SingSongMandy: 2014

"Spectrum Teen sing” at Hong Kong Coliseum

刷新健力士世界紀錄「譜Teen同唱」

2014 was a very busy year as far as my singing concern. We had a few major performances, been invited for the singing tournament, had a chance to sing solo... etc. I had a very fruitful year! Moreover, that was not the end yet. I was also in Guinness World Record "Most People Singing Live on a Radio Broadcast". Didn't I promise you that I would be back in Hong Kong Coliseum before? Yes, in order to make this Guinness World Records more memorable for me, it took place in Hong Kong Coliseum.

The occasion was organised by the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups, the Hong Kong Opera House, Radio Television Hong Kong and was sponsored mainly by The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust.

The idea of having so many young people singing together was to magnify the youthful enthusiasm and gave a new interpretation of the classical music. Everybody singing the same songs helped to highlight the harmony in our society and been united together. I could feel that most of the people left the concert with a cheerful heart. In my case, my feeling was more than just cheerful, I also had another interesting story to tell!

What an end to my 2014!

Click here to enjoy this special event, I hoped you could also feel the positive energy...

LCSD Choral Concert, Xin Cui Estate Shopping Center, Sha Tian

新翠村商場對出廣場, 沙田區

Since 1970s, Sha Tian (沙田) had been developed as a satellite city. Nowadays, the population was well over 630,000. In the old days, Sha Tian was miles away from the rest of Hong Kong. One had to take a steam engine train and went through a few pitch dark tunnels before this little market town appeared. Now, one could take an efficient electric train from any part of Hong Kong to Sha Tian within 30 minutes. Who would like to say no to the modern life? Let's be fair, who didn't want to have free flow of water from a tap or enjoyed the air conditioner in a 35 degree hot day at home? Or would you rather burn the cow dung to cook your dinner in the dark?!

If you were interested in the history of Hong Kong's railway, you could have a look on this site. It would be even better to go down to the museum and to see the real thing yourself:

Hong Kong Railway Museum

It was the first time I sang solo in public. I was very nervous, needless to say. However, after 30 seconds, my fear/worry disappeared and I was much more relaxed then. I completed the whole song without any hiccup! I guessed the whole episode was part of my growing up really.

瑪依拉 (XinJiang folk song)

This time, we sang a song call Tumbalalaika which was a Russian Jewish folk song in Yiddish language. 'Tum' was the Yiddish word for noise and 'balalaika' was a stringed musical instrument of Russian origin. The rhythm of the song was very light and one could dance with the music easily. Singing makes me happy, it also helped me to understand the world better. I could sing all day and night!

To know more about Jewish Culture?!

Tumbalalaika

The Sixth Singing Contest

第六屆國慶盃歌唱比賽初賽

What?! A singing competition... sure ...there was no harm to step out of my own cocoon and tried something new. For whatever reasons, my program delayed by two hours. By the time my glory moment came, I was already half frozen and very hungry.

There were lots of interesting very young people and quite a few of them seemed to know each other from other competitions before. Some people even came with their parents and/or friends. It was like having a family gathering to witness their little ones growing up.

Talking about kids, my primary school was full of country pumpkins like me. We all had outdoor looked and unruly short hair with a wrinkly school uniform on. Despite all these, I also loved music! I once asked my mom for piano lessons. In replied, she said something about the rats at home might finish the piano well before I could finish my learning. I was confused by her comment, was it a yes or no?! Although I never had a chance to fire up my career with music at all, nevertheless I had done other things which were far more interesting than just music in my life. <<MyTravel>>

Internal Exchange Program II. 曲蔓地

内部交流 II

《曲蔓地》was a famous Xinjiang folk song and originally, it was a girl's name. But here, it referred to a flower's name which was the most beautiful specie of roses. The music was lively and warm, typically showing the Xinjiang Uygur folk style. The song expressed the yearning for love, the love of working hard, to live in peace and enjoy the music of good wishes.

I managed to complete the song without any hiccup, but sure, I needed to focus more on my singing skills!

One could find many versions of this song from the internet, but the one I liked most was sung by Dilber Yunus. She was born in Kashgar, Xinjiang Uyghur, Autonomous Region, China and she was a lyric soprano with coloratura technique. You could get to know her more here: Dilber Yunus. I liked her voice and the way she handled the song. She made the singing so easy and relax. How did she do that?!

曲蔓地 (Qu Man Di)

What did the bee say to the flower? Hello, honey!

Learning to sing or not?!

I was very nervous when singing solo in any occasion. I knew my weak point and I was not born to be in show business. So I need to find more opportunity to sing. I needed to master the kills and practise everyday until I was comfortable with my own voice. Well, with a bit of luck, I would get there one day.

The songs that I had been learning so far:

花非花 (Flower in the mist)

瑪依拉 (XinJiang folk song)

追尋 (Searching)

Person 1: It must be terrible for an opera singer to realize that he can never sing again.
Person 2: Yes, but it's much more terrible if he doesn't realize it.

Let's go to the Hong Kong Coliseum, Final...

香港體育館（紅館）

Well, well, well, finally we were the last 10 in Hong Kong Coliseum inthe competition. I was so happy to be there on the stage. We put on our best evening dress this time, again, we looked great! Unfortunately, Yim Pei and I had to stand on the side. We were just so TALL that we deserved to be on the side! It was a problem when you were tall and there was nothing much one could do, right?! You could spot us in the front row on the left hand side. How did we do in the end? The fact that nobody thrown any egg to us and we must be doing fine, although we managed not to win any prize this time! All in all, we had fun together and it was a wonderful experience. I loved to be on that stage in that arena again.

I'll be back....