Saturday was our annual spring recital. I couldn't be prouder of all my students. Most of them had their songs memorized, and they all were so confident up there! Thing 2 did great, playing the much loved "From A Wigwam." He told me, "No mistakes, Mom!" when he sat down. And Thing 1 made me so proud; he played his first "real" classical piece, "Waltz in B Flat" by Schubert.
This year I did things a bit differently. First of all, I held this recital with two other piano teachers in my neighborhood, something I had never done before. It was really fun, and it was good for the kids to hear some older kids play "the real stuff." I'm hoping they gained a little inspiration, maybe enough for some practicing this summer? My fingers are crossed.
Something else that I did differently was that after much prodding by one of the other teachers, I performed a song. I hadn't played a solo at a recital since my senior year of high school. I was trying to decide what piece to play, and thought back to that senior year when I tried to quit piano because I was so unbelieveably busy, but my teacher wouldn't let me stop. I had learned all the pieces she had wanted me to learn that year except one - "Valse Chromatique" by Benjamin Godard. It's a great piece, but it's full of crazy chromatic scales (hence the name), and I just couldn't get some of the passages down in time for my senior recital. I ended up pulling it at the last minute and playing something else. It always kind of bugged me that I never finished that piece, so I blew fifteen years' worth of dust off of it and got to work. I didn't quite play it perfectly on Saturday, but I did it. Mrs. Martin, that one was for you. It was really liberating, like getting a splinter out that's been annoying you for a while.
I got tired of seeing the post about my kid mooning people, so I had to post something else.
This is the second year that I have done a Halloween recital, and I love doing it. It gives the kids an extra chance to wear their Halloween costumes! We do the recital at an assisted living home in the area, and the residents love seeing the kids dressed up and hearing them perform. I even found some spooky Halloween songs for most of them to play.
Here we are, all the kids minus one, plus me and two stowaways:
And of course, we have to have the silly picture. This is how we look at the end of a lesson:
I am really having a lot of fun teaching this year - probably my favorite out of all the years I've taught so far. The kids are great and most of them are doing a good job of practicing, which makes lessons so much more fun. This year I'm teaching not one but two of my own kids - Thing 2 started lessons. You would think that teaching my own kids would be horrendous, but we actually have a good time. Plus, that's two students out of my twelve that I don't have to wonder about how their practicing is going - I'm all for less mystery!
Last Friday we had our spring piano recital here at our house. The kids did great! This is worth mentioning because I wasn't sure that would be the case. I held my breath during a couple of the songs, because earlier that week during lessons, a couple of the songs were... still in the "needs-more-practice stage." However, the kids worked hard and pulled it off. And a big thank you to one friend who helped out with serving the desserts afterward - the kids always make a mad dash for the kitchen as soon as I start hinting that the recital is over. I saw a few eyes glaze over as I started wrapping things up, you know, "this has been a great year," "the kids have made a lot of progress." It was like I could see the words changing as I said them out loud, and all the kids could hear was "Blah, blah, blah." I felt like one of the adults from the Peanuts specials. Then I said the magic word - dessert - and bam! The whole front row was gone.
We did have two minor catastrophes, though. I forgot to give out the award ribbons at the end! After going to all the trouble of ordering them, picking out a color that would match the programs, writing the kids' names and song titles on the back - I was furious with myself for forgetting. I have been hunting down kids all week, trying to get them their ribbons. The other issue we had is also my fault. I have been stubbornly continuing to have some of the recitals here at our house. It is mostly because I heart my piano and the way it sounds with the high ceilings in our front room. So I force everyone to get cozy and smoosh into the front two rooms of my house. In the past, we've had 30 people at most, so it hasn't been too bad. Friday's attendance: 45. So. Many. People. It's fantastic, it's what I want, we just don't fit. We had people spilling into the kitchen and the front entry way, and of course the parent paparazzi on the stairs. I felt really bad when I noticed that someone that I borrowed twelve chairs from ended up having to stand. I think next year I am going to have to bite the bullet and reserve the church. The piano there may be crummy, but at least we won't feel like we've been playing sardines.
Check out this video of Thing 1 and his friend playing their duet. I got this from a friend; I would have posted the version from my camera, but mine didn't have the dance footage in the background.
