Another great recital!

Well... here we are. Another piano year wraps up to a close. 

   And another recital has gone off successfully! 

   This year's spring recital was different than most, in a very interesting and pleasant way. It was my first three-way joint recital. I teamed up with vocal teacher Dori Whyte (one of my PMTA colleagues) and guitar teacher Isaac Fehr (from The Fehr Family Band). In case you're wondering how that happened, Dori and I share a couple of students, and Isaac teaches my younger brother. So joining forces came about very organically. 

   One thing that made this recital unique was the order. I've always done it the same way -- beginners to advanced (translation: just-barely-got-started beginners to have-one-or-two-years-under-their-belt), and youngest to oldest. Also I've had my students play both their songs at once. This time, since we were mixing vocals and guitar in, the order was more varied. I still did some grouping by age, but a few of the students were playing their songs separately, and this gave me a chance to mix things up a bit. Although it made the program more interesting, it also served a logistical purpose: giving the girls doing vocals and piano a chance to breathe between their selections! 

   Cute story: One toddler in the audience took it into her head to echo whatever was being said.

   Student: "I will be playing 'Curious Cat.'

   Toddler: "Curious cat! What's a curious cat?" 

   This girl did an amazing job, playing her songs from memory without getting distracted by *blushes* the vocal selection that yours truly, the accompanist, had left on the piano. 😨

   A couple of the girls played one selection from the Celebration Series books and one Disney piece. That added a fun twist, although I usually help my students choose more "serious" music. 

   One of the girls who had prepared for Parkland Music Festival, and then was not able to perform, played the pieces she had worked on for Festival at the recital. She did a fantastic job! 

   And me? I've discovered a new passion: accompanying. I think I'll be adding a page to my blog about accompanying fees, because I definitely want to do more of it! 

   And that's it! We had a week of "fun lessons" where we played lots of games, did improv, and worked on just-for-fun music. And now we're pretty much done for the summer. But it's never too soon to start planning for fall! If you're interested in online piano lessons, click here. Or if you are looking for a piano teacher in the Onoway area, click here. Either way, have a great summer!