As a winner of Euroasia Strings Competition, it was such a privilege and pleasure for me to perform with such an amazing orchestra, the Selangor Symphony Orchestra, and to work alongside Mr Eugene Pook. It was indeed an unforgettable experience.
I was not mentally prepared for the first rehearsal, but I was pleasantly surprised to find the conductor, Mr Eugene, and the orchestra so welcoming and made me feel very comfortable working with them. Since we had limited time for rehearsals, I gave my best to try and fit in the flow. As this was my first time performing with an orchestra, I was not used to it at all, I wasn’t sure how I would communicate and engage with the orchestra. There were moments when I felt like things were out of hand and my playing became hard to control. I had to learn how to communicate my difficulties to Eugene for him to convey the message to the musicians, for them to understand how I wanted a certain part to be played.
During the concert day, I wasn’t as nervous as I thought, but I was definitely shaking and sweating! I couldn’t say that I was satisfied with my performance, but I’m very proud of the progress that I managed to make in the process, and the hard work paid off indeed. It has been an incredible adventure ever since I first started performing, there is still a long way to go, and definitely room for improvement. It felt incredible to have a real orchestra accompanying me, the sounds they created provided me with a sense of security and I was really amazed with how different I sounded with an orchestra. It made me think about many other aspects on what I wanted to bring out in my music and also encouraged me to think about aspects such as the flow, direction and texture of sound. This has definitely been a mind blowing experience, and has helped me realise what I need to keep doing to push myself to new heights.
Thank you Euroasia for providing this wonderful opportunity to express my gratitude for music. Having joined the Euroasia competition for many years, it has given me the platform to express myself and my music, and it has helped me improve my confidence. I would also like to thank my teacher, Mr Jonathan Oh for guiding me through my music career since the day I chose music as a part of my life. Last but not least, a big thank you to my family and friends for their support towards my chosen career path!
Goh Wen Chih
