It’s starting to feel like spring here in AZ, getting a little too close to feeling like summer actually, especially when my A/C in my car is not working right now.  Not a good thing when you live in AZ.  It’s that time of year when recitals are at it’s peak.  Prepping, practicing and performing.  Have  you ever had a recital mishap at one of your recitals?  How did it resolve or did it?  I thought it might be fun for everyone to share some recital mishap stories.  Maybe these experiences can help someone avoid a possible mishap or at the very least provide us with some humor.

My big recital mishap happened last year, I could laugh about it now…

It was a nice sunny morning on Saturday, May 15th. Everything was loaded up and ready to go. Then we arrived at the recital location. It started out with unloading, tulip plants were accidentally dropped. What were beautiful purple tulips for my adult students that were performing, were now sticks. While that is frustrating, it could be worse. Thankfully my husband’s parents live close and were able to stop by the store and pick up replacement plants in time.

Then we went inside to set up. The grand piano was still in the lobby, I was told it would be on stage ready to go. The digital was on stage (needed the digital for a piano team performance) but still on it’s dolly. So I asked the house manager who was the only one there and she said it should have been all taken care of last night. LUCKILY my husband was with me and he helped her get it on stage. Not only was it EXTREMELY dusty but of course out of tune. Not terrible, but still not what I would have liked.

Then my PA system wouldn’t work, my husband figured out it was a bad mic cable which was weird because we just used it days prior in my lab room. Luckily they had another cable I could use.

Then we didn’t have a bench for the grand piano. FINALLY at the last minute and searching everywhere the house manager found it.

Then the icing in the cake! I was the first one to play (thank goodness) and when I went to push the pedal down before I started to play the pedal fell off the piano!!!!!!! I couldn’t believe it. So I looked over at my husband in the audience and said “I need you!” with a desparate look of Help! This by the way is on video. So bless his wonderful heart, he came on stage got under the piano and then I had to join him and get down on my hands on knees to help in my dress in front of everyone. Can you imagine? He was able to fix it, thank heaven’s and even received a rousing applause. My hero of the day!

In the end, performances were played, awards and recognitions were given. All in all, it was an EPIC challenge (as my son would say) but at least every problem we had was solved in the end.