Spring Piano Recital 2010

Yesterday was Natalie's Spring Recital. I took this picture right after she took her bow and right before she performed her two pieces. I felt like a "slacker mom" because I didn't shop for a new dress or shoes for her to wear to this, like my friend KT did for her daughters. I also didn't do her hair. I didn't even remind her to bring a headband. That's why it's so messy. Her shoes were also a little small but we didn't have any others that were dressy enough to match the dress. Ugh!

Patrick and I are always so proud of how Natalie performs. She really "kicks it up a notch" when she has an audience. She usually looks a little nervous, but she doesn't seem to let it bother her. Almost all of the kids memorized their pieces (except for a couple of the older ones that were playing long pieces) and many of them made noticeable mistakes. I know Natalie's pieces pretty well, of course, and she played them at least as well or better than I've heard her play them before. You go girl!

The Spring Recital is also where her teacher presents their awards. Natalie was so proud, and so were her parents! She got a gold medal for getting an "A" on her Theory test. She even got a perfect score! Her teacher also gave her a certificate for always practicing her assigned amount of time as well as effective practicing, meaning that she actually knew her assigned pieces. I had to rejoice at this one because I've tried to step back and stop pushing her so much so she has been practicing mostly on her own. This means that I can feel less guilty that I'm not actively helping her. Natalie also got a blue ribbon for getting a "Superior Plus" on her Achievement Auditions in April and a certificate for her "Excellent Plus" on her Guild Auditions just last week. She was the only one at this recital to have to memorize 15 pieces for her Guild Auditions last week (International Level).

I already told her a few times that I'm so proud of her. I wasn't happy when she told her teacher she wanted to memorize fifteen pieces for the Guild Auditions last week because it meant more work for me too. I left her alone for most of those couple of months or so that she practiced those pieces. I really only helped her in the last couple of weeks. She didn't play them all perfectly, but she played them pretty darn well, especially for a seven-year-old, and she did it mostly by herself. You GO girl! :)