Perak Marching Band Competition 2009
It was breaking of dawn, dawn of the day where we will march into Stadium Sultan Azlan Shah, taking the field for competition. 24th of July 2009 was the day most of the members were anticipating, as it was the Perak State Marching Band Competition finals. Preparations were completed the previous day, having finished the final practice yesterday evening, brushing every last detail of our show. Members started gathering at 1:00pm. As the buses arrived, we started loading up all our instruments, equipments and tools. At 2:30pm, we departed our school and set out for our journey we had anticipated for a year. Most of us settled down on the bus ride to catch a quick nap in order to ready ourselves physically for the competition. We arrived at Stadium Sultan Azlan Shah at 4:00pm, to which we started loading down our instruments right after. Once all of us finished moving all our equipment to our stand, individual sections split up to do their warm-ups at the parking-lot.
5:45pm, it was our turn to rehearse our show on the field. We did a quick run-through from march-in to march-out that lasted roughly half-an-hour.
After the quick rehearsal, we returned to our stand to have our dinner and to relax a bit before the competition as most members started to become excited.
By 7:00pm, we started getting busy with last-minute warm-ups and tuning. Many members started pushing their adrenaline to high levels as they were preparing. And it was during this brief moment that most of our ex-members come to give us some encouragement. Right before the competition started, which was about 8:00pm, we all gathered and gave our final shout: ENERGY~SPIRIT~TEAMWORK!!! 8:45pm. Being the 1st team to perform, we marched out of our stand. Cheers from our supporters were overwhelming, as we prepared ourselves for the show. Our 1st movement was “Prologue”, a re-arrangement of the song “Murder! Murder!” from the Broadway Production “Jekyll & Hyde” by Frank Wildhorn, having a change in style, mainly inspired by the Drum and Bugle Corps marching style. Our 2nd Movement was “Di Persimpangan Dilema” featuring a trumpet and baritone duet, a Malay Ballad by Nora. Our 3rd Movement was “Birdland”, features our Colour Guard team who were at their best, a jazzy tune which would have most audience tap their feet to this up-beat song. Our 4th movement was “Tanah Pusaka”, a Malay patriotic song, which features a drum solo.
After we were done, we proceeded with our march out, playing 2 marches tunes which are “Hasnah Hassan March” and “Pentland Hills”. With our show over, we returned to our stand, while the following bands perform their shows. Many of us were anxious, and prepared for the worst as our seniors come rushing over to us. But great satisfaction came once they told us that our show was superb and beyond their expectations. After the competing bands were done, there was a guest performance presented by Ave Maria Convent Marching Band.
Learning so much from this year’s programme made me more disciplined, and boosting my self-confidence, I believe that many of our members too will agree with me, that this was a worthwhile year. With that, I can conclude that the Nan Hwa Marching Band will come roaring back into the Stadium next year. We would like to say a big thank-you to: Mr. Tan, Ah Boon, Qin Wei, Han Siang, Huah Jiunn, Poh Ling, and all the ex-members who help us through-out this year. Without your help, our show would not be possible.
Written by toozgx Bass Drummer 09
More photos and videos will be uploaded soon. Thanks Admin |
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