This post was most recently updated May 4, 2020.

This recital has been entirely reimagined in light of the global pandemic.

For this recital, pieces will all come from a larger work like an opera, a ballet, a Broadway musical, a movie, or a video game. A few pieces have even been composed for this very recital.

The Basics

• Who — all of my students, their families, and guests

• What

  • a set of individual videos of memorized performances by my students

  • links will be listed on a page on my website

• When

  • performance links due by Sunday night, May 17, 2020, so I can publish links on Monday morning

  • plan to spend at least an hour watching others’ performances and commenting lovely comments

• Where — YouTube! And also your home! Granny’s back porch! Or wherever you and the Internet can be together!

• How — practice, guts, the magic of music, and the power of technology

Memorization Deadline — April 13

Your pieces should be memorized by your lesson during the week of April 13.

Even though the recital will not be live, the music still blossoms best when you are not engaged in translating ink into sound. Instead, be engaged in translating sound into music.

Performance Class via Zoom

Before you can sign up for the May recital session of your choice, you must sign up for a performance class (here). The quantity in the top right of the form should match the number of minutes your piece takes (rounded to the nearest minute greater than zero, natch).

Performance class performances will be live and from memory via Zoom conference with a handful of other students. You get to practice performing as well as being a good audience member — stay seated and attentive. Fancy dress is not required at performance classes.

Each recital piece must be performed at a performance class.

A YouTube Recital. What?

A fantastic benefit of uploading a link over performing live is that you can do more than one take.

Pro tip: shoot for energy and fun and passion rather than flawless note-making, which could be lifeless in its perfection. You are not a robot. You are a musician.

Make a Video of Your Performance — Due May 17

As you prepare to make your video, make sure to consider your outfit, your lighting, the angle you want, background noise (none, ideally), visual background, and room choice for acoustics (looking at you, singers and guitarists). Do a practice take. Evaluate. Adjust. Then go for take two.

Use what was set aside as recital weekend to make your video, if you haven’t gotten a great take by then. That’s when we’ve been shooting for being ready, so it will be a great time to do the performing and filming.

Dress your best for your video. Want to dress from the time period? Cool. Want to dress up as a character from the show your piece is from? Super cool. In any case, look good.

Introduce yourself and your piece at the beginning of the video (e.g. “My name is Robert Van Winkle. I’m 52 years old, and I am going to perform ‘Drop that Zero’ from the film Cool as Ice …” or whatever the case may be). Keep it short. Speak clearly and look into the camera, and then perform it like you mean it. Practice your introduction out loud before filming. Get feedback from others (including me).

Since this will be on YouTube, you can use only your first name if you like.

You are welcome to add graphics or effects to your video as you please. Heck, you can have backup dancers (I would LOVE this). It can be as simple or fancy as you like and should match your tastes — and be fun to watch. The first ingredient in a great performance is your musicality: that you know it super well and can express the intent of the composition through the lens of your own artistry. The first impression will be your intro; nail it.

All of this, of course, takes a steady diet of engaged rehearsal.

Paste your YouTube link into this form by Sunday night, May 17. The password to to form page is in your 5/3/2020 email. I’ll unveil the videos all at the same time on Monday when the recital page goes live.

Attend the Recital — May 18-31, 2020

After the link unveiling, plan to spend at least an hour attending a YouTube recital, where you watch other videos. Maybe make popcorn. Or tacos.

Truly, let’s spend a couple of weeks oooh-ing and aaah-ing over all the uploads. Plan to compliment each other in the comments. Look for the good and learn to articulate it. We still need community, and here is our opportunity. Paper beats rock; kindness beats virus.

After a reasonable amount of time, if you’d like to yoink back your link, feel free to do so. It will belong to you, after all. But if you’d like to leave it up, that’s cool too.

Refreshments

Obviously, we won’t be doing this together this year. But let’s each raise a taco to each other afterward. Cheers, my lovelies. Pass the guac and the positive comments.