Christmas Time, is a time for joy and cheer with family and friends. It is our hope that you enjoy this album.
May it be a blessing for you and your loved ones
Julianna Waller
…so, how do you come up with a dress rehearsal/recital format that serves the beginner, will be successful for advanced students and comfortable for busy parents?
The format that serves my students best is a Friday dress rehearsal with assigned time slots, and two recitals on Saturday. The use of assigned time slots for the dress rehearsal is efficient! I run an on-time schedule by having the student arrive 10 minutes before their assigned time and I honor the schedule. Based on my philosophy and experience I feel it is best that the teacher leads all dress rehearsals. I am happy to give of my time as a professional musician to my students and this is the standard I offer at my studio.
What is expected of the student at dress rehearsal? I prepare students to be ready to run their solo with the accompaniment and then address any minor ensemble issues. The dress rehearsal is not a lesson so I focus on performance, musical expression, and also reinforce a productive and positive attitude in the student. Performing at recitals is a celebration of the student’s musical journey and my approach is upbeat and encouraging.
How much time does each student need for dress rehearsal? The answer depends on the student’s ability level and the repertoire.
Students playing at a volume 4 level or higher (or repertoire outside of Suzuki), are scheduled for a 15 or 20 minute dress rehearsal to accommodate the more complex repertoire. Advanced solos are longer and we need time to cover various segments and rehearse transitions, ritards, phrasing and musicality. The student also needs to be comfortable with entrances after tutti sections.
My most advanced students need more rehearsal time than just a run through. I accommodate this by doing an additional rehearsal with the accompanist a week prior; lengths vary from 20 minutes to 45 minutes. This format gives the students enough preparation to have a successful recital experience. For works that are quite long like the first movement of the Mendelssohn concerto, I assign the student to rehearse at least 1-2x prior to the first required rehearsal. This is with the pianist only which helps them learn independence by leading that rehearsal.
For my most advanced students that absolutely love to perform, I offer the opportunity to play at both recitals. Usually, this is a bigger work like Czardas followed by something shorter and fun. For this special consideration I allow a 25 minute dress rehearsal to run both works.
The top picks for the most wild performances include:
…and…
Twice a year I offer a formal classical violin recital for the students as a special occasion. Recital day is my favorite day of the year! I love the educational and social opportunity for the students. With the month of May and December being super busy for parents, I have found great success with scheduling the spring recital in April and the fall recital in November. I schedule the spring recital late in the month and I always avoid the Saturday prior to Easter, as well as Easter weekend. For fall I avoid the Saturday prior to Thanksgiving and also that holiday weekend.
Parents love having recitals on Saturdays instead of a week night. I have come to love a morning recital and it is truly wonderful for very young students and also students that may be prone to feeling some nerves. The day is fresh in the morning and it is a joyful time. I use the basic format of a morning recital (10 or 10:30) and an afternoon recital (1:30 or 2:00) each with reception. This helps those that may have sports in the morning or afternoon. And, I always honor the recital time requested by the parent. I keep the number of performers (counting myself) from about 11-14 performers total. That choice keeps the program length from about 1 hour to 1 hour 20 minutes maximum depending on how many students are player longer, more advanced works. By splitting my roster I can create a desirable recital length for all and especially be mindful of families with babies/toddlers.
My recitals are family friendly and I use the event to teach proper concert etiquette. With all dressed in fancy attire how do I bring a relaxed feel to the event? I have students arrive 30 minutes prior to the event to unpack and warm up. I then interact with each student and encourage them to just have fun, make a new friend and do their best. Five minutes prior to start is the group photo. Then, I seat the performers in the order of the program and make several welcoming announcements. I also clearly state the intention of the event: educational, fun celebration of music, good concert etiquette, remind them to take a bow, etc. I tune each student just before positioning them on stage and then we are off.
As classical string players we are conditioned from the beginning to execute uniform bowing or follow what is printed in the music. This is true not only for the solo repertoire but especially in orchestral settings. The bowings create phrasing, musical expression and bring to life what the composer intended. Well, the player either goes down or up (over simplification) coupled with or without slurs and a variety of complex articulations and dynamics.
The “bow” is our voice so its function is powerfully artistic. In orchestral settings the conductor (along with the concertmaster) provide any desired changes or edits in bowings. As an experienced orchestral violinist this is a fascinating and impactful subject as changes in bowings dramatically affect the players and overall sound of the section. I remember years ago when Isaac Stern’s son, David, was conducting the Nashville Symphony Orchestra for a classical series and he had both violin sections use “free bowing” in the opening measures of the Johannes Brahms symphony no. 1, op. 68. What! Oh my! That breaks some rules but what a brilliant artistic choice. He wanted a lot of sound to come from the back of the sections. This choice literally freed all of us up to use many bows on individual notes which created a wonderful tidal wave of sound for this majestic work.
