We just had our very first virtual recital just over a week ago! I collected performance videos from our students and I hosted the recital live from my living room. All the viewers were encouraged to type in comments to the students DURING performances (without worrying about distracting the student!) I was apprehensive at first, but after having gone through this, I realize that there are certain perks to having a virtual recital, namely:
Through making the “perfect video,” students end up practicing A LOT for this… Even more than they do for an in-person recital, where they’d practice, hope for the best, and it turns out however it turns out (and there’s little incentive to practice more to perfect it afterwards)... For a virtual recital, they have control over how it goes, and could do it over as many times as they want (which they all took advantage of)
Students / parents invite their relatives from all over the world, who can tune in on the live feed and enjoy it with them!
Remote students (our's as far away as Iqaluit, NU) are able to participate without travelling.
Most students who will not perform in front of a live audience are willing to participate in a virtual recital, which is huge.
They can participate even if they can’t be present during the live stream. After the fact, they can also watch it.
I am able to really use this media and make little videos about our journey, which is an extra entertaining perk
There are several ways to do a virtual recital, and I chose to MC it live with pre-recorded performances. I don’t consider myself very tech savvy, and this option seemed to present the fewest number of variables (eg. Students’ internet connection / tech issues). It was worth all my research into software and pre-recital prep (2 nights of which I stayed up til 4am making sure everything scripting, editing video, and making sure things are ready to go).
Our first virtual recital went basically seamlessly!!!
It’s not the same as performing live; you don't get butterflies in your stomach awaiting your turn, and there's no immediate reward of huge applause from an admiring audience afterwards (and no appie / dessert buffet!). However, video’ing yourself gives the same jitters (“on-the-spot” feeling) as doing a live performance, so it still helps prepare students for multiple situations throughout life where they need to present something; in fact, before quarantine, we used video’ing as training to prepare for live performances. Our parents and students have shared that they enjoyed the process (of making their performance videos as well as watching it on the couch in their PJ’s on Saturday morning!) Some students have shared that they enjoyed virtual better, and some prefer performing live.
Overall, I’m glad that we tried this. A virtual recital fulfills the purpose of showcasing students' hard work over the term and giving students a goal to zealously practice for, as well as preparing them for performance / presentation opportunities in the future. So it’s a new viable option. Born out of quarantine!
You can check it out here!