How to Plan a Studio Field Trip in Five Steps
If your studio is anything like mine, you probably wish your students would spend a little more time seeing professionals performing on their chosen instruments! To a music teacher, the benefits of seeing live music seem obvious. When you see or hear a professional perform, you start to see how all the little pieces fit together. How does a concertmaster cue the ensemble? What does a professional’s bow changes look like? Does everyone hold the instrument exactly the same? By attending local music, you can find these answers and so many more! But with so many things vying for our students and their families’ time, I realized early on that attending live and local music was not something that would just happen for the majority of my students. Luckily with time, I also realized I could be the one to influence my studio families and help make this accessible to everyone involved if I did a little planning.
A snapshot from our first field trip when we saw Time for Three in September 2016!
As a studio, my students and I attend two concerts a year performed by the Maryland Symphony Orchestra. Each year when they announce their performance season I try to find the program that most resonates with my students and their interests. This has led us to hear a wide variety of music from Holst’s “The Planets” or Beethoven’s violin concerto to a Disney medley! I have students asking about when we’re going to the orchestra next and I’ve even heard of families attending more concerts in general since getting this exposure. It has been so rewarding to see my studio connect more deeply with the music and arts in our community, while getting the exposure to and inspiration from musicians of a high caliber!
Here are the steps I follow to coordinate a studio field trip for my private music students! I’ve also attached a freebie at the bottom with a check list for teachers hoping to do the same in the coming performance season, but you’ll understand my process much better if you read through this post first.
1. Pick your concert
Some factors I consider when looking at my local concerts are the location, time, cost and program. The location should be centralized for all students in my studio to have the best chance of encouraging attendance. The concert’s time is also a factor since most evening concerts may put young (and not so young!) listeners to sleep. For my own studio, we have been lucky to take advantage of our local symphony’s discounted tickets for adults and FREE tickets for students in grades kindergarten through twelfth grade. I think most private music teachers recognize some families make significant financial sacrifices to prioritize music lessons for their children and I do my best to keep these tickets as low as possible, so as many as possible are able to attend. The program for the concert also guides the choices I make for our field trips, as I would like to attend concerts featuring a violin or viola soloist as much as possible. This gives my students a front row seat to seeing their own instrument performed at a high standard and is a celebration of what is unique to our individual instruments. If I know there is a theme my students might enjoy more, I will also prioritize this. I still hear about the program for “The Planets” from some students and that concert was held two and a half years ago!
2. Contact provider
Once you’ve decided which concert suits your studio best, contact the ensemble, music group or box office holding the event you’d like to attend. Inquire about booking a group block of seating, what timeline they need to complete payment and reserve tickets. It may be helpful to ask what process they have in place for something like what you’re coordinating so you can know what their expectations are for you. Some places will be very familiar with working with groups of students, others will not. Inquire early to avoid surprises. Depending on your studio’s instrument you may also want to consider asking for a certain area in the venue so your students can have a clear sight light to the professionals playing their instruments. I’ve found most organizations to be very accommodating towards that goal!
As a little bonus tip, ask if the provider may be able to hold your group’s tickets at will call under your last name, then your student’s last name. While the idea is to sit with other students from the studio, I’ve found this helps families stay together in the same block and keeps tickets from getting lost before the concert.
3. Create a Facebook event to share details
I’ve mentioned this before, but I love Facebook’s capability to organize and host events! It is easy to list the time, location, cost and a deadline for students to RSVP by all in one location. Email this page out to your studio families. Copy the link and share it in a text. You can also periodically schedule posts on your studio’s Facebook page as a reminder to families to get their reservations in or some other special event happening nearby on the same day. Be sure to copy any additional emails or information regarding the field trip to the FB event page so that it truly is a one stop shop.
I cannot stress enough the importance of giving yourself a deadline for accepting ticket reservations as well. Give yourself some extra days so you have time to call the box office to complete the transaction. Due to past experiences I do not count a student as confirmed for a concert unless I have received their ticket payment and I would advise you to do the same. You don’t want to be stuck in the position of expecting money back for a student who decided not to show for the concert.
4. Advertise with Students
Get the word out early! At this point, my students are already aware of the concerts we will be attending for 2019 – 2020 season of the Maryland Symphony. By keeping my eye on the season announcements, I was able to quickly determine which concerts would be the best fit for the students in my studio and first shared the details at our spring recital! As we get closer to the concert I will also share details on the concerts in my studio newsletter, on my studio’s Facebook page, in lesson times and by email. In my studio, I encourage students to invite friends and family, the more the merrier! I believe this helps my local orchestra gain visibility and audience members that I hope will return even when there isn’t a group going! So, I often help students brainstorm who might be interested in coming with them to the concert during our lesson time as they unpack or pack up.
As a side note, remember no matter what ensemble or event you are attending as a group, it’s also important to remember this is visibility for you and your studio as well. Be prepared to represent yourself in an open, kind and confident way. If there are family members or friends you aren’t familiar with, introduce yourself! Do your best to be welcoming to your students’ friends and family so they want to come again. It is an honor that your student would share this side of their life with you, so learn what you can from the experience. I believe it can be a validating and encouraging experience for the student to see you engaging with the important people in their lives, too.
5. Attend the concert!
This final step is the most fun – Attend the concert! I usually meet students in a central area close to will call to say hello, give directions towards our seats and share any last minute information about the concert. I try to get in position about a half hour before the concert time, then meet up with students in our seat block about ten minutes before to give final reminders to visit the restroom and chat a bit more. Sometimes I’ll try to share some background information with students to give them context and other times I’ll tell them a funny story about when I’ve played the music myself. For my older students I might ask them to focus on a specific technique or skill demonstrated by the musicians during the concert. But as the lights go down, it’s really just about enjoying some music with the wonderful students in your studio!
Adding a field trip to my studio’s schedule used to be a daunting task and I can understand why other teachers might be hesitant to add one more thing to their plate as well. But I have been so happy to have time outside of lessons to connect with my students and support our local music community. I believe this is something setting my studio apart and I think you can experience the same in your studio as well! If you are interested in coordinating an event like this, I’ve put together a little printable for you to download and outline how you can successfully put together your own studio field trip. Printing this guide out and carrying it with you in lessons or posting it in your studio can be a great way to stay organized and keep the information organized! I’ve also included the form I use to keep track of ticket payments and student reservations for you to print on the back of the same form.
Please feel free to share with other music teacher friends you know who might be able to use it as well. I would love for more students to get out and engaged in their local art and music community and I believe we have the ability to help make that happen!