Spring piano recital

 On Sunday May 7th, 2017, Kalani’s piano classes had their second piano recital of the year at University of Hawaii at Manoa’s Orvis Auditorium. Students of all different skill levels showcased a piece of their choosing on stage and on a Steinway grand piano, a step up from the Winter Recital in the school cafeteria. The audience was filled with students, teachers, and parents. It was a once in a lifetime experience for many of the students.

Preparation for the recital started way back in January for teacher, Ms. Carlynn Costales: booking the auditorium, planning out the lessons, and getting ready for the stress to come. This is the first formal recital for Kalani’s piano classes, and the students have been practicing since spring break, some even before that. As the date approached sooner and sooner, Ms. Costales grew nervous to a point where she wasn’t even sleeping and when she did, she had nightmares, as any piano teacher would have for the first formal recital.

The day finally came, and almost every student was biting their nails, sweating in their seats, or shaking uncontrollably. Many of the students have little to no music experience, so they have never done anything quite like this before. There were five different recitals that day, and each recital had around 20-30 students. Backstage, in a small cramped hallway, students were playing games, pacing back and forth, reviewing their piece, or whispering quietly, but everyone was very supportive of each other and cheered everyone on. Junior, Renei Leung was a performer that day and said “I was very nervous, but it was easier than I thought. I really enjoyed listening to other people play as well. The recital was well organized and fast paced.” Being a performer too that day, I completely agreed with Renei, the adrenaline kicked in and it was over before I knew it; I wanted to do it again as soon as I played my final note.

After the recital, I caught up with Ms. Costales to see what her thoughts on the recital were. “Everyone did amazing, it’s not an easy job. I was proud all the way in the back, especially of those without prior music experience.” I asked if there would be another recital like this next year, and she replied “oh yeah! And it’ll be bigger for the Piano 2 classes, it’ll be great.” The recital wouldn’t have been such a success without the teaching done by Ms. Costales and the students endless hours of practice. For those planning on taking piano next year, be ready and practice as early as you can!