JPS New York Music Immersion Trip 2010 Part 4

Happy Times!

Now that I have completed the serious stuff, it's time for Happy Hours! Good Palate ... Great People ... Glorious Places!

We are certainly well-fed during the trip!

Central Park in Autumn!



            



Look at all my adorable kids! They actually ate 7 American Hotdogs each on average! Good God!



Ellis Island & the Statute of Liberty!



Can you feel the Spirit of Freedom?



    



 

Empire State Building!

Above: Haha...my four boys! The three Musketeers and Friend. The one on the right is my son, Thomas.

No, he is not into music...he's a science geek. Much as I would like him to follow my footsteps, he's more influenced by my wife. It's ok, mine is a democratic family :) I am happy as long as my students are doing well in music.

Natural History Museum

Many of my students have watched the movie Night Museum, this is a chance for them to see the real thing!

Well, I'll let you in on a secret. We, the guys in the group, got lost in the museum...lost in time! The group would know what I mean.



The Gum Gum looks bigger in the movie



Ah...the Little People!



I don't know why all the videos became blur after uploading onto the blog. I am so sorry about that.

Downtown Manhatten!

 

Street Scene

  

Joshua, Ethan, Jared



The Performing Arts Scene in New York is very active.

- this is an understatement.  

I'll let the Concert Mistress, Rebecca Beh, conclude with her feelings and impression of her string ensemble:

"The New York Trip was a great experience for me in leadership as well as learning to look after and look out for my friends, just like how they looked after me. In just 10 days, we have really bonded strongly and had lots of fun. This trip is indeed a memorable experience. I will never forget it."

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That's all, folks! This is my first try at writing a blog, I hope you enjoy reading and watching our New York Trip and I also hope the students will remember this wonderful time together. We must also not forget those who cannot made the trip but played an important part in helping the ensemble achieved excellence. All of you in the ensemble are winners. My wish for you all is success in anything you put your hearts into. Without a doubt, you can.  

JPS New York Music Immersion Trip 2010 Part 3

20/11/2010 Thanksgiving Dinner at Great Neck Community Church!

The Great Neck Community Church has invited us to share their joy and celebration at their Thanksgiving Dinner. A church member, Ms Phyllis Tan, has generously sponsored the feast, and Ms Julie Li Chih Wei has kindly make all the arrangement for our visit.  Now that my children have sufficient rest and have enjoyed themselves for the past few days, they arrive fresh and excited at the church. Everyone joined in the thanskgiving and feast, including our friendly Tour Coach Driver.

In the words of my Concert Mistress, Rebecca Beh, "....we had a sumptious dinner..." We sure did. I think the best part of the trip is the food. We seemed to be having feasts every single day!

The Church members were all very friendly and took great care of us.

Photos below: We looked like students from the Hogwarts School of Magic at their Grand School Dining Hall....ok, use your imagination please.

In appreciation of the warm hospitality of the church members, my children performed for them 2 pieces composed by J.S. Bach, one of them is Where The Sheep Safely Graze. We have particularly chosen pieces from J.S Bach because Bach, the great musician, is also a devout christian in the lutheran tradition. During his time, there was a high demand for religious music, therefore, sacred music became the centre of his repertory. Bach's music was steeply influenced by his christain faith. He was able to produce music for an audience that was committed to serious, regular worship.

The ensemble played surprisingly well. In the words of Concert Mistress Rebecca Beh,  "We couldn't hear each other playing on stage so we had to rely alot on Mr Tong's conducting. Although we coud not hear what each of us was playing, we did pretty well. The friendly people here enjoyed our performance, and again, I am very happy with the ensemble!"

By the way, I was supposed to sing two songs on that beautiful night, but didn't manage to. Anyway here they are, not sang by me, of course. Please click on the song name and enjoy...

赎罪羔羊      &      你坐着为王

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22/11/2010 JPS Performance at United Nations HQ, New York!

 

Concert Mistress, Rebecca Beh, " We were feeling excited as it was a rare opportunity to perform at the United Nations Headquarter, New York. At the same time, we also felt sad, because this would be the last time we perform together again. Many of us are graduating from primary school this year. "

Yes, it is an honour to be able to perform here, as a young student ensemble from Singapore. My wife had slot in a piece of paper into my folder before I set off for this trip, with these words written prominently on it:

Only One Aim - Only One Mission - Make Singapore Proud

I am not sure if I have achieved that but I am grateful to our Singapore Permanent Mission for supporting us and sponsoring the event. I am also grateful to the UN HQ, NY for hosting this performance in their compound. And I take this opportunity to thank Ms Suzie Tan, the First Secretary at the Singapore Permanent Mission for her tremendous help to make this a smooth and successful performance for the children. Many government official and diplomats came to support the JPS String Ensemble at the UNHQ. They were very impressed with the young players; The children also enjoyed talking to these adults who came to cheer them on.

Left : The cellist were very hardworking, they practised till their skin peeled at their finger tips.
Right: Sectional warm up...halloo...young man, are you playing guitar? Haha...have to admit he got style!

Above: We just arrived at the United Nations HQ, New York. We were early because the security clearance was expected to be strict and would take some time. 

Below:  Sorry for the sudden cut-off in the video below. We were warming up and I think we were being informed that it was time to get ready for our preformance.

United Nations, hear the Singapore kids from Jurong Primary School make music!

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Music Programmes During the Trip

I have arranged a comprehensive music programme for the string ensemble, however, I am unable to put up much photos here as we are not allowed to take photographs inside the buildings. The children learnt alot at Juilliard School, Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center.




Lincoln Center

 


"Sneak" Preview

   


Carnegie Hall



We also watched the World Famouse Violinist Anne Sophia Mutter performed with New York Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Michael Francis at Avery Fisher Hall. She played Mozart, Wolfgang and Rihm very well and NY Phil is simply awesome. It was a fantastic evening.

  

Anne Sophia Mutter

   

Michael Francis



How do you get to Carnegie Hall? ... Practice! Practice! Practice!

JPS New York Music Immersion Trip 2010 Part 2

18/11/2010 Highlight of the Trip!

The highlight of this New York Immersion Trip is the music exchange program with John L. Miller-Great Neck North High School. This trip would not materialise without the invitation from the Principal Dr Bernard Kaplan, the arrangement by the Assistant Principal Dr Danial Krauz and all at GNNH. Briefly, this is our wonderful host:

A 2000 GRAMMY Signature School   ♫   A 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 GRAMMY Signature School Semi-Finalist  ♫  Carnegie Hall Performances: 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009  ♫   Avery Fisher Hall Performance: 2002   ♫  Tri-M Chapter of the Year: 2^nd Runner Up: 2008   ♫   Tri-M Chapter of the Year: 1^st Runner Up: 2010   ♫   Lincoln Center Chamber Music Society winners: 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2010   ♫   Broadcast on WQXR FM Bob Sherman's Young Artists Showcase on September 17, 2008   ♫   Disney Magic Music Days National Competition, Select Singers: 1996, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007    ♫   Chamber Music in Your High School Workshop-presented by our Tri-M Chapter at the NYSSMA All State Conference in 2004,   ♫   the MENC Eastern Division Conference in 1999, 2005 and 2007   ♫   the NMEA Balanced Mind Conference in 2001, 2003. 2004, 2005, 2007 and 2009   ♫   NYSCAME Workshop Series in 2007

  



Maestro Joseph Rutkowski

Not forgetting a very important person - Maestro Joseph Rutkowski!  
He is the key person, and a wonderful friend to me.

Mr Joseph Rutkowski
Music Chair, Great Neck North Middle School
Instrumental Director, Great Neck North High School

Joseph is from a family of musicians and is a two-time US Presidential Teacher Recognition Award recipient. He is an encouraging teacher and is well-loved by his students. Joseph is also the Advisor to Tri-M Chapter 2605. Most of all, he is a multi-talented musician that conducts, plays the clarinet fabulously in addition to the piano and the accordian!  

  

For those of you who are on a regular diet of American teenage TVs and Movies...Yes! this is the America High School Hallway! And next to it is what you can see out of the classroom window....

And before we start our lessons, we were sent to the Princiapl's Office .... haha .... NOT for mischief.

Today is a fruitful day for both GNNH and JPS. My students have kept their spirit high despite having jetlag and having practised into the late hours last night. Mr Rutkowski's students are warm and encouraging, removing any inhibitions of our young players so that they are able to participate in the exchange with poise and confidence.

This is what my Concert Mistress, Rebecca Beh, said, "To me, I feel very honoured to be playing with the students at GNNH, and also very proud of our ensemble being able to maintain our standard even though we had just landed barely 18 hours before arriving at GNNH! Actually, we were still having jet-lag!" She adds happily, "We had interaction time after various classes and during each interaction time, the first question the GNNH students asked was how we managed to memorise the music. I was pleasantly surprised that our friends were amazed that we could memorise so many pieces. I feel happy because this is something that was expected of us to be able to do, and we did not know this could be something special to our friends."     

It's amazing how two schools are brought together, students learning from each other and inspiring one another. My students are amazed at the musicianship of GNNH students. I am equally impressed with Mr Rutkowski's way of teaching, especially his "drop the needle" method. They would love to keep my students :) and I would love to play music with them one day! 

  

Both JPS students and GNNH students join forces to perform a demanding piece; In one of the combined performance, a GNNH drummer joins in with an excellent display of improvisation (there's no percussion part in the score)! See us in action:

 

Some of the GNNH students are also studying at Juilliard College. One talented Bassist was from Singapore.

 

Before I show you anymore photos, I must describe the school lunch - it's simply delicious. I loved it, the kids would love it more! I am sorry I could not put up any photos of our lunch, I must have been so hungry that I have not taken any photos! 

Food and Nutrition Supervisor, Ms. Daley-Jiminez has prepared a wholesome menu that includes:  Milk, Juice, Salad, Vege, Fresh or Canned Fruit Entree, School Bran Sandwiches, Fresh Cheese Piza Slice, Hamburger, IE Boar's head Hero, the hot special of the day, Snack, Chips, Ice-cream, Cookies, etc.

We have a wonderful day and it's gift-exchange time. The Tri-M Officers presented me with a memento and JPS HOD/EL Mrs Tricilia Chua presented the school with a painting done by JPS student.

Time to bid farewell to our friends from Great Neck North High. Before we left, we took group photos at the garden and the main entrance. Thank you GNNH! We hope to see you all again!