The recital went alright. It was held in the evening, which I'm not sure I'm a fan of. I was flustered and nervous by the time it started so I probably wasn't the best MC, not that I am on my best days. I learned the piano solo for Sleigh Ride (by Leroy Anderson, yep the original piano solo) in the months leading up to the recital, and thought it would be fun to by some of the percussion instruments. That song is all about the percussion! I found them on Amazon--I ordered sleigh bells, wood blocks, and even a whip crack. Later on, I thought it would be fun if my students joined in playing some sleigh bells of their own, so I ordered some small, inexpensive sleigh bells. We practiced as a family several times and just used the recording to figure out when to use the instruments I bought--no music needed!
The kids played just okay. Most of them performed better in their lessons, so I'm not sure what went on there. Even I played worse than I practiced. Yikes. I messed up way more than I ever did, yet the place that I typically had trouble with I nailed--go figure. The one exception that night was the piano and violin duet. It was the favorite of the evening, and the girls played better at the recital than they did for their performance the next day at the church sacrament Christmas program. Ian and his friend James also played their same duet for the Christmas program the next day and thankfully pulled it off perfectly.
The nice thing about having recitals at my house verses the recital hall in Riverton Pianos is that we can have treats afterwards! I ordered a hot drink carafe and a 100 pack of disposable hot chocolate cups for the hot chocolate bar, so I am well-stocked for any future hot chocolate bars! I asked the families to bring a treat to share and did they ever! So many yummy treats! In addition to the hot chocolate carafe and Swiss Miss hot chocolate mix I had out, I had made some real homemade hot chocolate, which all who partook agreed it was the best hot chocolate ever.
Here are some pictures and videos of the evening. The most important thing about recitals is for people to get together and have fun!
The invitation I sent out.
Elisa playing Winter Wonderland
The only video that would upload on blogger--Elisa's solo, Winter Wonderland. I was happy that she was willing to play in the recital this year!
Elisa playing Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy
Ian Playing Holly Jolly Christmas
Ian playing Hark, the Herald Angels Sing
Ian and his friend James playing Joy to the World duet
Lydia, my most advanced student, playing her Mazurka piece
The favorite number of the evening
Don't listen too closely to my playing, but it is fun to watch the kid's faces as they concentrated on playing their sleigh bells. Well, not really theirs since I had them turn them back in to me.
Sleigh Ride piano solo by Leroy Anderson--I played better in this recording.
Treat time! The kids always look forward to treats after the recital!
That was a great Christmas recital. They all played well. Nice to have treats!
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