When the first cars started showing up in the late 1800’s, people thought nothing of them. They thought they were a passing fad and would never catch on. Nothing could compete with the stability and power of the tried and true horse and buggy.
I think we all know how that turned out.
Technology is crazy and always pushing us forward. We have all seen it happen in so many ways throughout our lives.
And now we are excited to take that next step with you and our students as we offer our very first ever online student recital!
A lot of folks have been asking just how an online recital would work so I thought I would walk you through it.
How To Sign Up For The Recital
Each student registers ahead of time, just like an in-person recital. They do so through an online form that each student has been emailed a link to. This way we know who is performing and what song or songs they will be playing.
Anyone who is not a student and wants to attend the recital as an audience member can “purchase” a free ticket to the recital. This will give them access to view the recital as an audience member. This can all be done through our Live Events page on our website.
Once we have all students registered by the registration deadline, we will make a recital program. We then email the program to all the students as well as attendees so everyone knows the order of the performances.
How The Actual Recital Works
The actual recital takes place over a streaming platform such as Google Meet, Zoom or GoTo Meeting. Students and attendees can join the event via phone, tablet or computer. After completing registration, students will be emailed a private link so that they can join the event. Anyone who purchases a ticket to the event, will also be emailed a private link to join the event.
To get properly set up for the recital, the student just needs to have their webcam device situated in a way that everyone can see them in front of their piano or keyboard. They will also need to make sure they have their keyboard volume turned up to a reasonable level so everyone can hear them ok.
The recital will have a mediator to kick things off, to mute and unmute microphones, and to announce each student when it is their turn to perform. When a student is up to perform, they just need to sit in front of their keyboard or piano and play their piece or pieces. Once they are done, the mediator will then unmute all the attendee’s microphones so that they can give applause and praise for the performance.
Then the mediator will announce who is up next and the next student performs. Once each student has had a chance to perform, the mediator will give some closing remarks and finish the recital.
Other than to allow applause after each student plays, all participant’s microphones will be muted by the mediator. The mediator will also unmute the microphone of each student when it is their time to perform.
There will also be a chat function where all students and attendees can interact with each other. Through the chat, attendees can give praise and encouragement to the students as well as say hi to others who are attending.
That’s really all there is to it! I know it is a little weird and may feel a little different at first, but after doing one or two of these online recitals, it will begin to feel more normal. The horseless carriage seemed so odd back in the day, and now we all have one or two of them sitting in our driveways. The same will happen with these online recitals. We will all be pros at this in no time!
We are really thankful for the technology that is available to us so that all of our students, whether they be in-person or online students, have a chance to show off all their hard work!
Want To Join Us?
So what are you waiting for! Are you an STL Piano Lessons students and want to get in on the next recital? Are you a parent, family member or friend of an STL Piano Lessons student and want to join us for the next recital and cheer on the students?
Be sure to visit our Live Events page for more information on upcoming online recitals. We will see you there!