BY WENDY ZHANG
In February this year, I held my first ever students’ piano recital in a local church.
I had 17 students performing, and more than 80 guests in attendance including supportive parents and grandparents of these young musicians. It was the most nerve-wrecking experience I have ever had – more so than any of my solo or ensemble performances, as most of my students were performing for the first time (and half of them were aged below 8).
But to my surprise, the concert ran smoothly without any major dramas, and many parents and guests commented on how the event exceeded their expectations. Here is a list of what I did in preparation for the concert, and some learnings for the future that you can carry into concerts you’d like to plan, too.
Picking a date
Most private studio teachers host their students’ concert at the end of the year, leading up to Christmas. But what I found was that most of my students’ families had so many social commitments in the November/December period that it would be hard to get a decent turnout for my concert. Plus, I always found myself distracted at this time of the year. Things like booking for holiday trips, preparation for dinner parties, and last-minute shopping for Christmas gifts made running a students’ recital a near-impossible task. Therefore, I decided firmly that I would do it at a quieter time of the year – in February/March, when everyone was back to school and work and settled down.
By making this decision, almost all of my students were able to participate in the concert, which was a great outcome. In the future, I would consider running it at other times of the year – but definitely avoid busy periods such as Christmas and Easter.
Picking a venue
I was running on a shoe-string budget, and couldn’t afford hiring expensive venues. I wanted this place to be local (making it easier for families to travel to), with a capacity of 100 people and a decent-sounding grand piano.
I googled “halls with grand piano”, and found a blog about an organ and a grand piano donated to the local church. This place was 10 minutes’ walk from where I lived, had a baby grand in the auditorium, and could fit 100 people!
I immediately arranged an inspection, and afterwards felt it ticked all the boxes for me. Yes, it was a bit of a hassle to get the necessary public liability insurance on top of paying a venue hire fee, but the venue was an excellent and professional choice for the size of my studio. The lady doing the inspection for me was very lovely and kind, which made me feel like I was particularly well looked after.
Prep for students
I told all my students in December that I would be running a concert and they would need to prepare something to play. We started picking performance pieces three months before the event, which gave them plenty of time to practice. I made sure the pieces were a little bit more challenging than their usual repertoire, but still achievable if they practiced hard.
By mid-February, most of the students had already achieved fluency in their pieces, but there were a few exceptions due to lack of practice or extended holidays. I felt it was a valuable lesson for the students in terms of concert and exam preparation: they should not underestimate the difficulties of the pieces and leave the practice until last-minute, as it would lead to frustration and most likely disappointment when their lack of practice is reflected in their actual performance.
Concert poster, program, and awards
I enjoy creative tasks, so the concert poster and program design was a particularly fun project. It still took a lot of time, as I wanted to make sure the creative materials looked engaging, yet not too childish (as my students range from 5-35 years old!).
The awards design took more time. As I was running on a shoe-string budget, premium awards like custom plaques or medals weren’t an option for me. I felt that as this was my first students’ concert, I should give students something small to start with, so that I can upgrade later. I decided to design some participation certificates for all performers. While not as fancy as plaques or medals, the certificates still looked good and were customised with each student’s name.
In future concerts, I would definitely consider upgrading the awards to custom plaques, medals, or other fancy options.
Rehearsal session
As most of my students have never performed in public before, I felt it was important to arrange a rehearsal session to get them used to the whole process of performing for an audience. I felt the best time to do this would be right before the concert, to get them into the mood of performing and get some practice on the grand piano.
I noticed that most students who made mistakes in the rehearsal played so much better in the actual concert, which demonstrated the effectiveness of the rehearsal process. One student sadly missed the rehearsal as she went to the wrong venue, and was so nervous in the actual performance that she didn’t play so well. This was a lesson for me – I should have sent out a concert reminder to all the performers one day before the event, so they could know exactly where and when they needed to turn up.
Giving a speech
I prepared a speech at the start of the concert to introduce myself, explain the background of my studio, and give a mini-lecture on the benefits of learning music.
When I announced the performers, I made sure to include a point or two about their hobbies and interests outside of piano. These little mentions were noticed and appreciated by the parents.
At the end of the concert, I also made sure to include everyone in my thanks (performers in particular for their hard work; but also attendees, the venue organisers, and my volunteers on the night for ensuring the smooth running of the event).
On the night
To be honest, I was quite relaxed about the whole event, right until the moment I opened the auditorium door and saw 80+ people flooding in and so many unfamiliar faces.
Why are there so many people for my little concert?
I asked myself this question and started panicking. When I started my speech, I was nervous and spoke very fast. But then I started to calm myself down as I remembered this concert was not about me, but about the students.
During the concert, I was MCing the whole way, doing duets with some students and playing a solo at the end. Luckily, years of training and performing in public ensured that my nervousness didn’t show, and most parents said I looked completely in control throughout the night.
There was one thing I did not expect – my first performer of the night (5 years old) was so frightened that she told her mum she would not play. I said to them this was completely fine, but if she wished to play at any time during the concert, I would be happy to slot her in. When my last student finished performing, she came up to me and said she would like to play. What a happy outcome! She was still nervous in her performance, but at least got a chance to perform and give her best at this opportunity, which I think is the most important thing.
After the concert, I went home feeling completely exhausted. But then, parents started posting concert photos on social media and sending me congratulatory messages, which made me feel they all appreciated what I had done.
In the following week, many students turned up at their lessons looking very happy and motivated, and practiced their songs 10 times harder than normal. I felt that, even though I spent a lot of time planning for and panicking over this event, it was all worth the effort at the end as it kept students motivated and parents happy – a great retention tool for my studio!
I would definitely make this a regular event in my studio calendar, so that students can grow more and more confident in performing in public, and finding it enjoyable.
Shout Wendy a coffee?
If you like, you can shout the writer a coffee to say thanks for her contributions to Australian music and arts journalism. No amount too much or little 🙂
[purchase_link id=”17967″ text=”Add to Cart” style=”button” color=”red”]Pay what you like through PayPal. 80 per cent of your contribution will go to the writer who composed this piece, and 20 per cent to our volunteer editor. We protect your personal information.
All images supplied.
