Should I sign my child up for the Kids and Teens Winter Recital?
The answer isn’t always yes. While we would love to have ALL of our students perform at our recital, this isn’t feasible or realistic. For one, we have limited space and time available. However, the main requirement to perform in a recital is talking to your teacher. Ultimately, they will let you know if they think your child is ready to perform. Below are the criteria our teachers use to determine if you are ready.
If students don’t meet the criteria, we still encourage everyone to attend! Our Winter Kids and Teens Recital is the biggest performance of the year for us, and it is great to see all of your faces in the audience. Hopefully, your child will leave feeling inspired and participate the next time around!
Recital Criteria
Talk to your child’s teacher
This is the first step! Start a conversation with your child’s teacher if they haven’t already mentioned the recital to you. Teacher contact info is available in the student portal if you are unable to have a face-to-face conversation.
Experience
How long has your child been playing music or taking lessons? If it’s less than a few months, they probably aren’t ready to perform.
Steady Beat
Can your child play the song without speeding up or slowing down drastically? We’d rather hear a recognizable ‘Mary Had a Little Lamb’ than have them struggle through the first measure of Chopin’s Etude Opus 10 No. 4 . No song is too “easy” for a recital.
Good Tone
Good tone can be subjective, but are they able to stay on pitch and play the correct notes consistently? Try to pick a piece that your child is confident in, not one that they picked the week before the recital or one that they can only play accurately on a ‘good day.’
Creativity
We give extra points for creativity. Extra imaginary bonus points, that is, because being creative is its own reward. Ever heard a reggae version of ‘Jingle Bells’ or a punk version of a Taylor Swift song? The best part about being enrolled in private lessons is that you can work with your teacher to come up with your very own unique arrangement! If possible, try to stray away from the stock tunes in your lesson books and seek out fun, new material. We love hearing what you come up with.
Sign up in the Student Portal
If you’ve made it this far, go sign up for the recital in the Student Portal on 11/1. A $10 charge will be added to your December invoice to guarantee your spot, performers will not be charged at the door. Guests can buy tickets in advance or at the door. We’ll see you at City Winery!
Extra tips…
This is not a competition
I repeat… this is not a competition. Everyone is in a different place on their musical journey.
Schedule an extra lesson!
Chances are you have some makeup credits available at this point in the year. Feel free to use those to schedule an extra lesson in the student portal leading up to the recital to help with jitters. If you don’t have makeup credits, contact the front desk and add an a la carte lesson.
Play with your teacher!
Unless your child is feeling super duper confident, it is probably best to have a teacher accompany your child on stage. Even if your teacher can’t make the recital, we have plenty of teachers who are up to the challenge. They are all very talented professional musicians.
Have some ‘Dress Rehearsals’
Our teacher Mr. Chris is famous for having his students perform in front of an audience of puppets. Although they aren’t animated, having an imaginary audience will help simulate the recital experience. Even better, perform for your neighbors, siblings, grandparents, and pets!
Have fun
Dress up, skip onto the stage, and take an extravagant bow; this is your time to shine!
