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| These gentlemen understood how to put on a classy performance! |
rebuilding a program, and winter concerts in previous years were not taken very seriously. Students were allowed to dress casually and wear Santa hats on stage. The audience, from what I'm told, talked during the music. Kids and parents of younger bands left after their kids performed, leaving hardly an audience by the time the high school band took the stage.
My vision of a winter concert was completely different. In this small town, the high school band is as close to a professional symphony orchestra as they'll probably ever have. I wanted a concert with quality musical programming and an elegant presentation, or at least presented to the best of our ability. I poured a ton of energy into the presentation as well as the music, and it definitely contributed to the concert's success. Here are some of the things we did that you might be able to use, if you're not already doing them:
Have a Dress Code
To me, it's simple: if you want the audience to take your concert seriously, you have to show them you take it seriously. Some schools are fortunate enough to be able to provide concert uniforms to their students (ie formal wear), but this is not always the case. If you're in this boat, simply institute a dress code.
The students that still showed up in casual wear didn't get yelled at (perhaps a stern look of disappointment), but they did get a lower performance grade.
The audience loved it.
And if you take offense to the students groaning, you can always do what a friend of mine down the road did. He simply said, "Fine, we're wearing marching uniforms instead!" They pleaded to ge back to just dressing nice, but to no avail. The band wore their marching uniforms. And guess what? It was such a big hit he decided they'll be doing that every time. After all, that's what they have to wear at contest! We'll see if I follow suit next year, no pun intended.
Have a Reception
This will be a great opportunity for everyone to socialize after the concert. Encourage the students to go. Cookies and punch should be all that is needed to talk them into sticking around. While they're hanging out they'll get to see and hear the buzz of the parents talking about how great they did.
This is also where I kept the sign out sheet for the younger bands. If they didn't sign out, they got a zero for the listening/concert etiquette part of their grade... which was 40% of the grade.
The boosters took care of the reception for us, and I think they've already come up with a few ideas for next time.
Another cool thing - leave a comment box! I asked the boosters to bring the box, which was simply a cardboard box with a slit cut into the top, and in a nice touch, it was gift wrapped. I brought some formatted pages and pencils where attendees could write notes to the band(s). The next day I unwrapped the box and read all the the comments to the band as an early Christmas present. There were a lot of them. Had I not done that, they woudve only heard about the three emails and the newspaper article. Anything we can do to help build their confidence and self-esteem, am I right?
Get Others Involved
I approached the Art Teacher and she agreed to put together an art exhibition for the reception. I read this idea in a book somewhere (I wish I could remember which one), and thought it would add a nice touch. The principal didn't know about it until she watched it go up just before the concert, and I think she really appreciated that all of the fine arts were being showcased at the concert. For most, it was just one more touch that made the entire evening as great an experience as it was. And I hope it made the band kids feel more special as well.
Speaking of the principal, she agreed to be the MC that evening. Her script was very basic. She gave welcoming remarks at the beginning, and simply introduced all the groups on stage. I was grateful for it, though. I still spoke between numbers, but again, anything to up the production value.
The Boosters did the reception for us. They usually decorate as well, but that had already been taken care of.
I also had the chance to have two child piano students in the program. They filled in between each of the three bands.
Two elementary teachers volunteered to monitor the 5th and 6th grade band students for me. If the students didn't follow concert etiquette (if the monitor had to call on them), it would affect the listening part of their grade. The deterrent worked!
The local newspaer covered our printing costs for 20 really nice flyers I made in photoshop, which we distributed around town, and also gave us a free spot promoting the concert.
I have a few more ideas for next time, too. I'd like to get a charity involved so that the concert benefits a local cause. Perhaps our home ec class can make a big cake for the reception. I attended a friends concert where he had a student dress as Santa and hand out candy canes to kids. You just never know!
Well, due to equipment problems I've had to resort to use the iPad to do this, and it tales considerably more time. So this is where I have to stop for now. But there were a few other things I wanted to share, so look out for part two soon. Thanks for reading! I hope it's helpful! Are there things you do to improve your concert's production value? I'd love to hear about them in the comment section! And until next time, take care!
Musically yours,
Mr. Cooper
Update - Check out part two of this blog for three more tips to make your next concert a hit!
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