My Music Part 2

By the time the exam day arrived,I felt fully prepared! All the exams were conducted in the auditorium and piano rooms at the main Gloriamus building. My exam was in the auditorium. The students had to prepare a photocopy of each piece that we play for the examiners. From the number of photocopies we prepare, you can then deduce how many examiners would be there in your level. The number of pieces we play for our exams and the number of examiners vary for the different levels. We will give the photocopies to the examiners before we start playing the pieces.
After I registered, all I had to do was wait, wait, wait, as the last student a level below me was still having her exam. Waiting is always the worst part of exams, as my nervousness just piled up one upon the other. My wait was so long though, that I became numb when I was called to enter the examination room.

Usually, when I play in exams or competitions, my fingers would shake due to nervousness. Strangely though, when I started playing my pieces my hands didn’t shake and I felt calm and relaxed. My hands gave away though towards the end of the exam and they shook, but I was able to finish my exam with hardly any mistakes.

Several weeks later, it was announced on the course's bulletin board that I got first rank (as usual), for both the flute and piano examinations. Thus, I was invited to perform in my school’s Year End Concert. The Year End Concert is part of Gloriamus’ yearly activity, in which the students who have achieved first, second, and third ranks in the exams are invited to perform one of their best exam songs chosen by the judges. Lucky for me, I was to play my favourite song out of all my exam songs, which is the Fantasie Impromptu. At the end of the concert, there will be an award ceremony. Those who performed in the concert will receive a certificate and trophy for achieving first, second, and third ranks; and those who receive high scores in the music theory exam would also receive their theory certificates on that day. There would be an ensemble performance too, where the students would perform 2 songs: "Dari Sabang Sampai Merauke" and "Carol of the Bells". I would also be playing flute in the ensemble with 2 other flutists. There would also be a Guzheng performance by two musicians who were invited by the school. Everyone was invited to come to the concert and watch if they want to as the purpose of this concert was to motivate other students who hadn't achieved any ranks yet.On the day of the concert though, I also had a piano competition in CDE Open Piano Competition. My category was scheduled around the same time as my scheduled concert performance.

Joining this competition was a pact that I made with my teacher. When I requested Fantasie Impromptu months before the Gloriamus exam to my teacher,I expected my teacher to deny my request, as I thought it was still too hard for me because it's known to be an advanced song. To my surprise, she accepted it, but with the condition that I join the competition. As I really liked and wanted to play Fantasie Impromptu, I agreed immediately. Originally, I didn't want to join the competition as I would've just had my exam and didn't want to feel the nervousness of performing perfectly again.

For the competition, I play in the category Advance A. I'm only required to play one song of my choice. I decided to use one of my exam songs so that I won't have to do double work. My first choice was Fantasie Impromptu, but then I changed my mind and decided on Sinfonia 12 by Bach instead. Why?The total pages of the Sinfonia is only around a quarter of the total pages of Fantasie Impromptu, so I would spend less time on stage playing Sinfonia than playing the Fantasie Impromptu.

Because I had to play in both the concert and the competition, I had to make several trips back and forth from the hotel where the competition was held and the concert auditorium. Luckily, the auditorium and the hotel were not so far from each other. It only took around 15 minutes to get from one place to the other.

First, I went to the competition. I was the last one to play in my category. I had to wait for the previous category to finish so I had to wait pretty long. I was a little bit nervous while waiting for my category to start. It got worse when I was finally called and asked to sit in the participants' chairs. I was supposed to compete against 9 other participants, but one didn't come.
As I listened to the other competitors performing, I realized that the piano quality wasn’t sharp and clear. I didn't like it very much. When it was my time to perform, I put all my focus on my music, ignoring all the distractions around me and just on playing all that I’ve practised and learned. I was able to play well, with hardly any mistakes.

After I finished my piece, I didn’t get any time to cool down. I rushed immediately to the concert hall for my school’s Year End Performance. The concert was divided into two sessions with intermissions ensemble and Guzheng performance in between. The first session was for piano performances and the second session was for all other instruments. I was supposed to perform Fantasie Impromptu at the end of the first session, but I didn’t arrive in time. I had to skip my piano performance and play my flute ensemble pieces: "Dari Sabang Sampai Merauke" and "Carol of the Bells".

I was kind of disappointed that I couldn't perform the Fantasie Impromptu in the first session because the first session was attended by pianists. I had practised it so much that I really wanted to perform my favourite song perfectly in front of other pianists, who would understand the music better.
After the Ensemble’s Performance, it was time for the award ceremony. The MC called the students to get on the stage and stand in a row according to their exam categories. A teacher will then distribute the trophies one by one to the students while the MC called out the student’s name and what rank the student got. I stood at the very end of the row. I was waiting for my awards to come, but it didn't! The MC didn't even mention me. She had forgotten about me! Luckily, the teacher who gave the awards noticed me and asked the MC for my awards. The MC apologized and said that I didn't perform before so she thought that I didn't come.

While waiting for the second session to start,the Guzheng performers practised on stage. They were the first to perform. I didn't know if they performed in the first session because I wasn't present and the ensemble performance was the last performance in the first session. I'm glad that I got a chance to see them perform.

The Guzheng performance was great! They played two songs and one of them was a church song. It was interesting to hear a western song being performed with a traditional Chinese instrument. There were 2 Guzheng players, so they played the song like a duet. They looked very graceful while playing with their hands flowing back and forth the strings. The sound that the Guzheng made is similar to plucked string instruments, but even more clear and vibrating. Once in a while the players would play several strings very quickly to make trills, which sounded beautiful.

After the Guzheng performance, I had to hurry backstage because next was another ensemble performance.After the performance, I was rescheduled to play Fantasie Impromptu and then my flute piece.

I was nervous playing Fantasie Impromptu and my fingers shook while playing it, but I was able to play it well. The only thing I regretted from that performance was that I coughed when I was around 2 bars away from finishing the song. I held it since I was halfway through the last page but it slipped out just nearing the ending where I was playing softly and calmly because I was about to wrap up the song. So you can imagine how loud the cough sounded. It totally spoiled the performance for me.
My flute performance wasn't as good as my piano one as I was even more nervous now. My playing wasn't stable and the notes didn't come out clear. I also didn't play out the character of my song well. It was supposed to be a fun song, but I didn't play as happy and upbeat as the song should be. With the end of my flute performance and thus I completed all the performances of the day. I only need to wait for competition results and award collections.

The certificate and trophy for achieving first rank on my flute exam will be given out after the second session’s performances are over. Thus, there was still some extra time so I went back to the piano competition to see how I did. Before the winners were announced, the MC promoted the sponsors who sponsored the competition and the music school that held the competition. One of the judges also gave advice and tips on piano performing. I wasn't nervous while waiting, but to avoid getting nervous if the MC talked too long, I played games on my dad's phone. Luckily, I didn't get nervous.
Finally, it was time for my category to go up stage. Those who won will be called to step forward. I didn't expect much, I just hoped for at least getting the 3rd win. Lo and behold, I won 1st place. Other than getting a trophy; I got a voucher, a book, and some prize money.
Now that the CDE Open Piano Competition had officially ended, I went back to Gloriamus for the awards sessions. Once again, I was called up to the stage and the teachers distributed the certificate and trophy for those who achieved ranking on their musical instruments examination. This time I wasn’t forgotten. Yayy!

I felt really happy that I got to perform my favorite song, Fantasie Impromptu, and on top of that, I won first place in the CDE Open Piano Competition.

The one on the left and middle are my first rank trophies and the one on the right is the competition trophy. This is one of the songs that I played in the ensemble.
For now, this is my last music trophy, because I am no longer interested in participating in competitions and Gloriamus exam because the practise sessions take up too much of my time and I would like to use my time for exploring other things. Doing many concerts and competitions are all like training me to become a piano performer, but that's not my goal. I hope you understand!

My Music Part 1

This is still a trip to the past, as I'm going to write the behind-the-scenes about how I got my 3 music trophies, mainly 2 of them, that I earned last December 9th, 2018.

The first and second trophy was an award from my music course Gloriamus for getting first rank in both my Gloriamus piano and flute examinations. I didn't have that much obstacles while preparing for my flute exams, but I had one big obstacle in preparing for my piano exams. That obstacle was discipline, which I still had until now. I do like the songs that I played for the exams, I just don't like the many practise sessions that I had to do to perfect & memorize the songs.

I had advance level piano exam as part of my piano study at Gloriamus in November 2017. I had to play four piano pieces from different music eras. I chose to play Sinfonia 12 by J.S. Bach, Hoboken XVI by Joseph Haydn, Fantasie Impromptu by Frederic Chopin, and Arabesque by Claude Debussy. I do like the songs that I chose for the exam however, they are complicated to learn. They were from different eras, so I had to play them differently according to the characteristics and existing instruments used during that time. For example, during the Baroque and Classical era of Bach and Haydn, they used harpsichords because the piano wasn’t invented yet. So I had to keep that in mind and be aware of the differences between harpsichords and modern piano and try to replicate how songs were played on harpsichords on modern piano. I also had to make sure that I played the rhythm of the notes precisely. Additionally, I also had to memorize the songs.

I encountered difficulties because of lack of discipline in practising. I didn’t practise every day and wasn’t serious in practising. I didn’t follow all the instructions and corrections that my teacher gave me. As a result, I couldn’t play the whole song smoothly. Normally, I could finish learning a music piece in 2 weeks if I wanted to, but because of my indiscipline, I hadn’t learned the pieces even after three months.

My teacher was surprised that I still couldn’t play the whole pieces even at a month before my exam, so she gently scolded me. She said that I would not be able to memorize and play my pieces smoothly if my progress was still this slow.There was a high chance that I would fail the exam. Fail an exam!!! I've never failed an exam ever in my 14 years of life, especially a piano exam. My teacher’s words gave me the motivation to prove her wrong. I'll prove that my teacher got it wrong!

I started spending all of my free time (when I don’t have other lessons) practising the four piano pieces. First, I have to learn all the melodies and rhythm and be able to play from the beginning to the end with absolutely no mistake. Secondly, I have to add the dynamics and characteristics of the pieces. Thirdly, I have to memorize them. I practised for hours and hours on the songs every day. First, I have to make my playing smooth (it's not even smooth yet) then I have to memorise it. It was  very repetitive, and it did get pretty boring, but I persevere because I didn’t want to get scolded again.

By the time the exam day arrived, I felt fully prepared!

To be continued!

Music (Bimtek Part 2)

Following my last blog’s entry about my participation in Bimtek, we now focused on the main event of creating and performing music. If you haven’t read the first part yet, read it here before you continue.

So basically, the first day of Bimtek Event was mostly about getting settled and getting to know the other participants and mentors. On the second day, all the musicians were regrouped into groups of five. We were instructed to come up with a positive theme, especially about Indonesia and unity, for each group. We were given time to discuss for a while and then we must announce our chosen theme out loud. The mentors will write each group’s theme down on a whiteboard. As the mentors wanted unique theme for each group, the groups with the same themes must compete with each other for the theme or find a new theme. Some popular themes are about diversity, unity, and tolerance in Indonesia. In the end, I forgot what theme my group decided on, but it was something about "friendship."

I like my new group better than my previous group (I didn't think I really fit in). My new group made up of five people, three boys and two girls, including me. All of the boys can play guitars. They came from Pekanbaru, Kudus, and Jakarta.The girl was from Papua and she could play the trumpet. We chatted about a lot of things. It was fun talking to her. I think I like and feel more comfortable with the members in my second group because of their personalities. I'm not sure, maybe I think they're more mature?

Next is making the song! We were uncertain on whether we should compose the melody or lyrics first. In the end we decided on the lyrics. The lyrics were mostly composed by me and I have to admit, it was hard :). There were even some parts that my group's mentor deemed inappropriate, so my group had to edit and revise them lots of times. Lyric writing went on until past lunchtime. Then, we had to work on the melody.

We wanted a mix of pop and traditional Indonesian style melody and we wanted it to be fun. In our group, the different instruments our members could play were guitars, jimbe, kendang, and flute so we composed our melody with those instruments in mind. 2 mentors helped us revise the music.

At first, each of us hummed out melodies we felt that is suitable with the lyrics. The guitarist then strummed out some matching chords. We were halfway through the song when a mentor came and listened to our progress. He commented that the song was a bit plain and suggested for us to maximize the use of other instruments and not just focused on guitar.

I played out some traditional melodies with my flute and tried to match to the guitars’ chords. However, the mentor thought that the flute’s sound would be overpowered by the guitars and it would actually sound very sweet on its own. Therefore for the introduction, we decided to start with a flute solo.For the chorus we added a traditional drum and guitar parts for a more upbeat and modern melody.We had to change the structures of some parts of the lyrics so it would fit with the melodies. Finally, our song was finished close to dinnertime.

We still had some time to spare before dinner and my roommate, Ike, said that she'd like to see the storytelling group’s activities. So we went to the second floor where the storytellers are. Ike and I brought our musical instruments, flute and violin. When we arrived there, the storytelling participants had finished their assignment and were just relaxing and chatting with each other. They asked us to play our instruments for them. I didn't prepare for the impromptu performance, but at that time I was a fan of the Swan Lake theme, so I played a part of it as I didn't memorize it all.

A boy chirped out “Waa... a Barbie song!". That was unexpected! I found that a bit amusing and embarrassing at the same time as I came to the realisation that there was indeed a Barbie movie,“Barbie of the Swan Lake”, which used the Swan Lake theme song. I remembered watching the movie when I was younger. After a good laugh, the storytelling participants asked me to continue playing. It was nice and pleasant meeting them.

We were scheduled to perform the songs that we just composed in front of all the music groups after dinner. Since Ike and I went to the ballroom earlier than the scheduled time, we had some time to spare. I showed her how to play my flute and I tried her violin. Ike showed me how to hold the violin and where to position my fingers. She taught me to play the note “D” and “G”. At first I thought that the fingering’s not as hard as the flute as there were only 3 strings on the violin. It’s easy to position my fingers. However, when I actually played the notes, I realized that it’s hard to make the sound stable. Sometimes the notes sounded on pitch and sometimes it’s off pitch.

Soon afterwards everybody gathered in the ballroom and it’s performing time! The atmosphere changed and everyone was tense. The mentors randomly picked the order of the groups’ performance. There were 8 groups in total and our group was the 8^thgroup. Perhaps, the mentors felt sorry for us for being the last group, so they decided to change our position from the last group to the first group, by choosing us to perform first! Lucky us!

I was so nervous! Our song started with my flute solo as the intro. This gave me a lot of pressure as not only our group was the 1^st one to perform, but I was also the first one to perform alone. I'm glad that there was a mic and camera test first, so I could calm down on stage for a while. We were asked to play a part of our song for the testing, which calmed me down a lot. Finally, the official performance started.

As the performance started, I put all my focus on my notes which I put on the floor because there was no music stand. So I wasn’t too affected by the cameras and the audiences. I’m happy to report that our performance went on smoothly without any mistakes. You can watch it here.

After everyone had finished their performances and the event was closed by the music mentors; there was a huge celebration. Most of the participants became hyper and danced around; I guessed they were letting their steam off. There were also a lot of photos or selfies sessions. After a while, everybody dispersed. Some went back to their rooms, while some continued to hangout.  Now that I think about it, I just went walking around in groups visiting other contestants’rooms. I think we were a bit rowdy and disturbed some other hotel guests. The security even came out to control the situation and some of the boys ran off. Eventually, I went back to my room. We had a mini party in my room with my roommates, Ike and Kak Ulfi. We had hamburgers and chatted until late night.The next day we packed up, took selfies of the three of us together, and it’s time to say goodbye.

This event forced me to step out of my comfort zone. I had to interact with different people from different cities and backgrounds. I felt that with so many participants, I couldn’t get along with everybody, but I did find a few good friends.This was the first time I was asked to compose a song in group with several musicians right there and then. It was challenging but fun. I also got to know some traditional Indonesian music instruments. It was truly a crazy experience.

All the participants.

Me and my roommates.

Ike, me, and Kak Rosince.

Music (Bimtek Part 1)

I haven’t been an active blogger last year due to my laziness (I'll admit it), but starting from April 2018 I suddenly had an aspiration to post weekly (I hope it will last!). I couldn't do it on April though, as I had to prepare for my national examinations which would take place on early May. I finally had more time to blog in June, during the holidays.There were many events that I hadn’t blogged about and so, for the next couple of blogs it will be a trip back to the past.

I participated in 3 big music events during November – December 2017. The first one was from October 30th to November the 1st. It was called "Bimbingan Teknis Akutalisasi Potensi Anak Melalui Media Musik Dan Dongeng" which is shortened to "Bimtek." The second event was my music school’s year-end performance and the third event was a music competition.

Bimtek was held by kemendikbud (Kementerian Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan), Indonesia's ministry of education. They picked teenagers under the age of 18 from each province of Indonesia who have interest in music and storytelling to create positive music and stories for other kids and teenagers. This year, there were around 87 participants from 47 provinces. I was the representative from Banten for the music part.

It was supposed to be interesting meeting teenagers from almost all over Indonesia, but I found that it's not exactly easy to make new acquaintances. On my first day there in the morning, after registering myself, I was asked to wait with the others in the dining area. As I entered the area, I saw some of the other participants sitting in small groups. I didn't know which group to join as I don’t know anybody so I sat on an empty table.

I took out my math exercises to work on, hoping that no one will come up to me and talk; but at the same time I'd like to make friends with the others. Half an hour later 2 older girls came up to me and asked if the seat in front of me is empty. I said yes. After introducing ourselves, the two girls talked to each other while I continued with my maths. They went to the same college and chatted about people they know, their college, common interests, etc. I tried to join in the conversation, but I didn't find anything that I can relate to, so I just stayed quiet. Now that I think about it, I think I didn't put enough effort into trying to make a decent conversation.

Long before this event, one of the event organiser put the participants and mentors into a Whatsapp group. My mom informed that she was to be put into the group in my place because there's something wrong with my Whatsapp. Neither my Mom nor I checked the group frequently, so I thought that the other participants weren't talking much.

2 tables on my left one of the small groups became bigger as more participants arrived. At a glance, they were talking and laughing as if they already knew each other. I thought that the participants made another Whatsapp group without the adults, just for themselves. As my mom already informed the group the event organisers made that she was representing me, I thought that they didn't invite me into the group because of that. This made me think that the group 2 tables on my left already knew each other and were talking like close friends. This made me felt left out.

I paid more attention when more participants arrived to the 2 tables on my left. That table is the most crowded one now. They introduced themselves and get to know each other as if they never met before. This made me doubt my theory before about how they looked so friendly to each other.

I wanted to get to know them, but isn't it weird when the girl who's been sitting 2 tables away from you since before suddenly come up and introduce herself at that time? Why didn't she make friends since before. So I decided not to do it. 

As it got closer to lunch some of the people from other groups (including that group 2 tables away from me) came to my table to introduce themselves. It was nice meeting them.

After lunch the participants were asked to meet up in a ballroom. The MCs there asked where we came from. "Who's from Kalimantan? Who's from Sumatra?" When they asked which participant came from Jawa Barat and which came from Banten I was confused. So I just raised my hand when they asked the participants from Jawa Barat :p. I come from Banten anyway.

They then asked all of use to stand up and introduce ourselves to each other. I just stayed next to my seat while I introduce myself to any random person that would shake my hand. The Mcs encouraged us not to just introduce ourselves near our seats, but to move further into the crowd. I'm afraid I didn't get too far :p.

The MCs then called those who think they can remember at least 15 people to come up to the front and say their names. Well, I definitely didn't remember anyone that I met in that room. 4 people went up though. I recognized them from the place where we waited before and I guessed that they remember at least 14 because they already get to know at least 14 people there. There are more than 14 people in that 2 tables on my left.

When we were dismissed we were offered refreshments. We were asked to meet up again later in the evening. The music section were to meet up in that same ballroom, while the storytelling section are to meetup somewhere else. With that much amount of spare time, I decided to take my card to my room and take a rest there. 

I shared a room with 2 other girls. One of them is Kak Ulfi, the girl who shared the table with me before in the dining area, and another one is a year younger than me. They both said that it took a long time for them to get their cards, because the queue was crazy. That made me realise that I wasn't supposed to take the card before the mentors tell us too, but anyway....

When evening came, we met up in the ballroom as scheduled. Somehow, I felt that the atmosphere was tense. It could be because I feel pressured around new people. I sat next to Ike, one of my roomates, who's a year younger than me, and some friends that I made during dinnertime. I found out that Ike and me liked several similar things, and we had fun talking about them.

The mentors broke the ice by singing us a fun song. They then asked us to sing along. At first everyone's singing was rather quiet and shy, but then it got louder, and those with guitars played along (we were allowed to bring our portable instruments, and I brought my flute). The atmosphere became more fun and friendly. 

We were then put into groups, and were asked to make a yell-yell for our group. They asked us to agree on a time and place tomorrow to make the yell-yell. Tonight will be useless to make one, as everyone were definitely tired. After introducing ourselves to each other and asked for contacts, we decided on 7.30 a.m. at the canteen to make our yell-yell.

The next morning, I woke up the latest out of the three . My consequence was: everyone bathed before me. While waiting, I prepared all my things so that after I bath, all I have to do is pick them up and go. I wanted to be on time because I'm afraid that my teammates would find me irresponsible. As I bathed the last, I had less time than the others to bathe if I want to meet up on time. 

My bath was really rushed as my roomates bathed longer than I expected. I still reached the canteen on time though. However, I was disappointed when I reached the canteen. I tried to find my teammates who I thought were already sitting somewhere in a group, as it's 7:30 already. I was even about to skip my breakfast as my consequence for waking up late, but I couldn't find my group anywhere.

I then saw one of my teammates still eating and chatting with her friends. I was surprised, and rather hurt. Her actions showed that she was irresponsible; she didn't respect the other group members who might had met up and were waiting for her. I found out later though, that others did the same like her. I didn't dare speak to her because I didn't really know her. I thought I still had time while waiting for them to finish theirs, so I followed Ike to take my breakfast and sit with her and some friends. I didn't eat much as I was afraid that my teammates will soon call me to gather up; my table is next to one of them. I had a little chat with my table mates and one of them asked me the languages that I could speak. She then asked me to say some English words while she recorded me. What should I say? As I had no idea of what to say, I just answered some of their questions in English. I felt I had done a poor job in showing my English, but anyway. That was one of the most awkward breakfast time in my life.

After I finished breakfast, I tried to find another of my teammate, as my next table teammate seemed busy chatting. I tried to find the one whom I thought was pretty friendly. I did met her, and we found a table for our discussion later. Our other teammates came after a while, and so the meeting started.

In my opinion, the meeting didn't go well. First, we forgot that we had to make a yell-yell, and instead made a song that kind of introduces our group. Not all of us are active in making the song; most of us just looked confused but they tried to get involved.

As most of us were late when starting the meeting, when we reached the ballroom at a scheduled time our song wasn't finished. Luckily we got a fifteen or 20 minute extra to finish it.

To break the ice (again) among us, the mentors had organised a game. We were to stand in a circle, and a person in the middle of the circle was to say a particular thing that some of us had. Those who had it were to move to any space in front of that person. The last one who didn't get any space was to replace the person in the middle. It was fun.

After each group performed their song (unfortunately, the others also made my group's mistake) and the mentor pointing out our mistake, we were asked to sit in a circle. One of our mentors performed a song that she composed when she was younger. Our mentors also asked one of the participants to perform a song that he made in his native language. All the songs performed had meaningful meanings behind them. 

We were then regrouped and this was where the fun starts! We were going to make a song.

I'm going to continue next week as this took so long to write. 

My First Flute Ensamble

Last August, I also joined a flute ensemble, called JakFlute, held by Bu Marini Widyastari and Bu Metta F. Ariono. It was held in The Resonanz Music Studio, and in total, there were 20 flutists, excluding a basoonist, a drummer, and a pianist.

First, we all came at late morning to prepare everything and rehearse. We wore the T-shirt uniforms that we already got a week or 2 ago during the rehearsals. It wasn't for the concert, it was just for the group photos later. It became really hot though in the afternoon, as we couldn't have the ACs on. 

My biggest role was playing 1st flute in a kids trio. We played 2 songs, with one accompanied by the pianist. The trio was made up of me, Kayla (a girl older than me) and Nathan, and 8 year old boy. He was the youngest player in the concert.

The most memorable event there was the funny performance by two piccoloist playing the roles of birds. For their entrance, instead of the usual formal entrance of coming to the stage, bowing, tuning the flute, then start playing, the pianist suddenly came from an entrance door, sat on the piano and started playing. Then, from another entrance door, the piccoloists immeadiately came, each wearing a bird mask, and waving and dancing wildly around going to the stage with their piccolos. Once they're on stage, they introduced themselves and explained the reason behind their acts.

The group photo in the morning with our uniforms.

The trio.

The whole JakFlute Ensemble playing 2 songs to finish the concert.

Group photo after the concert.

To be honest, I really enjoyed playing in this flute ensemble than in an orchestra. Maybe it's because almost all of us play the same musical instrument, which might make me feel closer to them. It was a fun day!

Concert in TIM ( Taman Ismail Marzuki)

Last August 9th, I played the flute in my school orchestra for a  DepDikBud (Ministry of Education and Culture affairs)  event. We had practiced weeks before the D-Day, but we were asked to come at the eve of the event in the evening, and required to arrive early in the morning on the D-Day for the preparations.

The banner.

Me playing among the flutists.

There were cultural dances too.

Presenting the traditional clothes from the places where all the performed dances came from. 

At the end of the day,  I didn't realize it, but I got really tired until I slept in the car after several minutes in it. To be honest, though I don't really like meeting new people (or people whom I don't really know), I kind of enjoyed playing in the orchestra. It was a fun day.

About Music (Again)

The next day after the competition, I watched the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra for free. I don't know about the others, but anyone from music institutions/schools can apply for free tickets, because it's good for us (musicians).

I was dropped off at 4:30 by my mom in Gloriamus Greenville, because I'm joining Gloriamus's principal to the concert, together with several others, as my Mom had to take care of my sister. Then I would be picked up by my Father.

It's located in TIM Jakarta:

This was the main soloist at the concert. 

I met other homeschoolers there too.

The next one (June 17th) was when I played the flute collaborating with TRUST Orchestra (Trinity Youth Symphony Orchestra) in Balaikota Jakarta. #senandungsorejakarta.

Many woodwinds were there.

The musicians that collaborate played both sides ahead the main orchestra.

Eyang Titiek Puspa and Pak Djarot.

This event was created to strengthen our unity in Bhineka Tunggal Ika. It means diversity in unity. It was great fun!

About Music

Recently, I played in 2 events, one, on the 25th of May, which is the Ascension Day of Jesus Christ, and on the 12th of June, in Gloriamus Piano Open Competition.

On the 25th of May, I played the flute together with 2 others as part of Gloriamus' Orchestra for the Church music in GKY BSD service. I played for 2 services starting from around 7:30, and both services summed up ended before lunch time.

Before the D-Day

And yesterday was the second event, where I won 3rd place:

I learned a fine lesson on my practising journey up to the competition. I thought that, as it's a church song, it would be easy, so I delayed practising one of the songs, as I was just too lazy to practice it. In the end I practised both songs (there were 2 songs) (not so) seriously 2 weeks ago. 

Just then the opportunity to learn with Jusuf Himawan from Singapore came, and I think he's kind of a specialist in church music. Now "that song" that I was too lazy to practice months ago, wasn't perfect yet, it's still, we could say, in "ruins". So it's a bit of a waste....

A week and 2 days before the competition, I started memorizing "that song" and I got stressed out, until I wanted to resign from the competition, although my parents were disagree. It's all hectic. 

Last Monday, my teacher talked to me and showed me the ways and techniques of memorizing it quickly and strengthen it. Surprise, surprise! I managed to memorize the piece in a day (although it's not strong yet). Next I played each part (I divided them into parts) again and again until I got it right. 3 days before the competition and I'm bored with the piece.

3 days before the competition I had my course with my teacher again and she polished it, giving me tips on dynamics, how I should play it, etc, etc. So I practised it and, by Saturday I'm all set. 

The other song wasn't practised as much as "that song", but it's okay already I think.

On the competition day, I didn't feel as nervous as how I used to be in the past, probably because:

1.There were not many audience, so the seats were arranged similar to how the seats were arranged when I came to try the piano.

2. My mindset was just: play for God. This is all for God. So when I played I wasn't as nervous as usual.

What I learned was that... it takes time to master something, don't leave it out until it's (almost) too late.

Thanks to Ms. Ruth Wibisono for polishing me the most. :)

P.S. 

When I came to try the piano a few days ago, how the seats were arranged could be random, as the auditorium may be used for other events/practices, and it's usually most of the seats piled up along the walls, while only a small amount were laid out for use, so how the seats were laid out on the competition day was similar.

Schumann Night Concert

Yesterday (6 June) I had a concert based on 2 Schumann albums, which are Album Für die Jungend (Album for the Young) and Kinderszenen (Scenes from Childhood). There will be a total of 4 albums played, 2 which were played yesterday, and the other one today (7 June)
I played in both programmes for 6 June.

 This is the program book















This is my teacher Ms. Pink describing Schumann's life.

And me playing in the concert.

Junior Ensamble Music in Gloriamus Concert.

This was my first concert playing my flute and playing in an ensamble. It's on May 28th 2016, together with other concerts. The concert was to celebrate Gloriamus's 25th Anniversary.

This was the photo taken by my mother from the back seat of the audience, so it's not really clear.

Me acting "play" the flute in front of the stage after the concert.

Rehearsal For Gloriamus's Junior Ensamble Music

I had a rehearsal last Sunday for a concert with Gloriamus's Chamber Music this Saturday. I play the flute with 2 others. It's like a small orchestra. We play the song "Jolly St. Nicholas with variation" by Frida Nathaniel.

 

The brochure. 

This is the brochure for the event.

My Concert on the Wrong Day :D

Last Sunday I had a concert in Gloriamus Music School - on the wrong day. I was supposed to have my concert on April, but I thought that my concert was on March. When I came there, the administrator said that my name was not listed on the book. So I asked them to add my name onto the list. They did, and here's my picture.

P.S: My leg position is wrong :p

Masterclass With Ms. Pinkcheer S. Tamio

Last Monday I had a masterclass with Ms. Pinkcheer in Gloriamus Music School. It was really great! She has a PHD of Musical Arts in Piano Performance from West Virginia University. This is my picture with her:

Tomorrow I will start my piano class with her. She will be my piano teacher besides Ms. Julina Jaya.

Audition in Erwin Gutawa's Studio

My sister's drum teacher told me that there's an audition in Erwin Gutawa Studio for 8-13 years old kids. They scheduled me today, and this is my first experience. I played Mozart and Beethoven. At first, I didn't feel nervous, but in the middle of the audition, I felt a little nervous. I made several mistakes, but I hope that's okay. After the audition, everything went back to normal. Here's some posters that I saw in the studio.

An Elegant Evening in Batavia Marina

I was invited to my granduncle AB. Susanto's 65th birthday party and book launching of his new book "Potrait of an Ordinary Person Loved By God." It was  held in Batavia Marina, Ancol, where the building is right next to a harbour for goods. First we had a mass, and I played the opening song "Kasih Dari Surga" on the grand piano. Below is the picture of the mass. 

And this is the board at the front of the party showing the book he's launching.

After the mass, I played several songs that I had prepared for this day while the guests explored around and chat with their friends. The violinist joined me.

The violinist had to go, so I played alone.

This is the party outside with a "Sunda Kelapa"cruise as a background.

This is me with the boats out there.

 And this is the gamelan at the entrance. After playing the piano I and my father went around and took pictures.

This is the stairs at the entrance.

My First Rank Trophy

Finally, I am free of my homework, projects, and tests.So it means that I can go back to blog. Here is my newest trophy: 1st rank for my Gloriamus  music school exam grade 3 and then I should play in a special  concert for the ones who got ranks. I'm the youngest in the grade 3 performance. My score is 80 something, but my theory score is not that high about 70 something. Here is the picture of my first rank trophy.

  

My 10th Trophy

Today I joined a piano competition held by Petrof piano house, one of my music course, and I won first prize!  My competitors were all older than me, I am in E-Elementary. The competition for my category was very early in the morning, at 8:30 a.m. So it means that I have to start going from home at around 7:00 a.m. I was sleepy by then. I made some mistakes but it's okay. I played two songs, "Knight Errant" by Friedrich Burgmuller, and "Sonatine Op.36 no.5" by Muzio Clementi. This is the picture of my trophy:

This is the writing on the trophy.

This is me and my teacher Ms. Grace take a picture in front of the poster .

I and Ms. Grace took a picture in front of the grand piano

used in the piano competition. I was holding the trophy and certificate. 

This was me lining up with all of the contestants. The first
three on the left didn't win.

Me with my certificate and
trophy. I'm still sleepy.


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Quartet Piano in Gloriamus Music School Mid Year Concert

I join a piano course in Gloriamus Music School, which means glorifying God through music. Of course, there are grade examinations for theory and practical, concerts, masterclasses, and other things. There is a mid year concert there too. Every kids that are good enough to join the mid year concert will be chosen to play in the mid year concert. There are duets (two people in one piano) in piano and quartets. I played "Workin' On The Railroad" by E.R. Rocherolle for the quartet in the mid-year concert with Jovanska Amedia S., Fina A. Nugroho, and Christiato Gunawan (but on the guidance book for the concert he's called The Christianto).You can watch the video here. And here are the pictures:

   

 This is when I and my quartet friends are about to bow.