Claps of welcome broke through the silence of the theatre as our lovely and gentle Ms Tan Zhi Lin walked to the stage to take place by her soulmate, the Grand Piano.
Audiences immediately fell in love with the first presentation of the instrumental piece and needless to say more, they were captivated not only by the beautiful masterpieces but more so the sheer courage and calmness which our children displayed as they walked on the stage with such self-confidence.
In the weeks working up towards the day of self-actualisation in achieving the moment of displaying their talents before a hall of instrumental enthusiasts, there were ups and downs no doubt.
One of our young talent who is aspiring to be in the field of Linguistics Pathology have been playing the guzheng for more than ten years - Samuel Lim. We managed to speak with him just before his performance where he cheerfully shared, ‘Exhilarating moment for me because although I have performed before but never once with an orchestra.’ Samuel also took the opportunity to express his thanks and love for his family’s unwavering support over the years. He encourages and wants to affirm the children of Club Rainbow – ‘Do your best! But don’t forget to have fun!’
Definitely will be a memorable evening for Samuel and not only his parents but all the parents of Club Rainbow’s young performers as we caught up with Anastasia’s mother, Mdm Kim.
Almost overwhelmed by emotions and holding back a teary look, she gasped ‘We are blessed to be part of Club Rainbow Singapore (CRS), and that she (Anastasia) could get a chance to perform at the Esplanade theatre. Thank you, RedHat too.’ Expressing that her daughter loves drumming so much that she had to always remind Anastasia of other priorities like her studies. Much like Samuel, Anastasia’s 1st performing opportunity was at the Dreamseeds Art Fest 2016. No stopping this young girl as she drummed passionately, expressing her feelings through each beat that evening.
A proud moment not only for frontstage but also for Felicia Lee, the Senior Executive from our Programmes Development Department working behind the scenes. She has been helping to coordinate the weekly rehearsals since the start of the year, and highlighted ‘their efforts were truly paid off by their outstanding performance.’ One of the best moment for her was witnessing their improvement – ‘some of them have not had experience playing with a large orchestra before/or on such large stages, but they looked like pros!’
Jun Rong’s (another of our young talent whose passion lies with the harmonica) dedication of his performance to Felicia came as a sweet surprise for her to which she smiled in acceptance of his appreciation for her continued support and encouragement.
Our Council Member, Ms Karen Tan and Deputy Executive Director, Mr Teo Siang Loong, were both present to cheer on our children as they crossed an impressive milestone on stage. Overall, the event was one to remember for a long time to come. We hope that our children will have many more opportunities such as these to bring them further in their passion for music.
For more enquiries on organising similar events with our children, please reach out to us –crscpm@clubrainbow.org.