Christmas Recital 2023
"It's the most wonderful time of the year!" as the song goes. Thus, our first Christmas Recital commenced this year 2023!
It was a nice Saturday morning, with perfect weather on a winter day. Last December 2, 2023, we held our first Christmas Recital 2023, participated by 13 of my piano students. The venue was a cozy and quaint hall in the heart of Shimokitazawa, Setagaya, with a nice and quiet neighborhood- Half Moon Hall.
The hall has an in-house Yamaha C3 grand piano, stage lights, a beautiful ambiance, and a perfect place to hold a soiree of 50 guests and performers. With the stage designers, Ms. Ophia Woolery-Schroeter, owner of @craftycustomdesignz, they transformed the stage into a magical, homey set of a living room full of Christmas decorations, with a Christmas tree and balloons to highlight the backdrop of an open window with Santa Claus on his sled and reindeers flying in the sky.
The concert was solely organized by me and had made great collaborations with two of the talented people I know. The official photos are taken professionally by Ms. Nami Maeda. After the concert, we celebrated our success with good food and refreshments which were provided by Chef Eric Romero, owner of Ulam Tokyo, a Filipino pop-up restaurant in Tokyo.
All these preparations took time and effort, but the most hardworking and the star of the show is not us but the students who persevered, practiced well, and prepared enough for the Christmas Recital! I am proud to present to you the first batch of recitalists of Kate Henry Music.
The Recitalists
Recital Poster
Here is our official poster for the Christmas Recital 2023. The concert was held last December 2nd, Saturday, at Half Moon Hall, Setagaya-Ku, Tokyo City. It was attended by the friends and families of the 13 recitalists.
Programme
Here is the programme of our recital. Each student performed two songs, a Christmas song and a song of their choice. We worked together on their pieces by choosing and arranging songs according to their level.
Students in Action
I asked each of my students if they felt nervous when they performed. They all answered, "No!". I am like, "How are you not nervous?" "I feel excited and happy to perform in front of my family and friends."
I must have done something right during the lessons to make them feel prepared not only in their pieces but also mental and emotional aspects of their performance. Great job, kiddos!
Giving of Certificates
Just a proud teacher here! My heart tank is overflowing with joy for they all successfully and beautifully played their heart out on the piano.
"It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge." - Albert Einstein
Year-End Reflection as a Piano Teacher
It is not my first time holding a recital or concert for my piano students. I have been doing this for many years and each recital, as far as I can remember, is very unique and memorable. But what makes our Christmas Recital 2023 so special is that it's my first time organizing a recital in a foreign country. I was very used to the logistics and the people I worked with back in my country in the Philippines, especially since I have my music school in Makati City. We hold biannual concerts for our students and I, as a performer, did solo recitals as well. I was thinking, maybe, it is possible to do it here in Tokyo.
I love doing and preparing things in a more personal approach. I made the personalized recital invitation letters to the parents, adding special neume stickers that my music university gave to me on our graduation. Instead of keeping it, I used it to add a special touch to the letters.
I worked hand in hand with the owner of the hall who was very kind to accommodate all our needs on the day. I visited the hall a month before the recital day and shared my plans with the owner.
I worked with close friends and families for the concert. The host of the recital is my ever-supportive husband. I don't think I can do everything on that day without his help. The photographer has been a great friend of mine and she took my professional artist photos that you can see on the website. The chef is also a parent of one of my piano students! Building connections and maintaining good relationships with your community can make work so much lighter and stress-free.
I am always grateful for the unending support from the parents of my students. They are our number one supporters and have been my reliable partners in piano teaching. I made a blog on how parents can hugely contribute to the success of their students' music lessons and I take inspiration from all the parents I work with.
Last but not least, I am forever grateful for my students, who are one of the greatest blessings this year. I am still in awe of how we met in this city with millions of residents with thousands of piano teachers out there, but still, we crossed our paths. I think it is the other way around for I learned from you so many things about life. I learned so much from you- your cultures, languages, music, and so many new piano music that I don't know. It makes me so humble about how much I don't know about piano yet, and here I am teaching you what I know and passing on my skills to this new generation of talents. We worked together, got frustrated with repetitions, clapped and recited rhythms, did more repetitions until we perfected it, made silly and funny jokes, collected stickers, sang songs, made mistakes, learned from it, and a whole lot more! I couldn't list all the things we did during our piano lessons but all those memories we share, I keep them in my heart. The Christmas Recital is one of the ways to celebrate you, your achievements, and your music, but it is during the lessons that everything starts, grows, and fosters. I treasure them this year and I look forward to teaching you all I know so that someday, you will surpass what I have achieved.
Till next year! Happy holidays to you and your families!