Recital Management . . . for over 80 students!

.....from Sally's Studio
 
I hold 4 different recitals each year to keep them each to a manageable length.  The first (for the advanced students) is on a Friday evening.  Much to my distress, I have found that many people don’t appreciate the more serious pieces and what it takes to get them learned.  Often I have heard that the songs were too long and boring.   I have learned that if I identified the evening recital as being one with serious music and that it would potentially be a longer event, I had an audience that was appreciative of the higher level music.  The other three recitals are on Saturday.  The Saturday recitals are shorter and a little less formal; although all students are still expected to dress up and follow common performance practices.  The students and parents are always honored to “graduate” to the Friday night recital.

Theme and decorating and program, oh my!
Every year we try to find a recital theme.  My students enjoy decorating the recital venue and designing the programs.  Some years I have held a program cover design contest.  Anyone who wanted to submit a design had to do so a month before the recital.   Sometimes I chose the winner and sometimes have had a panel of judges do the choosing - to avoid any feelings of favoritism among my students.  They enjoyed competing for the honor of seeing their artwork on the cover.  Since the programs are often in black and white, I have at times let the students color them while they waited for their lessons.  It gave them some ownership of the programs.

Even though we generally have a theme, not all students play pieces that are connected to it.  The advanced recital rarely is associated with the current theme, but the other students love to choose music that matches the theme-of-the-year.   At times they even dress to match the theme or the feel of their song. 

Ensemble - yes!
Each student plays a solo and then performs with an ensemble.  Since my studio is in a public school I have access to them throughout the day, making ensemble work readily available.   I understand the limitations of teachers who work out of their homes, but I highly recommend trying to find a way to get ensembles to work.   It is worth the effort since much of piano playing is a solitary event.  My students really enjoy working on duets, trios, and quartets.   When we put our advanced or intermediate students together on pieces like Perpetual Commotion by Kevin Olson, they have tons of fun!

Stay Tuned!
More is coming on my recitals and themes.  I would love to have input from any of you who would also like to share your recital successes!

written by Sally Ritchie