Recital in the Park
MTCCA’s Recital in the Park is quickly approaching! Our students are very excited to share their pieces they have been working hard to prepare.
Beyond practicing the songs they will be performing, our music therapists have been preparing our clients for various social and emotional aspects of the event.
Some of our clients have never performed in front of a live audience. To help them prepare for the experience, we rehearse their role step by step. We practice waiting for their name and bio to be read aloud, walking quietly on stage, playing their full piece without stopping, bowing to applause, and walking off stage.
One of our clients becomes easily distracted by many sounds in an audience. To prepare him for his performance, we have rehearsed his piece with recorded simulations of laughing, crying, coughing, or other distracting sounds an audience might make. Our goal is to generalize his sustained attention skills from the session to the performance.
Performing in front of a live audience can be nerve racking. To set our students up for success, we talk our clients through emotions they feel surrounding the event. We empower them with strategies to process and express these emotions, as well as cope with them. We teach our students to listen to their bodies and take a deep breath when they need to calm down.
We are so excited to share the musical talents of our amazing students! We hope to see you on the big day!
-Emma
