ABOUT OUR RECITALS...
We strongly encourage families to give students the wonderful opportunity to perform in one of our annual Fall or Spring Recitals! Parents visiting or new to The Music Place, may not know that our recitals are uniquely comfortable, relaxed, and encouraging... quite different from the boring, stiff, scary recitals many of us experienced as a child.
Even the Youngest Beginner is Invited To Participate!
Although Fall and Spring recitals are primarily for those students who have been studying in a private or semi-private setting for at least 6 months, we encourage everyone to participate. We frequently have students perform in recitals (with their teacher) who have had only a few lessons, and parents are quite surprised by this positive and memorable experience.
In addition, we invite all performance classes (Voice, All Arts and Theater) to participate as well. Even our pre-school Early Music Awareness™ students occasionally perform. And what a sight it is to see children as young as 2 on stage for the first time in their lives, perhaps wearing costumes and so proud to be waving at their moms, dads and grandparents!
Dozens of Performance Opportunities
We offer 15-20 recitals per season which are conveniently scheduled to make choices easier and to accommodate all of our students. A larger number of recitals also help ensure that each recital runs no more than 75 – 90 minutes. At smaller venues, the recital may even be as short as 30-40 minutes.
Wonderful Variety
Our
recitals offer a wonderful variety of voices, instruments and
ensembles, showcasing all levels of development!
Several Venues
For our larger recitals we rent local churches that have good-sized platforms and fine grand pianos that are worthy of the best performers. For our smaller recitals, we often use our Sunnyvale campus, which has ample parking and can easily accommodate an audience of 40-50. These small recitals, which run about 30-45 minutes, are perfect for the first-timers who might be intimidated by a large facility or stage.
Enjoying a Recital?
Watch
out! You may find yourself laughing and enjoying our friendly hosts,
entertaining students, and of course, we can’t forget the
consistent review of the fun-but-friendly "3 RULES TO BE A GOOD
AUDIENCE!" We do our very best to make the atmosphere so relaxed and
the families so at ease, that parents often comment at the
difference from
their own more rigid experiences. By the way, we have adult
students performing too, but only if they want to.
Our hope (and indeed, our experience) is that recitals become a wonderful, and yes, even exhilarating moment in your child’s growth as a person, not just a musician. We also see that when parents encourage their children to share their growing abilities by performing, everyone leaves inspired and encouraged!
We Do Not Charge Admission for recitals.
Instead, participants pay a seasonal fee of $25.00 per child, or $35.00 maximum per family .
Food too!
Receptions following each recital allow students to hear the encouraging comments from the audience and faculty while enjoying treats and beverages.
Although we provide light refreshments and refreshing punch and coffee, (hot cider in the winter) we always appreciate the variety of finger foods or treats that parents might want to bring and share.
Year-End Honors Program
Once we have completed a series of Spring Recitals in which hundreds of students perform, we present our annual Awards Ceremony programs. In these gatherings, we celebrate the efforts of dozens of students who have excelled throughout the year. We honor character, not just talents, and give awards and ribbons for achievements such as Outstanding Improvement, Attendance, Perseverance, Attitude, Performance and more.
Between programs, we have a multi-cultural buffet where families, guests and faculty can mix in a relaxed setting which honors the students as well.
For the past several years we have been privileged to use the Hillside Church, with its beautiful hanging chandeliers, wonderful piano and awesome sound system and comfortable theater seating. This atmosphere for this comfortable but more formal event where select faculty are also invited to perform along with selected students at all levels. It is a wonderful time!
Last Modified: 2006.10.17
Actual Customer Testimonials:
"I wanted to let you and everyone at the Music Place know that the recital was lovely and it was so child-oriented. It was nice to be at a recital where everyone was there to make the children feel good about themselves -- it wasn't a competition." -- Vanetia J.
"I just wanted to take the time to tell you and your staff how much I appreciate all that you have done for our daughter Jasmine. She has really grown and matured since she has been attending The Music Place. It's such a joy and blessing to see how her skills have been developing over the years and how you have brought out her hidden talents." -- Ottielie A.
Evaluation Feedback: "Thank you so much for taking so much time answering all of our questions and trying to understand our children's musical needs based on their personalities and abilities. We look forward to The Music Place being part of our lives..." Robi T.
