The Broadrick Choristes

Here are the links to the learning tracks for Chi Vuol Veder. Please download and practise. Thanks.

S1 part
S2 part
Alto part
SSA 3 parts

Mr Vaughan Tan

Here are the links to the learning tracks for Arirang. Please download and practise. Thanks.

http://genie.sg/songs/Arirang%20-%20Sop1.mp3

http://genie.sg/songs/Arirang%20-%20Sop2.mp3

http://genie.sg/songs/Arirang%20-%20Alto.mp3

http://genie.sg/songs/Arirang%20-%20SSA.mp3

And please remember that you have to memorise your White Horses and Chi Vuol Veder by Thursday, 19 Feb 2009.

Cheers,
Mr Vaughan Tan

(From Mr Nizam)

Some of you borrowed red T-shirts from me for the Chinese New Year 2008 concert and have yet to return them.

If you are one of them, please drop off the T-shirts into my pigeon-hole outside the staffroom by Monday, 5th January 2009.

Just to remind you that some of the T-shirts belong to my sister, and she has been looking for some of her red T-shirts lately but could not find them.

Thanks.


Mr Nizam

THE YOUNG PERSON'S GUIDE TO THE SATB CHOIR In any chorus, there are four voice parts: soprano, alto, tenor, and bass. Sometimes these are divided into first and second within each part, prompting endless jokes about first and second basses. There are also various other parts such as baritone, countertenor, contralto, mezzo soprano, etc., but these are mostly used by people who are either soloists, or belong to some excessively hotshot classical a cappella group (this applies especially to countertenors), or are trying to make excuses for not really fitting into any of the regular voice parts, so we will ignore them for now.

Each voice part sings in a different range, and each one has a very different personality. You may ask, "Why should singing different notes make people act differently?", and indeed this is a mysterious question and has not been adequately studied, especially since scientists who study musicians tend to be musicians themselves and have all the peculiar complexes that go with being tenors, french horn players, timpanists, or whatever. However, this is beside the point; the fact remains that the four voice parts can be easily distinguished, and I will now explain how.

THE SOPRANOS are the ones who sing the highest, and because of this they think they rule the world. They have longer hair, fancier jewelry, and swishier skirts than anyone else, and they consider themselves insulted if they are not allowed to go at least to a high F in every movement of any given piece. When they reach the high notes, they hold them for at least half again as long as the composer and/or conductor requires, and then complain that their throats are killing them and that the composer and conductor are sadists. Sopranos have varied attitudes toward the other sections of the chorus, though they consider all of them inferior. Altos are to sopranos rather like second violins to first violins - nice to harmonize with, but not really necessary. All sopranos have a secret feeling that the altos could drop out and the piece would sound essentially the same, and they don't understand why anybody would sing in that range in the first place - it's so boring. Tenors, on the other hand, can be very nice to have around; besides their flirtation possibilities (it is a well-known fact that sopranos never flirt with basses), sopranos like to sing duets with tenors because all the tenors are doing is working very hard to sing in a low-to-medium soprano range, while the sopranos are up there in the stratosphere showing off. To sopranos, basses are the scum of the earth - they sing too damn loud, are useless to tune to because they're down in that low, low range - and there has to be something wrong with anyone who sings in the F clef, anyway.

THE ALTOS are the salt of the earth - in their opinion, at least. Altos are unassuming people, who would wear jeans to concerts if they were allowed to. Altos are in a unique position in the chorus in that they are unable to complain about having to sing either very high or very low, and they know that all the other sections think their parts are pitifully easy. But the altos know otherwise. They know that while the sopranos are screeching away on a high A, they are being forced to sing elaborate passages full of sharps and flats and tricks of rhythm, and nobody is noticing because the sopranos are singing too loud (and the basses usually are too). Altos get a deep, secret pleasure out of conspiring together to tune the sopranos flat. Altos have an innate distrust of tenors, because the tenors sing in almost the same range and think they sound better. They like the basses, and enjoy singing duets with them - the basses just sound like a rumble anyway, and it's the only time the altos can really be heard. Altos' other complaint is that there are always too many of them and so they never get to sing really loud.

THE TENORS are spoiled. That's all there is to it. For one thing, there are never enough of them, and choir directors would rather sell their souls than let a halfway decent tenor quit, while they're always ready to unload a few altos at half price. And then, for some reason, the few tenors there are are always really good - it's one of those annoying facts of life.. So it's no wonder that tenors always get swollen heads - after all, who else can make sopranos swoon? The one thing that can make tenors insecure is the accusation (usually by the basses) that anyone singing that high couldn't possibly be a real man.. In their usual perverse fashion, the tenors never acknowledge this, but just complain louder about the composer being a sadist and making them sing so damn high. Tenors have a love-hate relationship with the conductor, too, because the conductor is always telling them to sing louder because there are so few of them. No conductor in recorded history has ever asked for less tenor in a forte passage. Tenors feel threatened in some way by all the other sections - the sopranos because they can hit those incredibly high notes; the altos because they have no trouble singing the notes the tenors kill themselves for; and the basses because, although they can't sing anything above an E, they sing it loud enough to drown the tenors out. Of course, the tenors would rather die than admit any of this. It is a little-known fact that tenors move their eyebrows more than anyone else while singing.

THE BASSES sing the lowest of anybody. This basically explains everything. They are stolid, dependable people, and have more facial hair than anybody else. The basses feel perpetually unappreciated, but they have a deep conviction that they are actually the most important part (a view endorsed by musicologists, but certainly not by sopranos or tenors), despite the fact that they have the most boring part of anybody and often sing the same note (or in endless fifths) for an entire page. They compensate for this by singing as loudly as they can get away with - most basses are tuba players at heart. Basses are the only section that can regularly complain about how low their part is, and they make horrible faces when trying to hit very low notes. Basses are charitable people, but their charity does not extend so far as tenors, whom they consider effete poseurs. Basses hate tuning the tenors more than almost anything else. Basses like altos - except when they have duets and the altos get the good part. As for the sopranos, they are simply in an alternate universe which the basses don't understand at all. They can't imagine why anybody would ever want to sing that high and sound that bad when they make mistakes. When a bass makes a mistake, the other three parts will cover him, and he can continue on his merry way, knowing that sometime, somehow, he will end up at the root of the chord.

From Mr Nizam's Desk...

The following three choristers have been appointed to perform two Malay songs at the upcoming Hari Raya concert during the EOY Post-Exam activities. The choristers are:-
(1) Juliana (3N3)
(2) Hamizah (2EB)
(3) Arina (1EA)

They will be performing the following songs:
(1) Ku Pohon Restu Ayah Dan Bonda (Al Jawahir) - I Ask for your Blessings, Father and Mother
MP3 - http://www.4shared.com/file/61674303/41b6c7ff/Al_Jawahir_-_Ku_Pohon_Restu_Ayah_Dan_Bonda.html
Video - http://video.aol.com/video-detail/al-jawaher-ku-pohon-restu-ayah-dan-bonda/2622467105
Lyrics - http://www.allthelyrics.com/lyrics/al_jawaher/ku_pohon_restu_ayah_bonda-lyrics-1212291.html

(2) Selamat Berhari Raya (Rahimah Rahim) - Have a Great Eid
MP3 - http://www.4shared.com/file/61690510/f57bf280/RAHIMAH_RAHIM_-_Selamat_Berhari_Raya.html
Video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1blBxrQnMiI
Lyrics - http://gitar-chords-zek.blogspot.com/2008/08/rahimah-rahim-selamat-berhari-raya.html

Juliana, Hamizah, Arina: Don't worry, the other Malay students will most likely sing with you too, so encourage them to sing louder. :)

The rest of you can learn the songs too actually...

All the best for the exams!


Sincerely
Mr Nizam

From Mr Nizam

Why wasn't this blog updated? Am I the blogmaster?

I've already generated the attendance-calculation up to Term 3. Please check the green Choir attendance-file this week.

Those people who are scoring below 50%, do be warned that you are already failing the minimum attendance required to be part of the Choir CCA. These people may be counselled by either me, Mrs Gomez or Mr Stanley Tan, and your parents will be informed.

Do note that the school-system is holistic by nature, and the CCA is one of the components. Your holistic leaving certificate in Secondary Four will reflect your attendance for classes and CCA since Secondary One. These components will be taken into consideration when you further your studies (in polytechnics or junior colleges or ITEs or universities), and will make or break your chances of enrolling in some dream-course of yours. Most employers and human resource personnel insist on looking at your CCA records too. (Trust me, I've submitted my CCA records with my university application and job-applications, as requested)

Of course, if you don't intend to study after Secondary Four, then that may be a different issue altogether.

From Mr Nizam

This Monday, rehearsal goes on as usual. Mr Vaughan Tan, the new Choir-conductor will arrive at 3pm. Please be in the Music Room by 2.45pm. Warmups should be done, and you should be ready to start singing for him at 3pm.

Mr Tan has informed me that he would like to try out some songs with the choir as time is running out. We need to get some choice-pieces ready by year-end so that we can perform them for SYF 2009.

POINT ONE
For starters, please revise and bring CHI VUOL VEDER for this Monday's practice. I will leave a copy in the Music Room. If you need extra copies, please inform your section-leaders. Consolidate the number and ask Mrs Gomez to photocopy the scores for you. If she's busy, the section-leaders will have to go to the General Office and ask one of our friendly office-staff to assist with the photocopying.

POINT TWO
Ms Farah has expressed interest in getting the choir to sing backup for the Teachers' Day stage-band performance. The song would be "WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS" by Queen. Choir-committee, please get one person to inform Ms Farah by 4pm on Monday as to whether you would like to commit yourself to this venture. Of course, your participation would be reflected in your CCA records. However, you need to attend all rehearsals (no pathetic excuses unless supported by MC) so it will be very intense. Besides, Ms Farah is a performer (not only a teacher), so she has very high expectations of herself and her performers, so self-pity is definitely not welcomed.

POINT THREE
Xin Hwee, Xin Yuan and Hui Xin have attended a workshop on setting up the CCA-website. Our three ladies have been hard at work to get the website up and running. Do give them a hand if you have any photos or videos of the choir, which you would like to put up on the website.

Thanks for your time, everyone!


Mr Nizam

From Mr Nizam

Mr Vaughan Tan, Broadrick Choristes' new conductor, is a singer with Key Elements. The group has recently released a CD "Jazz for the Record", now on sale at Sembawang Music Centre and Gramophone.

Do buy a copy and support our conductor's group! :)

From Mr Nizam

Mr Vaughan Tan informed me this afternoon that we may be sticking to Mondays and Thursdays for our practices, as his other school (Loyang Secondary) is thinking of switching from Thursdays to Fridays.

Cross your fingers and hope for the best! :)


Melissa: Do collect the Treasurer's Record-Book before you collect any funds.
To the Choir: Do check that Melissa checks againsts your name in the choir-list when you make any payments.

Thanks everyone!

From Mr Nizam's Desk

Thank you to everyone for the attention given to the blog. Finally I can see some life here.

Anyway, I have observed some of your dancing after Arina and Maggie left that practice. It appears that whatever Ms Lim Hwee Sian taught us during the SYF practices have fallen to deaf ears.

Here is a summary of what is expected in the dances:
(1) The dance-steps must be SLICK and SHARP (I saw sloppiness in the dances)
(2) Attendance must be regular in order not to have any 'holes' in the formation. (I saw MANY holes!)
(3) Arina and Maggie were assigned to be stand-in leaders of the dances (while Lydia, Hamizah and Vennessa were absent) because they showed more enthusiasm and attitude than the rest of us. (This was from Ms Lim, not me. She also said that if all five were missing, the choir should learn from Sara and Nisha, Hip Hop Dancers from 3N1).

Well, I'm glad that some people can dance better now, but the attendance and commitment level is still VERY LOW. Look around you. Do you think we can get the minimum 24 choristers for next year's SYF Central Judging?

When Arina made that posting, she was thinking ahead and had everyone's interest at heart. A common goal and purpose. I'm glad that Diane, Crissani and Isabel are stepping in to lead the choir, but I am still very ASHAMED that some choristers are still taking the laid-back approach, expecting gold to fall into their laps. (Sorry, honey, that AIN'T gonna happen, unless if you're BLACK, have a SENSE OF PITCH AND RHYTHM... of which most of us don't.)

Take Arina's words in good spirit, and don't be defensive.

Good luck to everyone, and thank you to those who turned up for practice today. Really appreciate it. :)


~Mr Nizam~

I don't believe that's the case. As I can see during practices, only some practiced by themselves b4 our chairperson comes for the session.

Only after she comes, then everyone would do it. Everyone should have the initiative to do it themselves and there's only 3 practices left for the

national day celebrations.

By,

Anonymous

Hi this is Arina,
                       I would like to tell you guys that I think you're not trying hard enough. I felt disappointed in the last practice. Me and Maggie were the only ones so-called hyper-dancing on that day. I know that the boys in the music room were a little bit in the way but on national day there will be more people. That is a small test on your confidence. The real test is on national day. I know I'm just a sec 1 but hello? you guys are suppose to give more examples to me. I joined choir not only because of my sister but because of my passion for music and the believe that we can prove others that choir isn't lame! I also joined choir cause it is the only CCA that can build up my confidence. I hope you guys will consider my thoughts cause I really don't like most of your attitudes. Let's work together to make the best out of things. It'll be over before you know it. I promise. Well have fun on that day.
P.S. You guys really made me and Maggie mad on the last practice. No offense.

Dear Broadrick Choristes

We have yet to attend a choir-appreciation concert this year. As mentioned to the very-small choir-turnout today, I've shortlisted two such concerts:
(1) Raffles Voices (of Raffles Institution) - 5 August (Tuesday), Esplanade Concert Hall, Tickets @ $20
(2) SYC Ensemble Singers' "SEQUENCES" - 31 August (Sunday), Esplanade Concert Hall, Tickets @ $25 x 60% discount = $10

Ticket-cost will be borne by the school, as we have allocated funds for these.

I'd rather we attend the RI concert, but it's a school-night, so many of your parents/guardians may disagree. SYC's concert will be held on the 2nd day of the school holidays, so it is still fine. International students: Please DO NOT book your airline-tickets on or before 31 August. Else, you would need to attend another concert.

I will be handing out the consent-forms to you next Monday. Please DO NOT make me hunt for you class by class.

Sincerely
Mr Nizam

Dear Broadrick Choristes:

We have some practices left before our performance on National Day.

The choir will be performing two items on National Day. We will be the opening act IN THE HALL just after the National Day parade.
(1) Celebration
(2) Malay Medley

Remind each other that your dance-moves must be sharp and slick. This means that we cannot look clumsy when we dance. Oh yes, PLEASE SING LOUDLY, but DON'T SHOUT!

Attire:
- Red T-shirt/shirt (or SYF2008 shirt)
- White shorts/bermudas/pedal-pushers/slacks/jeans/pants (or SYF2008 pants)
- White socks
- White shoes
- Stage makeup (read: HEAVY!) -- do you all want to paint stars all on your faces? discuss this by 24 July 2008.
- SYF2008 participants: no caps please!

Here are the practices left...
21 July (Mon) - 2.30pm to 4pm (3EA people come in at 3.10pm) [Mrs Gomez]
24 July (Thu) - 2.30pm to 4pm [Mr Nizam]
28 July (Mon) - 2.30pm to 4pm (3EA people come in at 3.10pm) [Mrs Gomez]
31 July (Thu) - 2.30pm to 4pm [Mr Nizam]
4 August (Mon) - 2.30pm to 4pm [Mrs Gomez]
7 August (Thu) - No practice (NE Food and Games Bazaar)
8 August (Fri) - SHOWTIME! Be in school by 7am please!

Blue skies ahead!


Mr Nizam

Here is the Committee for 2008-2009, taking into consideration the recent changes in section-allocation:

Main Committee
Chairperson: Diane
Vice-Chairperson: Isabel
Treasurer: Melissa
Student Conductor: Crissani
Librarians: Feng Ling, Arina
Reporters: Cynthia, Shao Xuan, Hui Min
Webmasters (new posts): Hui Xin, Xin Hwee, Xin Yuan

Music Committee (Section Leaders)
Soprano (Sop1): Lydia, Pei Pei
Mezzo-Soprano (Sop2): Triyana, Tabitha, Maggie
Alto: Beverly, Hamizah

Dear Broadrick Choir:

Please ask your parents and guardians if they could permit you to come for practices on Monday and Wednesday. The new conductor, Mr Tan, is not able to make it on Thursday, and has requested to meet you guys this Wednesday so that he could get to know you better before he signs the contract with the school.

If he agrees to conduct Broadrick Choristes, then we may have to change the practice-days. He can't make it on Thursdays, but didn't comment about Mondays. We'll decide after he meets you guys, okay?

For Monday's rehearsal, Diane, Isabel and Crissani are in-charge. Please report to them. Diane/Isabel/Crissani, one of you need to go to the General Office to get the Choir attendance-register from Mr Hazre's table.

For Wednesday's rehearsal (if you are not able to make it due to CIP or some school-activity, etc, do inform me beforehand). Else, please be at the Music Room by 2.45pm. Thanks!


Regards
Mr Nizam

Dear all

I have opened an account on Gmail for the choir to store the various resources (MP3s, MIDIs, photos) so that it's easier for us to download the clips and learn our parts.

The Gmail account is brdchoir@gmail.com and the password is the school's address (without spaces).

Please log in frequently to check the e-mail and send an e-mail to that account if you would like to share any of your MP3s, MIDIs and photos with the rest of us. I'll be uploading the photos of the choir which I have soon.


Regards
Mr Nizam

Dear Broadrick

This following report was drafted by Shao Xuan (3EC) and Hui Min (3EC) and edited to include more details. It may be shortened further to fit the limited column-space in Broadrick's Hullabaloo newsletter which you will all be receiving soon.

Nevertheless, do have a good read of the report in its entirety.


Mr Nizam

---------------

We remember clearly that when the Choir teacher-in-charge, Mr Nizam, first announced in March that we would be having a combined-choir performance during the SYF 2008 Opening Ceremony, some choir-members (including both of us) were unhappy with this idea. For the performance, we were required to sing and dance at the same time, and would be the first-time for most of us.

Three choristers were chosen to be choir-leaders for this SYF performance. They were Hamizah (2EB), Lydia (2EB) and Vennessa (2EC). These girls went for training at Co-Curricular Activities (CCA) Branch on 9th and 10th April with the other choir-leaders from Bedok South, Bedok View, Bendemeer, Boon Lay, Choa Chu Kang and Zhonghua Secondary Schools.

We had to sing and dance to 6 songs, namely We’re All In This Together, In Synergy, Celebration, Munnaeru Valliba, Malay Medley, Lu Guang.

Under the guidance of the three choir-leaders, the 400-strong combined-choir trained very hard and missed many valuable lessons in school. We had combined-rehearsals at Bedok View Secondary, Pasir Ris Crest Secondary and Bendemeer Secondary. The CCA Branch staff, led by Ms Lim Hwee Sian, Mr Lawrence Siao and Ms Sim Boon Hui, were very supportive and encouraging. The choreographer, Ms Sylvia McCully, was very talented and we were inspired to push ourselves harder.

Some of the choristers had to give the performance a miss as they had to travel to other countries, but Mr Nizam managed to loan eight Broadricians from other CCAs to perform with us. These students were Cherilynn (3N1), Daryl (3N1), Nisha (3N1), Sara (3N1), D’zulfiqar (2N2), Gabriel (1N1), Fahren (1N1) and Cheng Han (1N2). Together with the remaining choristers, we had a total of 28 performers (including 8 reserves).

27th June 2008 saw the combined-choir perform their best for the SYF 2008 Opening Ceremony at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. The Preview was held the day before, and some of our friends came to support us in the audience.

We did it! The audience loved us! Our long hours of hard work had finally paid off! The performance was successful!

The theme of this year’s Singapore Youth Festival, SYNERGY, provides a timely reminder to Singapore’s youths of the importance of teamwork and harmony.

Although there were minor hiccups in the ‘journey’, we had sailed through the difficult times. The whole experience was enjoyable and exciting. We learnt the importance of teamwork and co-operation. After this performance, the choir has better team spirit and gets along better. Being the first combined-performance with 6 other schools in an indoor-stadium with a sell-out audience, it served as a training of guts. We have increased our confidence and stage-presence. No doubt it was tiring, but the experience was worthwhile.

I am sure the every one of us feels honoured to be one of the 7 schools selected for this event. A very big Thank You to our guest-performers, and to Mr Nizam and Mrs Gomez for encouraging us throughout the whole event.


Written by Toh Shao Xuan (3EC) and Ng Hui Min (3EC), Altos, Broadrick Choristes