Saturday, May 30, 2015

Ellie's First Piano Recital

Today was Ellie's first piano recital. She started piano with her teacher in January and today, 5 months later she performed. She performed a piece playing with both hands and dynamics. We are so proud of her hard work to get to this point.

Grandma Pam and Grandpa Mike came down for the concert (which I'm sure brought back memories of watching me and Susie perform these same pieces). The recital was held at the Community Room at the South Pasadena Public Library which is a great space and terrific for the recital. All of the studio performed, approximately 35 students, ranging from ages 4 to 17 and with a huge range in experience. It was really great for all of the kids to see what could be next for them as well as to be reminded of where they started. We even ran into a family from Ellie's preschool who are part of the studio as well.

Ellie was in the middle of the program and the third of four kids who played the same piece. We took Calvin and he was well behaved until after Ellie performed when he, accompanied by Grandma Pam, left the building. Her performance wasn't perfect, and I wouldn't have expected it to be. However, she did really well. She played strong and had a perfect ending. Her dynamics were there. And she was confident and had fun, which is really all that matters.


 

Ellie really seems to enjoy piano and doesn't mind (well, sometimes she minds) putting in the hours practicing. She really likes her piano teacher. And I do too. She is an incredible player and is really good with the kids. She encourages them without being too pushy, but definitely holds them accountable. I'm so happy that Ellie likes piano and it is so much fun to watch her learn and perform. Although, I think I was way more nervous than she was for this first recital!



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