After introducing my Irish Celebration piece to teachers, many have written in to tell me that they are doing a “World Music” themed recital this year. I am so excited for all of you teachers who are doing this because I think world music is very motivating for students and it makes for a very interesting recital. (See below for a list of suggested world music pieces)
Our local association did a World Music Festival a few years ago and the only stipulation about the music is that it could not be by an American composer. So, you can imagine the variety of music that we had in 2 days full of recitals! Here are some highlights from the event:
- The decorations. You can see from this picture that there are banners above the piano with the flags of many different countries. These were everywhere at the recital and made for colorful and interesting decor!
- The displays. Many teachers contributed by making and manning displays about music from different lands. We had displays about music from Ireland, China, Africa, Latin America, etc. Students visited the displays and teachers helped them try out instruments and do rhythm projects from that country’s music.
- The Irish dance lesson. One of our teachers taught students how to dance the Irish jig. She looked like such a pro doing it, but when I asked her if she had taken Irish dance lessons, she said no, she had learned it on the internet (youtube)! So, it sounds doable for most studios. (This picture is of one student experimenting with the pentatonic scale by a display about music from China.)
- The music. By far, the most interesting thing was the variety of music and the excitement the students had about the music.
More about the music
I compiled a list of the music that was performed as well as some pieces that had been suggested by some of the teachers in the online teaching forums. You can see this list by clicking here: World Music.
My favorite piece of all was Glenda Austin’s Bravo Brasilia! This piece is an intermediate duet and is super fun to play and listen to. Some of my more advanced students even ordered this piece after hearing it just so that they could play it together.
