The End of Year Piano Extravaganza
For the last three years students from Pianosaurus Rex have taken part in an international online piano concert known as the End of Year Piano Extravaganza. It’s a great opportunity for students to perform and a definite highlight of the year!
What exactly is the End of Year Piano Extravaganza?
Created by Georgina and Catherine Wilson from Greenside Music, the End of Year Piano Extravaganza is an online concert available to watch on YouTube. It showcases the performances of students from different studios in different countries, which can then be shared with family, friends, and music lovers around the world.
The concerts are organised into playlists and can all be viewed right here. Get ready to be impressed!
Who takes part in these concerts?
Everyone involved in the End of Year Piano Extravaganza belongs to Piano Studios Unite, a collective which includes studios from the United Kingdom, United States, Australia, and New Zealand. There’s a great range of ages and stages of students represented in the concerts, from new beginners sharing one of their first pieces, to more accomplished teens and adults playing something amazing!
What are the benefits of an online concert?
Here are a few of the reasons I love taking part in the End of Year Piano Extravaganza:
Low Pressure Performance
It’s nerve wracking having one chance to impress a room full of people with a flawless performance. And so much less scary to have a few tries in front of only one person operating a video camera! As some students are very reluctant to play in front of an audience, it’s great to have another performance option.
Easy Organisation
Finding a suitable venue, estimating audience size, keeping costs down, working out timing… there are a lot of logistics to deal with when holding a traditional recital! With an online concert the only things you need to worry about are filming the videos and editing the videos. Of course things can still go wrong but overall it’s definitely easier!
Sharing Achievements
Parent’s love having a video to share with family and friends who live in a different town (or a different country!) that shows their child’s amazing piano skills.
Connecting with Other Studios
It’s really inspiring to see what other teachers are doing in their studios (and a chance to discover some great repertoire!) and students love the chance to see what their peers are doing. It’s also really interesting to see familiar faces each year and appreciate how much progress everyone is making!
When is the next concert?
Piano Studios Unite holds two online concerts each year. The Mid Year Piano Extravaganza happens in June, and the End of Year Piano Extravaganza is at the start of December.
How can my students take part?
It’s super easy! Just follow these steps to join in with the next concert:
- Join the Piano Studios Unite Facebook group
- Make sure you have a studio YouTube account
- Find a camera suitable for taking videos
- Become familiar with some video editing software (iMovie and Windows Movie Maker are both free and simple to use)
- Start preparing your students for their performances!
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