I am in the process of planning my first recital...getting songs picked out, beginning students on the memorizing, setting up a program, etc, etc...Does anyone have any advice they can share to help me pull this off successfully?? I would really like it to get extremely well; I am just in the woods right now... I would greatly appreciate any help!! Thanks So Much!

-- Erika (eel6255@mwsc.edu), March 05, 2003

Answers

Your first job is picking the right venue. This could be a place where you pay, or a hospital where you don't pay. Decide how many people can attend and figure out how many people each student can bring. Then send out a notice to all parents about two months in advance of the recital. State whether the recital is mandatory, and ask for volunteers to bring refreshments, set up chairs, and videotape the show.

I start students on their pieces six weeks before showtime but if you like the pieces memorized, I think more time is required. I often choose the very piece my students are working on so that I don't have much to plan. Lately, however, I've been thinking about the pieces I want to have heard and choose the students for the pieces: somebody to play "O Canada", someone to play "Under the Sea", somebody to play specific classical works etc.

Good luck!

-- Anita Greenways (anitagreenways@hotmail.com), March 07, 2003.