

for our first cup: pistachio, yogurt and nocciola (hazelnut) flavors! oh i have missed nocciolla flavored gelato so so so much!!! we are now united.

YAY! first gelato of the trip!

 

happy happpyyyy!!!! didn't disappoint at all and now i would like to have more nociolla ice cream please, thank you very much!

we attended an opening singing session that was part of the Europa Cantat festival in the evening, and it was SO amazing! a sight that you'd be hard-pressed to see in Singapore. ranging from the young to the old, so many people all there to sing and listen in the open air arena the session was held at!

came prepared with our song books too!

while waiting for the session to start...

look at the crowds!! we didn't manage to get any seats, so to the ground we went :S

contest of the giant mouths

and the opening singing begins!! it is so fun, like a giant sing-a-long campfire session, and i just love how everyone is singing and moving along to the music!

there's even actions for one of the songs!

haha!

a wonderful sight to behold! music is such an integral part of their culture and they enjoy it so much. it was so fun to do the open singing session!! we'll probably go again another night!

the best way to end a long day of work and play: cup noodle party!

we are fast depleting our stores of cup noodles! it's time to hit the local supermarkets, maybe we'll find some instant pasta instead... hehe. 

i am going to bed now, and we have a morning off tomorrow, so i'll probably stay in our hotel room to get some work done! i'm so grateful for the Wi-Fi connection, been Skyping regularly with YZ and missing him from here, as well as being able to instagram and blog and check emails and all that! though right now i am really tired and am going straight to bed after completing this entry.

ciao ciao and good night! :)