Gallery
8th Guitar Camp 2006
8th Guitar Camp ( 24-26 November )
Documenting the camp in Photos
by
Simon Cheong
Day 1
The first day…
7.30 a.m. Participants gathered at the parking lot in front of Armada Hotel in Petaling Jaya; anxious parents of the young ones (we had about 10 who were below 12 this year which was a pleasant surprise – the youngest was 7) saw us off at 8 a.m. There was the bus with 5 cars (some of the older participants preferred to drive) following to meet up with the next group of participants waiting at the Caltex station (somewhere near Jalan Ipoh) on the way to Fraser’s Hill at 8.30 a.m..
The journey to Fraser’s Hill was slow as the bus had to haul a busload of participants and their guitars! Unfortunately, the new route up the hill was too steep for the bus to handle and there were frantic calls for help get the participants up. Thankfully, we had 5 car going down to ferry some of the participants up; with only half a load, the bus managed to trudge its way up the hill.
After some fun with our getting-to-know-you session, the day continues with the workshops. These workshops cum masterclasses are a very important part of the camp as our emphasis is on education. Here the student gets a chance to play for someone who is not his teacher as well as to play in front of fellow students – an experience that is different from the normal one-on-one classes. Hearing different opinions and getting different ideas, learning new concepts and being exposed to different levels of playing – all these aspects will contribute towards the campers’ perception of music.
The Teacher’s Concert was a marathon – it lasted 2 hours and 40 minutes! The performers and audience had to put up with the very cold hall as the air conditioners were put to the coldest….brr! Even Matthew, all the way from Scotland which has a temperature of 0 degree, was complaining of the cold!!!. I guess no one could be said to wipe their sweat when it was over! The organizers will learn and will improve on this. We will not make the same mistake again. Our apologies to all.
1st Guitar Alive 2006
Documenting the Photos
by
Simon Cheong
‘Guitar Alive’ came alive at MTC’s Amphitheatre on 13 August 2006. There were 60 students participating in this concert and the excitement generated was exhilarating. Although they were really nervous, they pulled through marvelously. As I have always said, the only way to learn performing… is to perform!. In this concert, we brought together a group of guitar teachers who prepared their students from all over the Klang Valley for this concert. The various music shops/schools was generous to provide the space for practice for these student in their preparation. A great effort was put in by everyone and I would like to say my appreciation here to the organizing committee chaired by Eric Eng, the teachers themselves who are also in the organizing committee – Lee Thiam Foo, Tan Chee Kian, Ng Kean Heng, Jovy Fong, Lee Ji Xuan, Ernest Thomas and See Sew Hong. I would like to personally thank the music shops/schools for their support – Sonata Music; Yamaha Music (Kelana Jaya); Maestro Music; Setapak Music Centre; Wiener Music Academy Centre; Yogaero Art, Music & Dance; Nakuho Music; Sri Irama (M) Sdn.Bhd.
Here are some photos :-
Kuala Lumpur Ensemble II - An Evening with the Classical Guitar 2006
Documenting the Photos
by
Simon Cheong
‘An Evening with the Classical Guitar’
Kuala Lumpur Ensemble II
Dewan Tunku Abdul Rahman, Malaysia Tourism Centre, Jalan Ampang
This concert is an inaugural full-length performance by the Kuala Lumpur Guitar Ensemble II in Malaysia. The Ensemble had given a brief preview in the Classical Guitar Society’s Guitar Camp 2004. In 2005, the Ensemble appeared on TV3’s Malaysia Hari Ini as well as played at a wedding function that was graced by Malaysia’s Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Badawi and his assistant, Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak.
This evening’s performance is KLGE II’s third full-length performance. The first two performances were given in the 4th Ordu International Guitar Festival in Turkey in July 2006. This inaugural performance on Malaysian soil was graced by the Secretary General of the Ministry of Tourism Datuk Dr Victor Wee and the evening had the pleasure of Tan Sri Abdul Rashid Hussain as a very special guest.
There was also the presence of the original members of the Kuala Lumpur Guitar Ensemble, Datuk Dr Victor Wee himself (Datuk was the leader of the original Kuala Lumpur Guitar Ensemble), Daniel Chan, Jimmy Tan and Eric Eng. Unfortunately, the other original members were not available. Deborah Tan is in England, Yoong Mei Yuen in New Zealand and Dr Vincent Chong is said to be in Singapore practising medicine. Previous KLGE II members who were present were Fung Tong Sen and Adee Ariffin, while absent was Richard Siaw who is presently in Taiwan for further studies.
KLGE II would like to take this opportunity to thank our advertisers for their support and their presence at this evening’s concert – Mr Daniel Chan of Mahogany, Mr & Mrs Michael Ng of Arrow Vision, Madam Lui of Sonata Music & Art and Mr & Mrs Low Kia Soon, Mr & Mrs Kuah Wei Chin of The Guitar Store.
Help was available at every turn and for those who had lent a helping hand, I would like to say how much the members of KLGE II appreciate it and are very thankful indeed – the Committee members of the Classical Guitar Society (Eric Eng, Lee Thiam Foo, Lee Ji Xuan, Jovy Fong, Ng Kean Heng and Tan Chee Kian); my former student, Soh Siew Hian and student Leong Yee Hoo; my wife’s colleagues, Tan Foong Yin and Premela Jaganathan of Arah Pendidikan. Most of all I would like to thank my wife, Evelyn, for her support and advice throughout the organisation of this concert. Her help was invaluable from the publication of the brochure, poster and tickets to the smooth running of the evening’s concert and cocktail. Even my sons, Christopher and Jeremy, were at hand to help out during the night…
Kuala Lumpur Guitar Ensemble II - Memories from Ordu International Guitar Festival 2006 Turkey
Documenting the Photos
by
Simon Cheong
30th June 2006
1. At KLIA saying goodbye to our families early in the morning at 7.00 a.m.
2. In the plane – boarding at 9.00 a.m.
3. Arrived in Istanbul at 2.30 p.m. & greeted by Hakan Ebas and met up with Isabelle Heroux who arrived at the same time; Waiting for our flight to Trabzon at 7.30 p.m. in the domestic transit lounge.
4. Approximately 2 hours later saw us at Trabzon’s baggage claim – in the flight were the other participants of the festival.
1st July 2006
5 & 6. Unfortunate incidents would always seem to happen unexpectedly; 2 mini buses were supposed to pick us up for the approximately two-hour journey to Ordu but only one was there. Here you see us beside the van/mini bus with the other participants waiting on the highway in the middle of the night. How did we get to the highway? Well, it was suggested that we should put all our luggage and guitars into the bus and the women will go with the driver while the men walked out to the highway. The two very-pleasant-and-always-willing-to-please guys, whom we found out later to be our translators and guides, tried their best to find transport for us. Alas, it was fruitless… how long did we wait?… it was quite some time and we were simply exhausted. Finally, we decided to ‘pack’ all 15 of us and our luggage… and guitars! into the van like sardines and we were on our way. We reached the hotel around 3.30 a.m. whew! Somehow or other we managed to get up by 9 or 10 a.m..
7 & 8. Here’s a view from the 5th floor restaurant where we were to be having our breakfast, lunch(?) and dinner…and midnight concerts! The front view shows a large banner of the festival and here’s a picture of the back view.
9. Here are pictures of us at the television station (ORT). Left to Right – KLGE II with newscaster and interpreter.
10. Simon with Oznur Kahveci our English translator.
11. Simon with Fatma Turkmen our interviewer.
12. Ernest with Fatma &.Oznur. Left to Right (Bottom)
13. Sew Hong with Fatma & Oznur;
14. May Ling with Fatma & Oznur;
15. the TV station crew…
