A Studio House Concert (Times 5)

A few days ago, I held a year-end studio recital in my new home studio. This was an entirely new venture, as although I'm a huge fan of home concerts, up to now I haven't had enough space at home to actually hold one.

Given the dimensions of the studio, I estimated that I would be able to seat 20 people at a time. Assuming that each performer brought an average of two people, a concert sitting would only be able to accomodate 5-6 performers without overcrowding the room. But since I would be needing to accommodate close to 75 people (including students, parents, and friends), there would need to be not one, but at least four of these concerts throughout the day.

Here is where circumstance and the busy schedules of my Oakville students and parents came into play to make the format work. Since most families would only be available for a short window of time in the late morning or afternoon, it became a necessity to schedule multiple concert times. And since each recital would end up being 25-30 minutes in length, I could schedule recitals each hour, allowing for a half-hour reception after each performance.

A month before the performance day, I put out a sign-up sheet for four hourly recitals starting at 1pm. They quickly filled up and I added a fifth recital for 11am. Each student signed up for the number of people they would be bringing, and once the magic number of 20 was reached, the program was closed. This format meant that I couldn't control exactly who played when in the course of the afternoon, but each concert ended up being a mix of junior and advanced performers.

Since there is considerably less formality in a house concert compared to the concert hall, I decided to entirely do away with programs for the event and only asked each student to introduce their pieces before they played. The dress code for the afternoon was listed as "Strictly Casual", so no student would be prevented by concert attire from jumping on our backyard trampoline following the concert. Each family brought some food for the reception, so it turned out that the event was as much a culinary occasion as a musical one.

The concerts were short and sweet (a blessing compared to many epic studio recitals taking place at this time of the year), parents got the chance to connect and chat, and several were kind enough to bring friends interested in enrolling their children in lessons for next season. I plan on doing several of these events throughout the year, and the informal, non-competitive spirit of the concerts may inspire yet more students to take the next step into more competitive situations such as festivals or competitions.

Teachers: how do you structure your own home studio recitals? If you have any ideas or best practices, leave them in the comments.

Benjamin Grosvenor Plays Ravel's Gaspard de la Nuit

Hearing Benjamin Grosvenor's magnificent recording of Ravel's Gaspard de la Nuit was a pleasure indeed, and comes via the Facebook feed of Robert Silverman. Grosvenor's recent recording for Decca features Gaspard, as well as several Chopin and Liszt works.

Help Ensemble Meme Record the Piano Chamber Works of Gabriela Lena Frank

A Kickstarter project from Ensemble Meme aims to record several works for piano and chamber ensemble by Gabriela Lena:

We are trying to complete our recording of a fabulous CD which features world-premiere, never recorded chamber music works by the brilliant composer Gabriela Lena Frank. So far we have recorded a portion of the disc, thanks to generous contributions from the Copland Recording Grant and our donors. However, we need your help in order to complete this CD! Please watch our video, where you will see Molly and Gabi in person, and sample a little bit of the beautiful music on this disc, performed by Barry and Molly live.

Our story began with Molly, our pianist, who met Gabi, a wonderful composer at the John Harbison/Dawn Upshaw Workshop at Carnegie Hall in 2004. They bonded both musically and on their views of life and living over rehearsals and meals shared during those weeks. A strong friendship ensued. And during a sushi meal in Berkeley a few years back, this recording project was born.

The works on this CD include: Tres Homenajes: Compadrazgo (For Piano Quintet), Sueños de Chambi: Snapshots for an Andean Album (For Flute and Piano), Canto de Harawi: “Amadeoso” (For Flute, Clarinet, and Piano), Sonata Andina (For Solo Piano), and a brand new work for piano four hands that Gabi will join in with Molly!

Molly Morkoski talks with Gabriela about their collaborative process so far:



The deadline for contributions is June 15 and the recording is already 27% funded as of this evening. Lots of promotions await those who donate, including dedication rights, house concerts, coachings, instruments,CDs and digital downloads.

Christina Perri's A Thousand Years, Arranged as a Piano/Cello Cover by the Piano Guys

Jon Schmidt and Steven Sharp Nelson of The Piano Guys are back, this time in the Utah woods with Christina Perri's A Thousand Years arranged for cello and piano. Listen closely and you'll hear a cleverly disguised Bridal Chorus quote. Look closely and you might see a lizard or two:

Tim Fain and Peiyao Wang Play Aaron Jay Kernis' Air

You might need to turn up the audio a bit, but you'll be glad you did in this elegant and moving 2010 Poisson Rouge performance with violinist Tim Fain and pianist Pei-Yao Wang:

Pasek and Paul's Do You Remember

Here's a hidden gem that one of my students introduced to me earlier this year: Do You Remember by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, from a projected and as yet uncompleted Peter Pan sequel. The ageless Peter Pan (sung here by Gavin Creel) meets an aging Wendy:



This performance is with Tampa-based pianist Robert Jarosh and a very talented, though unnamed singer David Michael Bevis (thanks Robert!):



You can purchase the sheet music on the Pasek and Paul website. It's well worth the $8.99 price tag, and the piano part is very well written.

(Thanks, Stevie!)

Ask the Readers: Which Classical Music/Music Ed Blogs Are Worth Reading?

I've always prided myself on staying up to date with the goings-on of the classical music blogosphere. However, with over two months spent moving house, I fear I may have lost touch with some of the best blog reads while setting up the ultimate music studio.

Collaborative Piano Blog readers are known to be some of the most discerning of musicians, so the call goes out: which classical music and music education blogs are worth reading?

Leave a comment below.