What do you do when you have have four marvelous, faithful, dynamic and long-time pianists who are graduating from high school and leaving your studio? You throw a Senior Showcase AND check to see if their skills match your mission statement–you know–that one you post on your website but forget to check!
I held a senior showcase quite some time ago when I had three seniors graduate in one year. I did the same for the four seniors in the picture below. This year’s show included considerable “upgrades” thanks to the latest tech tools and my ongoing desire to provide creative-based teaching.

Program cover made with Canva
The agenda for the evening
- Offer a knockout printed program featuring dazzling photos and important info about the seniors. TIP: Canva.com is amazing! Make sure to check out this free graphic design program.
- Prepare pianists to perform around 5 of their favorite current or past pieces that best represent their playing AND their creativity.
- Present a projected slide show featuring snap shots of “lifetime” pics of each senior to loop prior to the showcase.
- Include a projected slide reflecting the mood or style of the piece as each pianist performed.
- Meet a special-request for one of the seniors by displaying slides with various movie posters as he played a tribute medley honoring all his favorite film composers.
- Set up cool lighting to provide sophisticated staging.
- Ensure outstanding and confident performances from each pianist showing their unique personalities and skills sets.
- Create an opportunity for each pianist to read a score on an iPad and turn pages with a blue-tooth pedal.
- Design a pop medley collaboration featuring all the pianists using the piano and the impressive voice selection of the Clavinova.
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