Let us just start by saying, sorry for leaving this blog unattended for quite awhile. Nothing much happened in the past few weeks :( However, something interesting did happened to two of our members, Wani and Po Ann. On August 2nd, 2014, both of them had their convocation at UCSI Kuala Lumpur. They finally completed their three years of study in UCSI. Both of them graduated from their Bachelor in Classical Music course. We wish them both the best of luck in the world and may more success coming down their paths. Life will be challenging in a whole different way from now on, but we are sure that they will be fine :)
Again, for the last time, congratulations to these two girls and good luck for your future. Also, let's work our way to become better performers, as well as a better string quartet ^_^
Hello there lovely people of the world! Today, just thought of sharing something music related. Same song but from three different generations. We all know the recent Disney movie called Maleficent that was released not too long ago. Not sure if you have watched it, if you have, what do you think of it? If you haven't, you should really give it a shot because it is not like the typical Disney's movies. You might like it.
Anyway, the song that we talked about before was called Once Upon A Dream. Now, to those who have watched the Disney Classics Sleeping Beauty will definitely know about this song. However, in case you don't know, that song was taken from a ballet written by a great 19th century Russian composer named Tchaikovsky. Disney took the waltz from the Sleeping Beauty ballet and put lyrics into it, and thus, it becomes Once Upon A Dream, that most people know as today. As Maleficent comes, another version of Once Upon A Dream appeared. This time, it's sang by Lana Del Rey, and she gave it a whole new mood. It kinda suits Maleficent, so, it works!
Now, let us show you the original version of Once Upon A Dream. Which is, the one written by the genius, Tchaikovsky. It is an instrumental ballet. So, I hope you enjoy this original version of this song just like we do ^_^
Have you listened to it yet? We sure hope you do. What do you think of it? Isn't it beautiful? Now, let's move on to the version from Sleeping Beauty. Of course, by this time, it is known as Once Upon A Dream.
Very nostalgic, is it not? Well, at least for some of us, it might. So, in this version, it is pretty much very typical style of Disney classic movies. A song that sparks the romance. We've all heard it, like Beauty and the Beast, A Whole New World, Can You Feel the Love Tonight? and so much more. So, this is pretty much one of them. Which one do you prefer so far? The classic instrumental version or the Disney classic version? Ok, now that you have both songs in mind, let us listen to the most recent version of this song, which is the one sang by Lana Del Rey.
What do you think? A little too dark for your taste? Or something that just defines you when it comes to good music? It is all very subjective, there is no right or wrong answer, there is no good or bad version...it is all a matter of preference really. Just because you loved the version by Lana Del Rey, doesn't mean everyone else will feel the same way, but that does not make them (or you) have a bad taste in music...you just have different preference when it comes to music. That is the great thing about music, it speaks to everyone.
In one of our previous post, we updated about our beloved Jennifer Lim leaving the quartet to pursue her musical dream in Yong Siew Toh Conservatory, Singapore. We are all happy for her, but the show must go on. We have discussed and searched for Jennifer's replacement. As a result, we have found a new cellist for our string quartet group. Her name is Sophia Ng ^_^ We all look forward to work together as a team.
Say hi to Sophia!
Sophia Ng started her musical training at the age of 3 when she enrolled
in the Yamaha Junior Music Course. There she received ear training, aural
skills training and piano lessons. She began taking interest in large musical
ensembles at a tender age of 9 when she participated in her elementary school
symphonic band as the principal clarinetist and student conductor. Sophia studied the cello with Maestro Lim
Soon Huat and joined the Jit Sin High School Chinese Orchestra whereby she
became the student conductor and principal cellist. Simultaneously, she also joined the Jit Sin
High School Philharmonic Orchestra as principal cellist.
Through the years, Sophia has led and joined the
orchestras in various concerts and competitions both locally and
internationally.Among them, she won
Gold with Honors award for large ensemble in the 21st Century International
Arts Festival 2008 and 2009.She also
led the orchestra in winning the gold award for the National Chinese Orchestra
Competition 2009 and 2010.In 2010, she
was awarded Best Student Conductor in the nationals.As for concerts, Sophia has joined her
orchestra to tour Hong Kong in 2006, performing in the prestigious Shatin City
Hall.In 2010, she and the orchestra
held a concert in Shanghai, China in collaboration with the local
orchestra.
Sophia is currently a scholarship student pursuing BMus
(Hons) Classical Music in UCSI University studying classical cello under
Associate Professor Dr. Chong Yew Yoong.Apart from that, she is also under the tutelage of renowned cellist
Jonathan Oh.
Yesterday, on Teacher's Day, we did a performance for the launching of UMLand City Gallery at Traders Hotel Puteri Habour in Nusajaya Johor. It was a long day for all of us, we played for the arrivals of guests and the VIPs to the ballroom, and we played during their dinner time. We played selections of popular music such as My Way, Funky Town, Top of the World and something closer to home such as songs by P.Ramlee like Malam Bulan Di Pagar Bintang and Getaran Jiwa to Yuna's Terukir Di Bintang.
It was a long day for all of us involved, we left very early on the 16th and arrived at Traders Hotel at 1pm, where we had our lunch, and did a little run through to test the space and the balance. Later in the evening, we performed for the event while the guests were arriving until the VIPs arrived. Then, we played again while the VIPs were having their dinner. The event went well, we heard positive feedback. We are happy to get to be part of the event and we would like to thank those who put their trust on us to provide them with some music for the event.
Finally, we would like thank, again, to Umar (viola) and Ershad (cello) to sit in for Wei Yi and Jennifer who could not make it to this event for unavoidable circumstances. You pretty much saved the day for us! Thank you ^_^
