Here’s something that caught my attention about a month ago. Browsing the Slidemeister forums, somebody mentioned that the biannual Asia-Pacific Harmonica Festival was around the corner (exactly two weeks before I leave for studies in the States), and more awesome yet, that it would be held in Singapore this year.
Wow, it’s as if the opportunity just fell right into my lap. Not does it only give me a milestone to head towards (try and work towards getting at least a silver medal in the competition, if not better), the exposure as a harmonica player is absolutely fantastic with people like Brendan Power and Willi Burger coming down, as well as all the enthusiasts in the region.
In terms of the competition, I’m still not quite sure what to play. Judging from the winners of previous competitions, whose footage you can catch on youtube, most people end up playing classic virtuoso stuff like Adler’s Genevieve’s Waltz and so on. Even though I’ve only been at this for a while, I can already imagine there’ll be a standard list of pieces that will probably make up 65% of what all the participants are playing. By the end of this month when the application deadline kicks in, I have to choose something that will land me on the 35%, so I have a decent chance.
This is really a case of “Twelve Holes, Giant Steps”. Many of these virtuosos have been playing for years — after picking up the instrument for fun at 17, and neglecting it for a good three years, I have to up my skill levels in less than 5 months.
I always love a challenge though 
