January 2025 - Festivals, Exams, and Recitals - Why?

I’ve written before about why adjudication and performing are so important for pianists. Part of skill development in any discipline involves demonstration of knowledge, ability and evaluation of those skills. As much as one might explain that “I only do ___ for fun,” it’s evident that enjoyment of an activity greatly increases if one achieves a certain level of competence.

Most humans need incentives for learning, no matter how much one enjoys the subject matter. In my twenty years of teaching piano, I’ve seen over and over that performance motivates practice, and practice improves performance. You cannot have one without the other. Performances don’t need to be (and honestly, shouldn’t be) high-stakes, either - simply playing for another person, receiving written feedback at a festival, or offering music to a community such as a retirement home or religious institution - all of these provide tremendous benefits for the piano student, regardless of age or ability level.

I am excited to offer NYSMTA’s Student Achievement Program for the first time in my studio, for families who wish to participate. The program is affiliated with the state division of MTNA (Music Teachers’ National Association) and takes place in May each year. A non-competitive event similar to the Gold Cup Festival, students prepare 2-3 pieces, perform for an adjudicator, and receive written feedback and a certificate. After a certain number of points are acquired, a composer statuette award is presented to the student.

Ultimately, my goals for every one of my students is the same - foster a love and appreciation of music and music learning that will hopefully last a lifetime. It is in preparing for these types of events that the skills of hard work and dedication begin to grow. Musicians or not, we all must present ourselves in some form in front of our communities during our lifetimes. What better way to prepare for this than through the art of piano playing?