My choir just had their final concert of the year this past Tuesday.  I’ve been teaching for 22 years and know everything I’m supposed to do when it comes to concert prep, right?  Um, no.  In fact,  I woke up at 2:30 am on the day of the performance in a cold sweat because I forgot to fill out a building permit <cue dramatic music>.  Whether you’ve been teaching for 2 years or 22 years, there is always something we need to be reminded of when it comes to a performance.  I’m sharing some of the things I consider each year when I schedule my own performances.

Schedule your concerts early

If I am planning concerts for the spring, they are scheduled the first week of school in the fall.  If I am planning concerts for the fall, I schedule them the spring before.  Make sure to check your district calendar for any potential conflicts.  I also check with my middle school and high school feeders to ensure that they don’t have a concert scheduled the same night.  It’s also good to check the PTA calendar to ensure there are no potential conflicts.  Once you have a few potential dates, run them by your principal for approval.  They may have insights about the evening/time that will ensure your date will work.

Communicate your concert dates early

As soon as I have dates set, I begin to let my parents know.  If you have a music program website, list the dates on the site.  If your school has a shared calendar, make sure your secretary adds it.  If you have a music department calendar, add your dates!  If you expect staff to help or participate in the concert, make sure the teachers know the dates immediately.  Once you’ve shared the date, do it again and again and again!  Every communication I send home to parents has our concert dates listed on it as a reminder.  Also consider communicating your concert dress expectations early on as well.  No parent wants to find out the week before a concert that they need to run to the mall for dress pants or dress shoes!  Communicating early and often with parents is vital!

Fill out all necessary paperwork for your performance location

I am required to fill out a building permit for each evening performances.  It ensures that our custodial staff knows about the performance, it ensures I’ll have heat or AC the evening of the event.  It ensures that bathrooms will be unlocked, cleaned and ready to go.  If you’re new to your building, ask what requirements are in place for evening performances.

Make a list of your equipment needs for the performance

Do you need chairs?  Do you need risers?  Does your district provide them (and do you need to request them – there’s a form for that!)  Or do you need to rent them (and who pays for them?)  Make sure to ask simple questions like these early so that you can plan and budget accordingly.  Do you need sound equipment?  Does your building have their own system?  What condition is it in?  Do you need additional microphones?  Microphone stands?  Cables?  What about stage lighting?  Be sure to check out your sound and lighting system well in advance of your performance and learn how to use it!

Schedule a dress rehearsal

A dress rehearsal gives your students the opportunity to practice under performance conditions.  It gives you an opportunity to check sound levels, lighting, and identify any potential issues before the concert.  It also ensures that your students know what to expect that night of the performance.  Be sure to communicate early with your administration about the need for a dress rehearsal and why it’s important for your students.  Then communicate with all staff that will be impacted by dress rehearsal.  If your stage is in the gym, will it impact the PE teacher?  If your stage is in the cafeteria, will it impact the lunch schedule?  If the dress rehearsal is during instructional time, be sure to reach out to your classroom teachers early and often.

Make a list of your instrument needs for the performance

If you plan on having students perform with instruments, what instruments will you use?  Where will they be located?  In front of the group?  To the sides?  Will they be on a table?  On the floor?  If instruments need to be moved from one song to another, consider using “student stage hands” to safely move instruments.  If you have classroom teachers present the evening of the performance, this is a great responsibility for them to oversee.

Does your performance require scenery or decoration? 

As soon as you know your theme, enlist parent volunteers to help you to design, create, and decorate your stage.  Depending on the theme, you might reach out to your art teacher to see if there is a way to have students create the decorations in a interdisciplinary approach.  (Do this months in advance – not weeks in advance!)

Will you be providing a program for your concert?

Be sure to prepare the program well in advance of the performance.  I always ask a trusted staff member to proofread the program for me.  I also have the students involved in the performance proof the program for the correct spelling of their name and to make sure I didn’t omit anyone.  Once my program is proofread, then it’s copied.  Check to see what your school policy is on big copy jobs.  Can you copy at school?  Do you have to send it out?  Is there a parent volunteer that can copy or fold them for you?  Don’t be afraid to delegate and ask for help leading up to the performance.

The week of the performance last minutes check-ins

• Check in with your custodial and secretarial staff to ensure the building request was processed and there will be AC or heat, that the chairs have arrived, who is going to set-up/tear-down, etc.
• Check in with all teaching staff who will be affected by changes in schedule for dress rehearsals and/or performances.
• Check in with students to ensure they know your expectations.  What should they wear?  What time should they arrive?
• Check in with parents to remind them about the performance.  I send reminders via e-mail, listserv, and paper copies.  I don’t ever assume that a parent checks their e-mail as frequently as I do.

After the performance, be sure to do a few things to tie up loose ends.

Thank everyone involved in the performance

Listen, as a music teacher, I KNOW how much work goes into a performance.  I also know that YOU are the one doing most of it.  I get it.  I’ve also learned that you catch more flies with honey, so sweeten up and thank everyone.  Thank your secretary for helping with the paperwork, or making sure you had chairs.  Thank your custodians for everything they did.  Thank your classroom teachers for the flexibility or support.  Thank your specials staff if they altered schedules, class locations, or helped with anything related to the performance.  Thank your volunteers!   Whether you thank them in writing, or a quick e-mail – thank them!  This will do a lot to ensure the next time you have a performance, the same people will go out of their way to support and help you again!

What would you add to this list?  Leave a comment below!

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