Post-recital Thoughts and Feelings

Our Spring Recital took place on Sunday 18th May at a local village hall. We took one of our electric pianos so that the performers could play on a familiar instrument that they had practiced on during the week. We decorated the performance area with some Spring flowers, and positioned the audience in long curved lines, rather than small straight lines, in order to provide them with a better view. The two announcers sat on one side of the piano, and we sat on the other, as we know that our students like us to be nearby for reassurance.

We were very pleased with how the recital went and thought everyone played admirably. It was lovely to have a mix of ages and abilities: the ages went from 7 to adult, and the abilities ranged from a beginner who had only been learning for a few months to someone who is preparing to take their grade 8 this year.

 

As well as having a couple of our students announce the pieces, we like to provide the audience with a programme, as we know that many of them like to keep them as a record of their progress.

 

In order to make a balanced programme we write each piece with its grade and style on separate pieces of paper and experiment with the order until we are happy that it will reflect the diverse abilities and styles of all the pieces. For example, we make sure that no two students who are doing the same grade will perform one after the other. Where possible, we aim to ensure that beginner pieces are sandwiched between more competent performances. Also, as we teach a lot of siblings/ members of the same families, we try to separate their performances by putting some in each half of the recital. Homemade refreshments were served during the interval to add to the informal feel of the afternoon while giving everyone a chance to catch up.

This is a photo of all the Greenside Musicians who performed, including one girl whose arm was in a sling (though she managed a one-handed duet with Catherine!). Sadly, two pianists were unable to make it due to an accident and illness, but both were able to perform to class mates at school so they were still able to showcase all their hard work. Huge thanks to Rachael Nicholson for coming home for the weekend from university (where she's studying Biomedical Sciences) just to perform in our recital; it was an exemplary performance and her attitude towards music provides our younger students with a fantastic role model.

After expenses (hire of the venue and refreshments) we were able to donate £100 to
The British Heart Foundation, in memory of Elaine Kirby (1969-2012); a Greenside Musician who is sadly missed but is still in our hearts. Thank you to everyone who took part.

During the week after the recital, we asked some of the Greenside Musicians who had taken part a question: 'How do you feel after performing in the recital?'

3/4 said that they enjoyed playing and listening to other people 
Just under 1/4 felt relieved that it had gone well 
1/4 felt proud of what they had achieved 
Over 1/2 were happy 
Just under 1/4 mentioned how they had noticed the progress in other people and themselves

Our favourite response was:

"I am glad I have done it and I thought it was fun. I really enjoyed listening to other people play. I would do it again because when you are playing you are shaking but then when you get to the end you want to play it again."
Olivia, age 9, year 4

We were pleased with the responses, as it is always good to know that our students enjoy participating in recitals despite the nerves they may feel beforehand!