When the Band goes marching in

With the OBW2006 being only a few weeks away, I suppose it is only natural that we may be reminded of our years in the old School ...

Soon after we got to STAR, we had to make arguably one of the first adolescent decisions in our lives: which school-sanctioned extra-curricular activities to sign up for. We were told to choose two clubs or societies, one each from the Persatuan Tidak Beruniform (club without official uniforms) and the Persatuan Beruniform (with official uniforms) varieties.

Choosing a Persatuan Tidak Beruniform was quite easy, owing to the long list of clubs or societies to choose from. All you had to do was to follow your inclination. For example, if you realised that it was ultra cool to promote a scholastic cogitation on humanity, you would inevitably be drawn to the Social Sciences Society. But if voyeurism was your thing, you signed up with the Photography Club.

Choosing a Persatuan Beruniform, on the other hand, was not straightforward; not least because all the Persatuan-Persatuan Beruniform had dreadful uniforms. The options were Cadet, Scout, Red Crescent, and Brass Band. For me, the choice had to be made through a quick – and as it turned out, surprisingly uncomplicated – process of elimination.

Cadet. I knew I would not have the energy to go through endless marching practices and other mindless drills that the cadet chaps had to. So I crossed this one out before you could say “left, right, left, right, and stop”.

Scout. Outdoor camping did not really appeal to me. Uncomfortable bed, half-decent food, and primitive sanitary facilities – sounded too much like dormitory-living, without all the fun. Be prepared, they said. Well, even that sounded like a mantra for dormitory-living!

Red Crescent. For all their selfless deeds in giving care to those in need, joining the Red Crescent would have been a jolly good thing indeed. Alas, I could not stand the sight of bloody injuries and was not really strong enough to carry people on stretchers.

So, I signed up for the only option left, the Brass Band.

I knew that I was not musically talented, which was painfully obvious even after five years in the Band. However, there was nothing that I violently disliked about it and, all in all, I eventually enjoyed being in it. It was a quite an experience learning to appreciate the varied musical nuances of the instruments that we had in the Band, even though I was not very good at any of them crap at all of them.

But there was someone who could play all of them so well that he could have been a one-man swing band. What an honour it was to have had the privilege of learning from him. The maestro. The groovy grandmaster of the Band. Allahyarham Cikgu Yang Razalli. Thank You, Cikgu, O Captain! My Captain!





Let's rock the OBW2006!

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Post-script

Look at what I found on Youtube (thanks to ATMUS):

This was filmed during the Perak Marching Band Competition 2006.

YOU GUYS ROCK!!!