teaching – Julianna Waller Music

November 7, 2018November 7, 2018

How to Format Student Dress Rehearsals

Everyone is busy! ...

…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.

Beginning to Intermediate

I have found that students in Suzuki volume 1 and my littlest ones only need a 5 minute time slot. They come in, meet the accompanist, tune and they then perform their solo. Then, there is still time to either do it once more or just practice the start. We also practice taking a proper bow after rest position. For students playing longer solos in volume 2 and all solos in volume 3, I always schedule a 10 minute slot. That gives us time to run the solo and rehearse a few areas. If it goes perfectly then we have time to run the solo a second time, but that is usually not necessary for their comfort.

Strong Intermediate to Advanced:

Dress Rehearsal

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.

Additional Rehearsal for Advanced Repertoire:

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.

Performing at Both Recitals:

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.

Quick Reference for Recommended Time Allotted:

5 minutes for all beginners thru Suzuki Volume 1
10 minutes for longer solos in Suzuki Volume 2 and all of Volume 3
15 minutes for Suzuki Volume 4 and Intermediate/Advanced repertoire
20 minutes for advanced repertoire and longer concerto movements
25 minutes for the most advanced works and those performing at both recitals (which would include a long work and a short)

With careful consideration of the time a student truly needs to rehearse, I have been able to keep my total dress rehearsal time to approximately four to five hours with a couple of short breaks. This works for me in serving up to 25 performers.

November 2, 2018November 2, 2018

VLOG: Fingering and Bowing for Granados

October 31, 2018November 1, 2018

Best Months for Recitals

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.

October 25, 2018October 25, 2018

How do I balance my first love of performance with my teaching?

I’ve become inspired to perform for the students at the spring and fall recitals. It’s great for my “chops” and lifts my spirits too. In recent years I have really enjoyed the ride of Improvisation by Kabalevsky, Baal Shem No. 2, Nigun by Ernest Bloch, as well as Sonnet, Op. 5 by Isidor Achron. I thought perhaps it may be too abstract for students? I stand corrected as one of my advanced 9 year olds in response to the Achron stated, “It sounded mysterious, I really liked your solo.” Well, well, even very young students can truly be moved by intense and harmonically rich music.

Other titles that are simply fun to perform at student recitals include Czardas, Ave Maria (this one always makes grandparents cry), and recently I learned Legende Op. 17 by Wieniaswki. This solo which is so fantastically written for violin was recommend by my dear colleague Zoya Lebkin. Isn’t it true that there is always more excellent music to learn?

I admit that on my favorite day of the year (recital day) I am totally focused on the students! That does create a challenge and sometimes even stress with my own warm up and performance focus as I perform last and have been attending to each student. I have managed this by relaxing, simply doing my best and experiencing the joy of playing. And, one learns to accept starting out a solo on cold fingers. The fall recital is approaching in November and I’m now contemplating playing 2 new and short solos…what will I decide?