Here is some advice:
- Wear a nice shirt or beautiful blouse - and sweatpants! I didn't do this and my stomach was in knots afterwards. It's okay to sit. Also, remember to breathe! (I think I forgot to do this for much of the time, too!)
- At the beginning of the concert, be sure you use the setting "mute participants upon entry." Families might be stressing a little right before the concert, so it's best to just have it all on silent until they are ready to go. (Yes, I forgot to do this!)
- Everyone should be on "mute" when not playing. In Zoom, you can control this in the "Participants" window.
- If using Zoom: you can "spotlight" certain people, so they appear in the large window. (Just put your cursor over a specific person's tile, and the options will come up, one being "spotlight.") Audience members should be on "speaker mode" to create that big window (this is usually in the upper right-hand corner of the Zoom window). But as the teacher, you will probably have to toggle between "speaker mode" and "gallery mode," where you will see tiny tiles of each student, in order to see everyone and be able to change the "spotlight." Spotlight yourself when you speak, then spotlight each student who is playing. Be patient and smile, it might take a little time to find each student.
- I asked people to use the "chat" function to say encouraging things about each others' performances - they didn't use it all that much, but there were some nice supportive comments.
- A lot of grandparents from all over the country came to the recital! This was a wonderful thing. While I did manage to welcome them all, I also wish that, right at the beginning, I had asked all of them to write in the "chat" and identify themselves, ie.: "We're Sally's grandparents from St. Louis!" etc.