I hold my Spring Recital early in the season, before the end-of-year rush. Then, as the school year draws to a close, I like to host an informal event, in the studio, to celebrate the kids' successes. Last year the elementary school kids enjoyed a Piano Pizza Party. Today I opened the studio to all my school-age students.... and had a studio full of eager students! More kids today than at the formal Spring Recital. ☺
Typically a pianist plays solo, and lessons are one-on-one. To liven things up a bit, May was duet month at the Serini Music Studio. Everyone worked on different duets. I had originally wanted to pair the kids off, have one learn the primo and the one the secondo parts, but didn't get a great response to that idea. So each student had their own duet, with me as partner. They each had a month to prepare, and we performed for each other this afternoon. It lasted about an hour, and I think it was a success! We even played Chopsticks!
For the most part, the Nervous Nelly that attends the formal recitals was absent this afternoon. The kids even volunteered to perform! We had mistakes, but they handled them well. We still need to work on keeping a steady tempo and continuing through mistakes. (I did my best impersonation of Sonny Bono, and they looked at me funny.)
I had planned a rhythm cup exercise to round out the program, but we filled the hour with our duets. I get the rest of the week off. Well-deserved, I think. We'll pick back up next week, and maybe continue this duet theme.
