Thanks to all the students that came out to perform on Sunday! Although it started out a little drizzly, the street fair ended up packed, creating a nice full audience for our students as they performed. We had 22 performers performing over 30 songs on piano, voice and guitar.
Thank you to our performers: Imogen, Roscoe, Mia, Zoe, Eleanora, Audrey, Lydia, Juliana, Kate, Rachel, Alexei, Michael, Nia, Jim, Noe, Saige, Ruby, Dash, Dexter, Kaya, Niko & Madison.
Thanks to Madison for helping announce performers and having a set of ten songs ready to fill in any gaps in the schedule. She’s been practicing in preparation for more than a month even adding a few songs at the last minute.
Thanks to Alexandra for coming out to help and support our students as they performed. Her willingness to pitch in where needed whether it’s encouraging nervous performers, helping out with sound, filming or giving enthusiastic hoots from the audience is always much appreciated.
Sunday started out with the typical worries about sound set-up, rain and other logistics and ended up with the warm glow of pride. Performances are always a snapshot of students in their journey. Whether beginning, intermediate or advanced, I love the whole ride. With beginners, it’s the excitement of all the possibilities that lay ahead. With students further along, it’s being able to celebrate your progress and remember that no matter where you are in the journey, there are always new exciting possibilities ahead.
Getting up and performing can be scary for students of every level but I always encourage them to do it. I want them to have the opportunity to share their accomplishment, get inspired by what other students are doing and get the love and feedback of the audience. The street performances are especially great because the atmosphere is relaxed and festive with sincere compliments from strangers who stop to listen. I love watching the reaction of people as they are genuinely surprised by our students’ talent.
Every time we have an event, the vulnerability of new student performers still catches me off guard. In this year’s street fair I was sitting next to a student who was nervous about performing, ready to help out if necessary. As soon as she finished playing, she immediately turned her head to me to look for my approval. It always moves me and reminds me of what a huge responsibility we have as parents and teachers to give our children that approval and encouragement in those important formative moments.