Sharing last evening’s experience or perhaps I should start from booking the tickets.
During one of che-che’s lesson (I happened to be there) tutor asked if she wants to watch a SNYCO performance. It has never crossed these two hopeless-in-chinese-mind to go for a chinese orchestra concert so we thought why not. He has 15% off so he gave us a code, but I couldn’t use it. Anyway it’s only $22 🤭. Wah….and it’s $22 for front seats or back seats, unlike SSO concerts where premium box and various Categories price differs. 这么便宜 how they make money? Does this mean the SCO musician earns lesser than an SSO musician?
Apart from KC CO, definitely heard CO before from somewhere but we are both angmoh pai so we usually listen a little then walk away 🤣.
So abit of culture shock was the moment we were in SCCC carpark all the way to SCO Concert Hall. Even the ushers speaks chinese. The patrons speak chinese. I’m sure they’re Singaporeans and why are they speaking in chinese? It’s like these two CHIJ girls are surrounded by SAP school/schooled girls n boys suddenly.
When conductor said something, I bet che-che was frowning like me coz we had no clue what he was saying. Then came the English translation which was comforting.
Songs wise - they’re not playing those classical pieces we’re familiar with. They are written by people we don’t know 😂 and we can only imagine and try to immerse ourselves in the music. At one point I felt like I was walking in a bamboo forest but then the music suddenly became faster and more drama(?), I couldn’t feel it anymore? Why is it fast? So the only thing one can appreciate chinese compositions is to read the programme first, I always go to a concert blindly so it may be difficult for me to change this habit. For the encore, there was a short excerpt from William Tell Overture - Finale. Ehhh…. I still prefer the angmoh orchestra playing this.
Audience wise - if the SSO plays this William Tell Overture - Finale, the audience will immediately clap along to the horse galloping rhythm. But they are so well behaved until someone started clapping almost to the end of the part, then the rests followed. SSO audience tends to enjoy and response to the concerts.
Conductor - oh yes! I have to highlight this point. Angmoh orchestras’ conductors always so 依依不舍 to leave stage, they leave then they come back, they leave then they come back few times. It’s just some etiquette I think. But CO just stand there and when they leave they really leave 🤣 一去不回头。I may be wrong with this observation afterall this is my first time to a CO concert.
Instruments - I’m more familiar with the instruments. Can pick out the dizi, suona and percussions. I’ve always liked yangqin and guzheng. But at that moment I just couldn’t rmbr the name. I saw the instrument and asked che-che but she is totally clueless. In my mind I was trying “zhiqin, zhenqin 😂 what qin? Only back at home I rmbr it’s called yangqin.🤦🏻♀️
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