Catching up with Alex at the private performance of Rodrigo Rodriguez

It’s been a busy two months for me. This month, I had to serve my annual,  National Service In-camp-training, so I’ve been multitasking like crazy.

Fortunately,  I was able to wrap up most of my projects before going back.

I also cleared my personal schedule for the entire two weeks, which allowed me to attend events I wouldn’t ordinarily be able to attend, including a private recital by Rodrigo Rodriguez. This event was organised by Andrew Wee,  and he kindly extended the invitation to me and my guests.

Rodrigo is a prominent classical guitarist with South American origins. At this recital, he presented a collection of arrangements of Christian hymns, interspersed with stories about his personal life and his relationship with God.

As an atheist, I found his commentary a little preachy for my taste, but by no means overbearing or disrespectful. Musically, Rodrigo exercised great sensitivity and use of dynamics in his recital, which resulted in great lyricism in his interpretations.

He was clearly fighting the effects of jet lag, and he had to power through some memory lapses, rather successfully if I may add, but whatever errors he did make, it did not detract from the overall experience.

The cozy NUS Staff Club allowed Rodrigo to perform unamplified, which made for an intimate and charming performance.

I enjoyed his recital and I was grateful that the audience was mainly comprised of educated musicians and guitarists who politely enjoyed the presentation.

This recital also allowed me to briefly catch-up and touch base with lots of friends and guitar acquaintances including Ernest Kwok, Alex Abisheganaden, Andrew Wee, Marcus and Kevin Loh, Jeremy Zhou and his fiancee Charmaine Koh, and Stacey-Jane Douglas and Derrick from the ISS International School.

It was nice seeing Ernest and Alex again. I am very grateful for the training and guidance they bestowed upon me during my formative years. It is hard to believe that was nearly 10 years ago!

Catching up with Alex

After the performance, Stacey was kind enough to offer Alex, Derrick and myself a round of beer.

We proceeded to the karaoke bar one level above the recital studio and ordered a jug of Tiger beer.

Big mistake.

Even though I have drunk with Alex before, I hadn’t really drank with him before that night.

Boy can he drink! One jug quickly turned into three, with Alex and myself chugging through most of it. Even though Alex, at 87 years of age, has 58 years on me (I am 29 this year), I am pretty sure he can drink me under the table.

We stayed for 3 hours talking about music, life, politics and Singapore.

Even though his memory is not what it used to be, it is always an interesting experience when speaking to Alex. When most people exchange ‘war stories’, they do so figuratively.

For Alex, it’s literal. Having lived through colonial rule, the Japanese Occupation, merger with Malaysia and Independence, Alex’s recollection of Singapore is always nuanced and colourful.

Even though I have heard most of his stories before, that night he regaled us with a story I have not heard before – the time he was invited to Buckingham Palace for a tea party so that the Queen could meet some of the subjects from her Empire.

Alex was studying in the United Kingdom at the time and he was visited by one of the Queen’s envoy. Stumbling over his surname, he read the invitation to Alex, who promptly thought he was the subject of a prank. He asked the ‘envoy’ which has of his friends had put him up to this, and was only convinced of the invitation’s authenticity when he viewed the letter upon close inspection.

Of course, when the actual day of the tea party arrived, the taxi driver Alex hired was shocked when he was asked go to Buckingham Palace. He refused to drive until Alex showed him the official invitation, which quickly earned Alex the respect and awe of his driver.

When Alex arrived, he was announced to the other guests, only to have the announcer fumble over his surname. With a laugh, Alex slowly and discretely broke  down the pronunciation for the announcer.

It was a cute story and Alex appeared to have as much fun telling the story as we did listening to it.

After our lengthy chit chat, I called for taxis for Alex and myself and we called it a night.

A charming guitar recital and the company of old friends? I could think of no finer way to spend an evening.