SYF Finals 2003 (Thurs, 24 Jul)
What can I say? VJchoir, I am SOOOOOO proud of you all, my beloved juniors! =D Yes we didn't win, but not for lack of trying, so no regrets there. Yes, you may cry now in pent-up disappointment and plain emotional outburst, but these hard times make you strong eh? All the late pracs, tired drilling sessions, sectionals, and the eventual D-Day (or D-night) itself...I guess all these school competition things train you (in some small way) for the harsh real world, where "there are other things to cry for" (from "Onions" by Chia Xinghui).

That said, concert review mode:
TPJC: nice, Nelson-trained voice. No complaints about interpretation (it's nelson, duh!). Enjoyed their Daemon, even Malammogliati. But their Autumn Leaves (and their performance in general) lacked a certain magic. In fact only VJC and ACJC managed to pull of a sense of magic--the unquantifiable aura that makes music-judging at such high levels almost subjective (one reason why I don't mind 2nd place--it's technically indistinguishable from 1st).

RJC: Entertaining, but TBS just wasn't that up to it. Nelson claims the 4 years' study abroad hasn't done TBS any good. I'd disagree but I can see why he said that. Iddem-dem Malida just sounded wrong--it's a tribal WAR CHANT, not a ballard! Was rather appalled. On the plus side, One of Those Things was a typical RJCian crowd-pleaser. They've got that crowd-reaching charisma. "Let Raffles Entertain You" indeed.

NJC: Nothing really inspiring here. Though generally was technically good, as I said they lacked magic.

ACJC: o_O Wow. ACJ choir WALKS DAMN WELL. Their steps are slow, sure confident--with a tinge of ACian arrogance, perfect for performing "divas". When I heard them I knew VJ would have a hell of a run for its money. O Quam was brilliant--they had used the months since Evening with Friends to polish that chordal sheen in their typically perfectionistic way of theirs. Really showed the shining glory of God. I still maintain however, that their Ronde was worse than ours =p. It had less range of volume and expression. But their Spring Dreams, some say, was what clinched them the Top prize--excellent sound texturing and gesprochene (spoken) musik. AC really are top-notch at that sorta thing. And funny, auidence-engaging choreo for El Hambo too. To end it, they wisely chose their stable & solid Soleram to remind the judges that "we are AC, and damn good!"

VJC: Was afraid for us after hearing AC, but we carried ourselves well. A bit too much tension in the walking--I could see "we must WIN" written all over their faces, while AC was genuinely relaxed. I was blasted clean away by Water Night--this was by far their best rendition (and I've crashed quite a few pracs). The shimmer effect, the range of volume, unbedingt perfekt!! Our Ronde, as mentioned, was great. Ave Verum was excellent, full of emotion and God, a worthy equal to any of ACJC's motets. Really loved Kodomo too, nice Matsushita piece was done justice by our Basses! Not too heavy but still rooted and regal--balanced. Of course, Humpty Dumty was our Secret Weapon. Nice SFX and choreo. Lol and Joshua died so well too! OK, any more effervescence and I'll sound like a squealing teenybopper. So my review ends here.

I really hope someone took a good recording of SYF Finals! My recording mic was blasted to oblivion as I was in the 4th row. =( Evil ushers...