May 5th, 6:45pm: a huge crowd gathered at the Highway Church in Hagersville. The sanctuary is packed. Nervous children wearing their Sunday best are carrying piano books. Parents are beaming with pride, keeping their camera ready to record their progeny’s performance. Some performers are wearing pig or bear costumes, obviously ready for a musical theatre number. Teachers go around, talking to one student, giving a thumb’s up to another, encouraging and reassuring everyone.
We are ready to begin the annual Lupton Street Studios Recital!
There are a few special events our students work towards throughout the year. After our Christmas Play It Forward fund raiser showcase and following our students’ participation in the Norfolk Music and Arts Festival, this is our last one before the official regular sessions pause for the summer.
At the recital, we celebrate everyone!
Even the little ones who just started taking lessons and basically can play two notes on the piano are given a chance to shine. They can play solo, or they can play a little duet with their teachers. Even if their performance lasts a great, big 10 seconds, they get just as much applause as anybody else! It takes a lot of courage for them to go to the big grand piano and play in front of so many people! When people applaud them, they get up and bow with a big smile on their face! Bravo!
Of course we also have some more seasoned young performers who gave us beautiful performances at the piano again this year. We also have been blessed with great vocal numbers!
A very special moment of the evening was a surprise number we have been preparing with our Youth Vocal Ensemble and a small group of adults from the community.
Mel and Debi started the number at the piano, with Mel playing and Debi softly starting to sing “You Will Be Found” from the musical “Dear Evan Hansen”.
Slowly, one by one or in pairs, all of our singers came up to the front, sang a solo line, and joined together as a group to sing a powerful rendition of the chorus, with beautiful vocal harmonies. It built up a little bit like a flash mob, with every performer getting up from their seat right in the middle of the audience. It was a very special moment and concluded the recital perfectly!
We want to thank all our students for their dedication and perseverance! But also, a huge thank you to all the parents who are there week after week to bring their children to their classes, and to assist them when they rehearse at home and are there to encourage them in big moments like this. And a special shoutout to the teachers, who with their passion and patience bring up a new generation of musicians, one lesson at a time!
Keep an eye on our YouTube channel as we will be posting recordings of some of the performances in the next few weeks! If you took pictures or recorded your child’s performance, we would love for you to send us a copy!