It was that good ...

*my beautiful daughter playing Edelweiss, and Spring by Vivaldi

What an amazing night!! My end of the year piano recital was tonight and it could not have gone any better. As my husband said, "It was even better than last year." Always a good sign when you travel forward with success.

I hosted the night at our church and the grand piano had a gorgeous tone. With the soft spot lights on the sanctuary front, it created a very calm atmosphere for the students. It was not a very sunny day, so it was a welcomed relief from the 90+ temps we had been experiencing all week. We did not have to worry about extra sweat other than from nerves.

*my sweet sixth grade niece on my husband's side of the family

The children had not played on this piano prior, so I had them gather at 7pm to rehearse their songs or to play scales. I wanted them to get a feeling of what it would be like to walk up the steps to the piano, say their name and music titles, and sit down to position their music and play. I wanted their mind to know that they had been there before; even if it was just minutes before the real event. While they warmed up minutes before the show, the audience was in our church's Fireside Room socializing. It was really perfect.
*the mother said that her Kindergarten son could handle piano lessons ~ glad I listened ~ she was right. A third grader now, this star student knows his Jazz, Rhythm, and Blues.

Then the audience filtered through as the students were already seated in order. It was fun to see the kids' eyes grow bigger as the snickering started and comments were heard like, "When will the line of people stop?!" It was very kid-like-cute. And eventually the sea of people did stop and we got started.*presenting the personalized CDs before the reception

Some of my students, like my daughter, just started a few months ago and some have been playing for four-plus years. But I received many compliments that the audience would never have known ~ the students were well prepared. I was thrilled that one particular student "wowed" me with her playing as she has struggled the most, and another more experienced student just nailed it to where you heard talking and sighs of amazement during the applause. Of course the CD gifts were a hit ... as were the cookies at the reception.

To sum it up ~ when you get chills and have to swallow hard to fight back the emotion, you know it's good. It was that good.