On this special day, I took my precious leave to watch the SYF Competition for String Ensemble at the TRCC, Republic Poly. I longed to watch SYF as it will bring back all the memories i experienced in the past as a secondary and a college student.

Took part in SYF 3 times, twice in NCHS string orchestra and once in MJC Chinese orchestra. The times when eveyone in the cca comes together to practice almost everyday with a common aim: to achieve the best result (GOLD w Honours).

When I was watching, bits of these memories flowed back into my mind. Remembering how I used to practice the pieces till I could literally play them without looking at the scores, it is really amazing. It shows how much time and effort we've put in to this SYF as a whole.

From the previous SYFs, this year's competition saw an increase in the number of string ensembles taking part. It shows that Spore's school is starting to invest in stringed instrument and it's a good development. Wind orchestra on the other hand, is already very common. Schools like River Valley High, North Vista and NUS High had took part this year. Though their results are not very pleasing to them, but I think it is a big step to develop string music in schools. Applause to these schools!

However as a whole, the SYF is very disappointing this year. From the past years, I feel that the standard of those prestigious schools has been excellent and they provide a great SYF performance. But this year was different. The repertoires were not chosen with much consideration from my opinion. This is a competition, not a school's concert. The repertoirs were either classical or those that are too dull and lack of room for expressing the orchestra's unique culture.

There are exceptions such as MGS and RJC. They put up a very good performance! I enjoyed their pieces. Nice way of impressing the audience with their unique style of playing. =)

As for NCHS SO and VJC SO, all the best for next syf!!

~My Melancholy~