Weekend Update

Well, did you make it to the THE SALE? Yes? No? Did you find what you were looking for? Yes? No? Did you give at least a little before you left? Yes? Good, good. No? Bad blog reader! (heh- just kidding, a little anyway) I’m not going to give away to final total because if Kurt and Lisa want to do that then you are going to have to go over to their blog, Running Towards Love, and find out for yourself. But I will tell you that because of so many generous people they were able to raise $$$!!! How awesome is that?!!  (psst… you can still give, it’s not too late)

 

My piano studio’s final recital was also this weekend. Sixteen students. Thirty-seven pieces. Two kleenexes. I will proudly say that my students sounded the best they ever have on a recital. I am tremendously proud of them. I held it together until the second to last student. Then the tears started. I pulled myself together to fully hear the last student and then decided to hop up and end the whole thing while I was still dry. That lasted approximately 3 sentences. I had tried to write out a little something, a draft of what I might say, but I ended up crying over my paper. I decided I would just wing it, keeping it short and sweet. Here are a couple of highlights I remember sharing.

I can talk until I’m blue in the face and write until I run out of pencil lead, but it is the students that go home and practice and make it happen. Sometimes they do. Sometimes they don’t. It is the students that deserve our praise.

I love helping unlock the mystery of music. To hear the gasp escape their mouth as I play a piece for them that they will learn, to see them understand the markings on a page that is foreign to so many people, is a delight to me.

Music is music. Whatever they’ve learned during their time with me will always apply to whatever other music study they do in life.

I babbled on bit more through tears before calling it quits. (I’ve taken to crying at all of my recitals now, so don’t think the tears this year were new.) Here is what I wrote on the back of the program:

To the parents and siblings, who have endured the rantings and ravings, sometimes done with words, sometimes done with music, thank you.

To the family and friends, who have been the impromptu audience and confidante, thank you.

To the students, who have listened, practiced, surged forward, resisted, pressed on, succeeded, you have my greatest admiration and sincerest appreciation.

The music is you.

Finally, my Facebook status yesterday. (‘cause that says it all, you know )

Students performing excellently on a piano recital is like an awesome 3-pointer or a touchdown pass, except you don't get to stand up and scream "YEAH!!". But if I had piano recital etiquette completely my way, I would do just that! Students, you were GREAT today!!