Wait a minute…wasn’t it just Christmas?! It’s hard to believe that the season of spring piano recitals is rapidly approaching. And while I’m sure you probably feel as though you’ve just barely recovered from the “Jingle Bells Marathon”… I actually don’t think I have fully recovered yet…Β it’s time yet again to get your piano students ready for their next recital performance!
Spring Piano Recitals take place at a time of year when piano teachers are competing with soccer, lacrosse, dance, gymnastics, baseball… (take your pick)… making them feel like a desperate attempt at student preparation. This is also the time of year when piano studio attendance is lowest and practice hours wane. The sun is out. It’s hard to compete with the sun. But, armed with the fresh and fun ideas below, your recital could become the talk of the town!
Spring Piano Recitals Made Awesome
Now is the time, however, to bust out that Piano Teacher Superhero cape. The life of your studio is at stake (it is, after all, suspiciously close to re-registration time too). If you’ve been doing the same old, same old recital routine year after year, it’s time to shake things up. Not only for the sake of your students, but for your own personal sanity. Come blasting into that recital hall with the most enthusiasm, ingenuity and excitement you can muster. Turn your Spring Piano recital into something worthy of a cult following. You’ll find yourself actually looking forward to the event (instead of experiencing involuntary night sweats at the thought of it) and your students won’t know what hit them!
The Only Thing You Need To Do… Is Everything
Challenge yourself to re-vamp every aspect of your recital. Consider the list of “usual recital aspects” below and brainstorm about how you can modernize (or completely over-haul) each of them. Remember, brainstorming means the sky’s the limit! Don’t throw away ideas because they seem silly (or expensive). There’s plenty of time for reality after the fact, but without lofty ambition it’s easy to get bogged down in details. If you truly get excited about something you’ve brainstormed, find ways to either replicate it on a smaller scale… or go for the gusto and make it happen some way, somehow. Being your own boss means you have the ability to call the shots. Take advantage of this privilege and have fun with it!
Ask “Okay, Self, How Can I Spice Up…”
1. The venue (church halls are not the only option! Inside is not the only option!)
2. Recital Programs
3. The Repertoire (think themes, collaboration with other instruments, “the music of…”)
4. The atmosphere (who says light shows and smoke machines are only for night clubs?)
5. Your use of technology (slide shows, projectors, drum loops, recording etc.)
6. Your reception (how can you make it more of a party?)
7. How you welcome your guests
9. The seating arrangement
10. How your students dress
11. How YOU dress
12. The preparation and hype leading up the recital
13. Your communication with parents about the recital
14. Guest performers
The list could go on forever. We’d love to hear the wild and wonderful things you have done for Spring Piano Recitals. Comment below to share how you avoid ending up in the fetal position at this time of year. π
Joyce says
We hold a couple recitals in a Pizza Restaurant – parents/friends come and have dinner and a recital. The restaurant feeds to the students for free and then we provide the music. A great hit! I also have the students write a little something either about themselves and their accomplishments over the year or maybe something special about one of their songs which I share with the audience as they come up to “perform”. I also like to play duets with my students.
ACK says
That sounds really fun!
ACK says
I love themes. I LOVE recital time!!! π
I’ve used a Diner theme for Classical Repetoire. The venue was an old art deco theater, I served mini apple pies, ice tea, lemonade, and coffee for dessert after the show. The program was laminated and designed like a menu with “Todays Special Pieces”, “We accept all major applause”, and “Piece from today’s special menu are available for take-out listening. Just ask your performer!”
“Rock and Rag” – students performed American music from turn of the century ragtime to 1950’s rock. This was at a yacht club and dessert was an ice cream sundae bar. The program had an old fashioned playbill-look to it and the music was categorized by decades.
I focused an entire year on Program Music and Russian Composers. The recital was at a small, modern theater. Arrangements from Stravinsky and Tchaikovsky ballets, excerpts from 1812 Overture, and Pictures at an Exibition were peformed, plus a Musical Play of Peter and the Wolf as the finale. I used a simple single fold piece of paper for the program, but used really pretty heavy weight pearlized white paper. I served a cake decorated with scenes from Peter and the Wolf.
And this year is the GREAT OUTDOORS. Everything nature! The students will be performing at a church. Friends and family will be listening to music about water, seasons, the moon, the sun, rainbows, raindrops, and more! I’m still working on the post-performance treats….I did find a recipe for s’more pops…..I welcome ideas! π
Next year I would really like to do a Hansel and Gretel themed recital with a candy buffet, and focus on opera music for the year…..
Danielle says
Awesome!
Camille says
I totally love this idea!!!
Dorla Aparicio says
Great ideas! You have inspired me to do a little extra this year! We have been working on completing challenges on our Music Mission world map (thanks to pianimation.com) so I am going to have to come up with an international theme for our recital day. What fun!
I assign my students to play in groups of 8 to 10 and have the recital at my studio (not many good pianos in our area), so I have about 5 recitals beginning on Saturday night and continuing through Sunday. It gives me a chance to chat with all the parents and grandparents and keeps the recital more relaxed.
Thanks for sharing!
Sue Miller says
I am a piano teacher. After seeing my parents look like they were having a root canal, I knew I had to do something. For several years I have had themes that revolve around songs from movies T.V. internet (Yurima). I change the title each year but we do much the same type. The parents love it, the students love it and we are excited. If I have a student who can sing I will let thme open with a vocal solo…Alice in Wonderland…and print out free disney coloring sheets and make them print as a poster. I then color and paint them..decorate stage with them and a lot of greenery. I have used Disney ballonsat reception. I even wear a costume.
I use some federation solos if they are real good and modulate with a popular song and it works out. A lot of solos can work into Phantom of the Opera. This keeps the lag of changing solos..the two work together and it flows much better. Everyone wants to know the theme when we start the fall semester. One time I even asked parents if they knew how old Snow White was? They had no clue, then a student sang a solo from Snow White. It can be fun.
Janelle Bonson says
I agree,normal recitals are really boring no matter how well those kids play and the more rigid they are the more nervous the students will be at the recital. I had my Christmas recital at a coffee shop…they do not have to dress up…I let them come between the hours of 9-2. They can play as much as they want to play. They can listen, eat, very informal. The guests at the coffee shop love it, the parents love it, and I love it!
Danielle says
Great idea!