Last Sunday was Chino Hills' Annual Recital. I had 17 kids take part in it, and all in all it was a great time.
The day started out with group lessons, and Jerry and Synthia had their hands full as they are the only 2 group class teachers there. Joshua's group performed during that session too. It was held at the Recital Hall of Mt Sac. and I thought it was the prettiest recital hall I've seen. The school did it up very very well--decoratively and acoustically. Anyway. We had 6 sessions, and the 2nd session was all private students. One of my students, Pristine Wong, was to perform during that session. Pristine is 8 years old, and she's very petite. But she is very smart, and talented. On top of that, she works hard. So I gave her 2 pieces that were pretty challenging for her. During lessons, she played them pretty well, but I always felt she could do better. There was always something that could be improved. So when she got on stage last week and started her first piece, I started to panic because she played at a speed that to me, was very dangerous. But OH MY GOSH, she sailed through it like she's been doing it for a long time! Aura was next to me, and she said, she's your student right? I said yes, and she said, Wow, she is good!! Later on, I found out from her parents that the people sitting next to them also said the same thing. Pristine's 2nd piece was a quieter piece called All Through the Night. It's a very pretty and very expressive piece. A big contrast to her first piece, and she did that really well too! I wanted her to do well because she's worked hard, and she totally rose to the occasion. I am so very proud of her.
My student Allen is a teenager. He's 15 and he loves playing. I gave him a very pretty piece to play, and he did really well. What scared me the most was that he was to do a duet with another girl. She and he are schoolmates, but she is not my student. Jessica was Ron's student. (Ron is a fellow teacher). She stopped lessons sometime in January, but she really wanted to do a duet with Allen. So she picked the theme from "The Simpsons". It was a very challenging piece, and for Allen, it stretched him a lot. It had rhythms that he wasnt used to, and I know he had to put in a lot more effort than he thought he had to. The Monday before the recital was the last time Ron and I heard them, and we wanted to get together with them again, but Jessica had other plans lined up already. So we just told them to practise together on their own. That Monday, I was thinking, it will be a miracle if they pull this off. Things were still very iffy, and they were still making mistakes. So when they got on stage, I basically held my breath. As soon as Allen started playing, I thought, OH NO! IT'S TOO FAST! I was just waiting for something to happen, someone to break down, someone to get lost, and screw everything up. I sat at the edge of my seat with my hands on my face. I think I had this panicked look too. But NOTHING happened! They played like pros, and nearing the end, I started to get excited because I thought, maybe they will actually pull this off! When they finished the last note, I raised both arms in exultation and whispered, YES!!!! (apparently my whisper wasnt too much of a whisper. Others heard me and started laughing.) I think I took my first breath only then, I was so nervous. That was a great feeling. It felt kinda like the high I get when I get done with my recitals.
The rest of my students did well too. One little girl, Becca, was sick with a high fever that day. I only found that out much later in the evening. She got on stage, and her first piece was pretty good. But her second piece was not a reflection of her abilities. She started on the wrong spot, and I think it threw her off some. But bless her heart, she tried and tried and tried to recover, because she remembered that I told her, if you make a mistake, GO ON. Finally I had to go on stage to help her finish because I didnt think she could do it. Poor girl, I think she was crying by then. But I made her take a bow anyway, and I felt so bad for her. The audience was very supportive, and gave her a really good round of applause because they knew that she tried. Later on when I called her, her mom told me that she had a fever that day, and she was really looking forward to the recital so she refused to stay at home. I think she's very brave to have gone on stage and perform with a high fever. Kudos to her.
We finally got done at 6 pm. It was a long long day that started at 10 am. Congratulations to all my students who participated. They worked hard and they did well. Till next year!