Recital Prep for Parents

 


Ahh. It's that wonderful time of year again! Does anyone else other than me feel like it's already Christmas, even though it's still November? 

   With December comes the annual Christmas recital. And with the annual Christmas recital comes the annual blog posts for parents and students about what to expect and do at the Christmas recital! Read all the way to the end, please.

  •       Make sure you and your family arrive at the church on time (a few minutes before 2:30 P.M.). Check the address ahead of time, so you know where you're going! Onoway may be a small town, but that doesn't mean you can't waste time driving in circles looking for your destination in it.;)
  •      Please be respectful of church property while we are there, and remind your children not to run in the sanctuary, play with things in the church, etc.
  •      Also please sanitize your hands upon entering. 
  •      Help your child feel relaxed before the recital. Many children get very nervous before a recital, which doesn't help them play their best! All your children are prepared for this. And, much as we'd like it if everything went perfectly, mistakes do happen and they're not a big deal. Remind them of these things. They will be fine! 
  •      Please clap for each student when they finish playing. All of them have put their best effort into this!
  •      I'm encouraging your children to compliment each other after the recital, so if you could also encourage this mentality, that would be great.
  •      Feel free to invite grandparents and other family members! But if they can't come, I will be videoing the whole recital and sharing the video with you, my piano families, later. And speaking of videos...
  •      If you can't make it live to the recital (especially for health reasons), please give me as much advance notice as you can. Then, so your child's hard work doesn't go to waste, please send me a video of your child playing their piece within the following week, and I will add this video to the main recital video. If you do video, they should wear casual-dressy clothes, say their piece names, play, and then bow, just like they would in-person! 
  •      After the recital, we will be having some snacks and a time to visit. This is a great time for you to connect with other families like yours! Please bring a plate of snack finger food. 
  •      This year, because our recital falls on a Sunday, and the church has plans of their own in the evening, we need to wrap things up around 4:00-4:30. Be aware of that, and if you're available to help with clean-up, we would appreciate it (as would the church!). On that note, the church is doing a Community Carol Sing at 7:00 pm. I believe it's not at the church, but at Onoway's Community Hall. My good friends, The Fehr Family Band, will be helping to lead the singing. The church welcomes everyone to this event! (If you like bluegrass/gospel music, you'll love the Fehrs. You might remember Bethany Fehr from the music video she helped me do earlier this fall.) 
        Stay tuned next week to read important prep tips for students that your budding musicians need to know! 
Location: Onoway, AB T0E 1V0, Canada

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