Recital
November 18, 2006
by Miss Cathy

What a Wonderful Recital!!!

Even before the actual recital began we had entertainment.   Diane played the piano as people arrived and the performers got ready for the recital.   Thank you, Diane, for offering to do this.   It added a very nice touch to the recital.

Brian started our recital with playing the piano.   He played "Good King Wenceslas".   Brian is only four years old.

Then it was Alexandria's turn at the piano.   This was her first recital, so she was scared.   Even though she was scared she did a wonderful job!   She played, "O Christmas Tree" and "O Come Little Children".

Mary, one of my adult guitar students was next.   It was her very first recital also.   She played the guitar and sang, "Jingle Bells" and "We Wish You a Merry Christmas".   When an adult performs in a recital, it is something very special.

Stacy made his debut as a pianist next.   He played, "Away In The Manger" and "Jolly Old Saint Nick".   He did a great job!

Renusha is an old timer to the recital scene.   She is always well prepared.   Thank you, Renusha.   She first played the guitar.   She played "Deck The Halls", and then a Jewish song, "The Dreydel".

The first accompaniment of the night was done by Lauren.   She played the piano and Jenny sang, "Silent Night".   It was very exciting to see my piano students accompanying my voice students.   Well done, Lauren!   It was Jenny's first recital and first solo.   We weren't sure Jenny was going to sing this song, but she did, and she did an excellent job!

Melanie loves to perform.   She has been playing piano for many years.   She played "Angels We Have Heard On High".   Not too long ago, her parents found out that Melanie could sing.   She is now also taking voice lessons.   She sang "What Child Is This".   I accompanied her on the piano.

Everyone gets a bit nervous when performing.   A bit of nervousness is a good thing.   It means you care about what you are doing and how well you do it.   Sometimes someone has a paralyzing fear.   Diane, who played at the beginning of the recital, once had such nervousness.   I, too, suffered with the same problem.   It took me years to get the problem under control.   I think it is wonderful when someone wants to overcome the problem and attempts to work at it.   I am very proud of Rachael for making it to the piano, not just to play the piano for everyone to hear, but also to accompany some singers.   Her first song of this recital was "Jesu, Joy Of Man's Desiring".

Next to play the piano was Renusha.   She played "The Twelve Days Of Christmas".   That sure was a fun song to listen to.   She had to read it backwards, which was a feat.

Ending the first part of the recital was Julia.   She played "Ode To Joy".

The first half of the recital was what our recitals are typically like.   The next part was totally different.   My students voted to perform the story of the birth of Christ, as told by the donkey in the stable.   This meant that the piano players would not just be piano players but they would have to accompany singers.   Accompanying is very different from just playing the piano.   You have to follow someone else’s rhythm and timing, not your own.   This means going at their speed, not your own.   When you accompany a soloist, you follow them.   But when you accompany a group you lead them.   So, two different techniques have to be learned.   I'm very proud of everyone and their first time accompanying.

Peyton started this part of the recital with his announcement.   Then he played, "Go Tell It On The Mountain".   He played two hands together!   Amazing!

Cory was our reader and kept the story going.   He did an excellent job of keeping the story moving along without pauses or interruptions.   He also was the first piano accompanist in the story.   Ron sang, "The Angel Gabriel".   Cory was his accompanist.   It was a hard song that kept changing the time signature, but they did a grand job!   I'll let you in on a secret.   Don't tell anyone I told you.   Someone thought that Ron was a professional that I got to help out with the recital.   What a wonderful boost to Ron's confidence!   I assure you that Ron is a student, not a professional 'plant'.   But, thank you for thinking he was that good.

"As Joseph Was A Walking" was sung by Diane and Ron, accompanied on the piano by Renusha.   There was an added special feature to this song.   Brian played the keyboard as a drum.   He was the footsteps of Joseph.

"Es Ist Ein Ros" is a beautiful old time song.   It was sung by Melanie and Diane, and accompanied on the piano by Rachael.

"O Little Town Of Bethlehem" is an upbeat song.   Jenny and Diane sung this song, while Rachael accompanied them on the piano.   Mary played the guitar accompaniment.

Jenny sung "Away In A Manger".   It's the lesser known of the two songs by that name.   Renusha played her accompaniment on the piano.   The week following the recital, people were commenting to me about how well Renusha plays the piano.

One of the prettiest songs in the story was "Wind Through The Olive Trees".   Tori played the piano accompaniment, while Jenny and Melanie sung.   Not only was this Jenny's first time as a singer on stage, but she also learned the harmony for this song.   Brian was the wind through the olive trees by playing the sound of chimes on the keyboard.   The week after the recital there were a lot of compliments for Jenny and Melanie, from other students and from people who had been at the recital.

Next was Miss Cathy playing and singing "In The Bleak Mid Winter".   This was a rare occasion when Miss Cathy sung for everyone.   Mary played the guitar, which added depth to this song.

"We Three Kings" was sung by Cory, Ron, and Diane.   Each had a solo, plus they sang with Ron harmonizing.   Lauren played a flawless accompaniment at the piano.   Everyone loved Lauren's piano playing!   They told me the week after the recital.

"Unto Us A Boy Is Born" was a group song.   Those singing were Jenny, Melanie, Ron, Diane, Rachael, and Cory.   Tori played the accompaniment on the piano.   She had to learn how to accompany a group, but also for this show she had to learn how to accompany for a duo.

The hardest song to play in the story was "The Shepherd’s Farewell".   Julia played this on the piano.

"O Come All Ye Faithful" was an audience participation song.   Everyone sounded wonderful!   Julia was the piano accompanist for this song.   She led the group beautifully!

Ending this part of the recital was Peyton playing on the piano, "Joy To The World".   And he thanked everyone for coming.   Brian and Peyton stole the hearts of all that were at the recital.   They did fantastic!

Next, certificates of performance were given out to all the performers.   I thanked everyone for coming, and we ate some goodies.   These students worked really hard on this performance.   I'm proud of each of them.   Each one had something to overcome that was hard for them, and they overcame.   Keep up the good work, everyone!