My son’s private voice teacher suggested yesterday that they do a recital this summer, I think to give them both something fun to work towards and as an excuse to learn some new songs, before my son goes OOS for college this fall. Problem is, it can’t be done at the college where the teacher is on faculty because S18 is not going there this fall. So we are looking for alternative venues that do not cost anything, or much. I am looking for some general ideas. So far I have come up with contacting the local opera clubs to see if they are interesting in hosting it, and putting the word out to contacts with large, old houses who have pianos in recital rooms.
Any connections to a local church/other religious venues? They may be willing to let you use the space.
@guineagirl96 not that is intimate enough or with a piano, so far. Thanks though!
There’s a local historical society/museum in my area that has a small auditorium with a piano - maybe something similar near you? Are there coffeehouses that do open mic nights? They might be open to renting out the space during off hours. Library community room? Or…add in a component of giving back to the community and offer the recital in a local nursing home. They usually have a decent room and the residents are appreciative of any entertainment.
I too was going to suggest a senior community. Many have nice performance spaces and come with audiences!
Our local library has a performance space. With a piano, no less.
Your other option might be a country club party room or a restaurant that has a piano (which might be happy to rent to you early in the evening for a private party). Ime, neither of those venues tend to have great acoustics.
My only suggestion is that paying something for the room is more likely to get you a decently tuned piano than looking for a free room.
Of course if you find a nice free room you could pay to have the piano tuned. Some places might accept a piano tuning in barter.
I was going to suggest a church as well. Some of them are quite intimate in size and closeness to audience.
It doesn’t even have to be a church that you’re affiliated with. Many have excellent acoustics and are regularly used for recitals. We used one for my D’s senior recital and then used the hall and kitchen for a reception afterward. We paid for the grand piano to be tuned and a nominal fee for the hall.
I’d recommend contacting a Unitarian or a United Methodist church for space. We homeschool and regularly look for free/cheap meeting spaces and have had the best luck with those 2 affiliations. The UU churches here tend to have especially nice piano options. Does your teacher have any other ideas? Private organizations will be more expensive for sure. We’ve used church spaces for smallish donations.
Doing a recital for like an senior living facility is another good option. My kid’s music program does this a few times a year and the residents love it.
@vistajay- See if your son’s private teacher has suggestions as to churches as her students may have gone this route before (Or if they college has a collaborative piano department, their students might have ideas). We used an Episcopal church and it had a Steinway concert grand and the nave was specially constructed for great acoustics.