If you love music, this is one thing you must do: APAC band, the one long-lasting luxury you will always cherish.
APAC, an extracurricular athletics and arts program for international schools in Asia, serves a purpose to not only grow students’ passions, but to also introduce them to different cultures all over the world. Founded in 1995, 12 schools—including SAS, ISB, and HKIS— participate in APAC events. And this year, SAS had the honor to visit Seoul Foreign School (SFS) to be part of APAC band.
I woke up on Wednesday, Feb. 24th full of excitement to finally fulfill one of my dreams to participate in an APAC event. I’m sure all my colleagues thought the same way. What could be better than a trip to Korea to play six beautiful pieces, right? It was now time for all our hard work to pay off.
An hour and a half of flight took us to Korea’s Incheon airport. After all the tedious immigration procedure (ours took especially long… around two hours!), we went straight to SFS for instructions on how the three days were going to turn out. We were the last ones to arrive, and the time was already 9:00 pm. Honestly, I was devastatingly disappointed to find out I couldn’t explore my hometown that day as the curfew was 10:00. With no choice, my roommate and I went directly to our homestay.
Homestay is like a lottery draw. Sometimes you will draw a 5-star, hotel-like house (which I did once in Vietnam for a math competition), while sometimes you will find yourself sleeping on the floor with the most horrifying ants. Praying on my way to the homestay, I was astonished to find out how great it was! Well, it wasn’t as great as Vietnam, but it was definitely in the higher end. As soon as we got there, we dived straight into the delicious kimchi soup and bulgogi: just what I had in mind! Following our sumptuous dinner, we went to our rooms and fell to sleep straight away. It was, no doubt, an exhausting day of travelling.
Of course, my roommate and I woke up late and missed the bus. Not the best start with the homestay. Our kind hosts, nevertheless, gave us a ride to the school. The sky was blue and, yes, the air was as fresh as it could be. As soon as we got there, the anticipated auditions took place, and our audition was exactly the measures I couldn’t play. Sweat pouring down my face and legs shivering, all I could think of was sheer embarrassment. Contrary to my thoughts though, I got lucky. My designated piece did not require any audition! To this date, I am thankful of that.
For the next two days, we had intense rehearsal under the guest conductor, Dr. Robblee. Since he is a former university professor and now a conductor of a professional band, my expectations of him were undoubtedly high. I was ebullient to see him, to learn from him, and to develop under him—and he did not disappoint.
Dr. Robblee’s unique teaching style such as sizzling allowed us to experience something completely new. Just imagine hearing sizzles instead of notes! We also had the opportunity to talk to one of the composers, Jonathan Newman, before our performance. That was the first time I talked to a professional composer, and I immediately felt enlightened. Not only did he give his opinions of the piece, he also gave us many suggestions on being a composer and his experiences as one. Quote: “It feels exciting but horrifying to listen to your piece. The fear that it will not sound the way I meant it…”
In addition to rehearsals, we also explored the wonders of Myung Dong, an energetic spot in Korea where we tried all kinds of Korean food, from Korean traditional noodles to Sulbing, Korean sorbet! Other than Myung Dong, we also went to a mall and a B-Boy concert. It was full of comedy and hardcore dance moves that reverberated the theatre.
Our final concert was held on February 27. We gave a fantastic concert, though I did make one major mistake. Our group was very well balanced and made some beautiful music. Undoubtedly, it was one of my best nights ever. You can check out our performance here!
APAC band was a great experience, and SAS Puxi did a great job presenting our passion for music. Next year, APAC band will be held at SAS Pudong, so if you’re thinking of a new challenge, you might as well join the crew.
APAC, an extracurricular athletics and arts program for international schools in Asia, serves a purpose to not only grow students’ passions, but to also introduce them to different cultures all over the world. Founded in 1995, 12 schools—including SAS, ISB, and HKIS— participate in APAC events. And this year, SAS had the honor to visit Seoul Foreign School (SFS) to be part of APAC band.
I woke up on Wednesday, Feb. 24th full of excitement to finally fulfill one of my dreams to participate in an APAC event. I’m sure all my colleagues thought the same way. What could be better than a trip to Korea to play six beautiful pieces, right? It was now time for all our hard work to pay off.
An hour and a half of flight took us to Korea’s Incheon airport. After all the tedious immigration procedure (ours took especially long… around two hours!), we went straight to SFS for instructions on how the three days were going to turn out. We were the last ones to arrive, and the time was already 9:00 pm. Honestly, I was devastatingly disappointed to find out I couldn’t explore my hometown that day as the curfew was 10:00. With no choice, my roommate and I went directly to our homestay.
Homestay is like a lottery draw. Sometimes you will draw a 5-star, hotel-like house (which I did once in Vietnam for a math competition), while sometimes you will find yourself sleeping on the floor with the most horrifying ants. Praying on my way to the homestay, I was astonished to find out how great it was! Well, it wasn’t as great as Vietnam, but it was definitely in the higher end. As soon as we got there, we dived straight into the delicious kimchi soup and bulgogi: just what I had in mind! Following our sumptuous dinner, we went to our rooms and fell to sleep straight away. It was, no doubt, an exhausting day of travelling.
Of course, my roommate and I woke up late and missed the bus. Not the best start with the homestay. Our kind hosts, nevertheless, gave us a ride to the school. The sky was blue and, yes, the air was as fresh as it could be. As soon as we got there, the anticipated auditions took place, and our audition was exactly the measures I couldn’t play. Sweat pouring down my face and legs shivering, all I could think of was sheer embarrassment. Contrary to my thoughts though, I got lucky. My designated piece did not require any audition! To this date, I am thankful of that.
For the next two days, we had intense rehearsal under the guest conductor, Dr. Robblee. Since he is a former university professor and now a conductor of a professional band, my expectations of him were undoubtedly high. I was ebullient to see him, to learn from him, and to develop under him—and he did not disappoint.
Dr. Robblee’s unique teaching style such as sizzling allowed us to experience something completely new. Just imagine hearing sizzles instead of notes! We also had the opportunity to talk to one of the composers, Jonathan Newman, before our performance. That was the first time I talked to a professional composer, and I immediately felt enlightened. Not only did he give his opinions of the piece, he also gave us many suggestions on being a composer and his experiences as one. Quote: “It feels exciting but horrifying to listen to your piece. The fear that it will not sound the way I meant it…”
In addition to rehearsals, we also explored the wonders of Myung Dong, an energetic spot in Korea where we tried all kinds of Korean food, from Korean traditional noodles to Sulbing, Korean sorbet! Other than Myung Dong, we also went to a mall and a B-Boy concert. It was full of comedy and hardcore dance moves that reverberated the theatre.
Our final concert was held on February 27. We gave a fantastic concert, though I did make one major mistake. Our group was very well balanced and made some beautiful music. Undoubtedly, it was one of my best nights ever. You can check out our performance here!
APAC band was a great experience, and SAS Puxi did a great job presenting our passion for music. Next year, APAC band will be held at SAS Pudong, so if you’re thinking of a new challenge, you might as well join the crew.
Stanley Park