ACJC Guitar Ensemble 2007

Hello fellow AC Guitarists,

I actually wrote a whole long email to you guys but I don't think alot of people will read so yeah, I'm pasting it here again (: Anyway point here is that I'm really proud of all of you and it's amazing how we've pulled through together, and finally making a name for our CCA. We're not just any ensemble, we're THE ACJC GUITAR ENSEMBLE. Always remember that you made a difference to the ensemble and ACJC.

You know how I joined Guitar? I believed that it was a Calling. I mean, how absurd can it get? To quit a glamorous, world-ranking CCA (ie ACJC Choir) for a young ensemble I didn't know anything about. But I took that step with faith, and believed that God, who called me to sacrifice Choir for Guitar, will use me to bless others. I still remember this 45-min talk I had with Mr Sum to quit, he was trying to convince me not to give up on Choir, and kept asking me to reconsider. Then he asked what I was going to join next. I told him, "Guitar Ensemble." And his reaction changed to one of shock, of disbelief. But then he made me promise him, that whatever comes my way, whatever hardships I'll encounter (do you see the hints?), that I won't ever quit the CCA again. That I already quit the Choir once, and I should never do that again.

It was hard, all that time. Trying to increase the standard of our ensemble. Many times I was tired, I felt alone and stuck, and found myself racking my brains for new ideas, new approaches, new methods of teaching and conducting. I thought of quitting many times too, but I always fell back on my promise to Mr Sum. So guys, next time when you feel like quitting, persevere! Press on, you'll see the fruits of your labour one day, no matter how impossible it seemed to achieve. I'm sure we can all testify to that now (:

So yeah, as much as all of you have been a blessing to me, I hope that you have been blessed too.

Yup, here's the email anyway (:

~*~

Hey guys.

It's been about 28 hours since our results were announced and I'm still thinking about SYF. Just replaying all the scenes on Thursday, and I really want to tell you guys, honestly, that it was a great job done.

It's been a blessing, to be able to conduct the ensemble these past few months. I know sometimes I'm like really strict and all that, but I really wanted you guys to know how FAR you could go, so yeah, was pushing you guys to the max. But now that you recognise your potential, I really hope that you'll multiply what God has given you, and use all you have to glorify His name.

It was hard, from the very beginning, where majority of our members couldn't read music, let alone play a tune. I distinctly remember having to teach my section how to play, by telling them what finger, on what fret, pressing which string. And you know what? They memorised it. The order of playing. In a few days we learnt the SYF pieces.

When Mr Choo first joined us, he asked us to CAREFULLY CONSIDER if we want to take part in SYF. He told us the many problems we had, not enough practices, guitar technique, lousy quality guitars etc. We were still admamant about going for SYF. We were told, "You don't have to go for SYF. You could have a concert instead. And work towards that." But nooooo, we didnt listen. HAHA.

Slowly we started to fix the problems, one by one, crash course, fighting for school guitars etc, and yes, your hard work was evident everywhere. Coming for Camp, practices and all that, we were so desperate to prove that we could be good. Desperate to prove to AC that Guitar isn't just a slack CCA where people do homework instead. Desperate to show AC that guitar isnt some unpopular CCA that has mediocre standards, no. From today onwards, we are: ACJC GUITAR ENSEMBLE, THE 2007 GOLD WITH HONOURS ENSEMBLE. Now, we bring back that GOLD WITH HONOURS AWARD to ACJC. Who says Guitar Ensemble can't bring glory to the school? Hah, we've proven them wrong.

Guys, you were amazing out there. Don't ever feel guilty about missing notes here and there, because the most important thing was that you played as an ensemble. SCH, being SCH, has extremely good acoustics, and all the sound was projected towards the audience. I guess that's why we could hardly hear each other (as opposed to the classroom acoustics), which made us rely on Mr Choo even more. The mistakes we made, we heard them clearly. But, as an ensemble, we covered for each other (I missed this note, you missed that note), and ultimately, what the audience heard, was exactly what we wanted them to hear.

Everything we put in made a difference. The embarrassing (??) walk round the school in our gowns/suits and holding our guitars to get a feel of what SYF would be like, the exaggerated movements during the piece (oh side comment you should've seen how VJC String Ensemble moved during their performance today, it was so so so exaggerated and so so good!), yeah, every little detail we worked on made a difference.

Wow, I feel like I'm writing a speech. But there's so much to tell you guys. Having conducted you during practices, I must say that the Ensemble has improved greatly since we started, and I hear it. I hear all of it. Not just the mistakes, but the dynamics and the mood and the phrasing and everything. I seriously think you guys deserve the Gold with Honours, you were great out there.

Let this be a landmark for the Ensemble. And to the J1s, I hope you all take back these valuable lessons you've learnt and teach them to your fellow J1s. Encourage them to practice and improve, yesyes you guys are under pressure now. But since we've started our good reputation, we might as well finish it well. It's not everyday a musical group gets awarded Gold with Honours (it's my first time too), but yeah, don't get complacent, there's still a lot more work to be done with the Ensemble, and hey, the journey's just begun.

Here's wishing you guys all the best.

To the J1s, time management alright? Make as many friends, enjoy your so-called honeymoon year, contribute all you can to the school!
To the J2s, yes, we've worked hard, and now, let's focus on our As, always remember, your friends will always be here for you, we've been through so much together, and that you'll always be part of the batch that helped ACJC GUITAR ENSEMBLE earn that GOLD WITH HONOURS award.

Thanks for making me so, so proud of all of you. I've never been more blessed by any other group before. It was a pleasure to conduct you guys, now I can tell everyone, "I conducted the ACJC Guitar Ensemble. We were three years old, and we won the Gold With Honours award."

THANK YOU. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU.

To the most amazing, most wonderful, and most miraculous Ensemble,
may God keep watch over each and every one of you,
and may His favour be on you.

In His love and mine,
Claire Chong
ACJC Guitar Ensemble 2007