In September I began writing new Christmas carol arrangements. I made five versions for solo piano in different levels of difficulty. The red set is the easiest. Then following rainbow order, each set added more challenges. For my string students I made three versions. The easiest is for solo instrument with optional piano. The second set is for duet playing. The most challenging set is for unaccompanied solo violin, viola or cello.
The recital structure is to tell the Christmas story with words and music. Using the new arrangements, everyone had a piece at his or her challenge point. Then they could be combined for best scheduling.
Here’s several examples of how it turned out.
Megan, Andrew, and Nathan playing piano.
Grace, Eve and Richard on piano, violin and cello.
Max, Alex and Janna on piano and cello.
Gabriel, Grace and Bella on piano, violin and cello.
Jack, Claire and Kate playing piano.
Here are some examples of students who performed the entire set as a solo recital.
Most recitals were between 10 and 15 minutes. It was a terrific length for an online recital during the holidays.
Miriam Troxler 