After many weeks of anticipation and many hours of work, the moment is just about here! Our annual studio Christmas recital is tomorrow evening. Our theme is A Collaborative Christmas: Proclaiming together the greatness of God! And remember, you’re all invited to attend! Just go to the Christmas Recital 2010 Ustream channel and you can join us virtually for an exciting evening. The recital will begin at 7:00 p.m. CST, with prelude music by several students beginning at about 6:40 p.m. I thought you all might enjoy a little glimpse into some of the preparations of the last several weeks:
Welcome to the film studio! 🙂 Last week, I converted part of the studio into a film studio so that I could record students who volunteered to read narration in between the recital pieces. We’re attempting a bit more of a multimedia approach this year, so we’ll see how that goes!
And here’s the brains behind the filming operation – my trusty camcorder, laptop, and recording software. It’s so fun experimenting and learning new things with filmmaking – something I am not very good at yet, but hopefully I can continue to develop skills in this area. (So please cut me some slack with the very amateurish video presentation if you tune in for the live stream!)
One of the ensemble groups rehearsing Pat-a-Pan by Carol Klose at the studio the day before the rehearsal. This arrangement is for piano duet with optional rhythm accompaniments for a drum and finger cymbals – the perfect combination for these sibling pairs!
I fully intended to take lots of pictures at the rehearsal last Thursday evening, but managed to snap a grand total of two. Oops. Here’s one of the ensemble groups, playing I Saw Three Ships for piano trio, drum, and triangle, from Lynn Freeman Olson’s A Christmas Gathering.
Here’s the other picture from the rehearsal – a group of high school guys playing March from The Nutcracker, from Hal Leonard’s Level 5 Christmas Ensembles. You can also just barely see my wonderful sound man who has his hands full trying to balance the output from two pianos, two Clavinovas, several violins, and the overhead projection of our narration. We definitely could not do this without him!
It is a ton of work putting together a recital – as you all know! – but it is well worth it. This year I’ve been reminded that it’s not just the end product that matters, but the process as well. My heart’s desire is for God to be glorified and for people to be blessed through the recital, but that should also be my focus in every moment of preparation, every lesson I teach, every interaction I have with students and parents, and every note that I practice. There is so much peace and joy that comes in maintaining this focus in the small moments along the way, rather than becoming anxious and stressed out in light of the “big event.” I hope that each of you are also experiencing peace and joy during this busy, but exciting season!
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