Every June we have a student recital outdoors, usually in the Chinese Garden Ting Pavilion at Louise McKinney Riverfront Park here in Edmonton. This started at the end of the COVID 19 pandemic in 2022, when we were looking for a safe way to gather together. It is now a studio tradition that we look forward to every year. We bring pets and picnic blankets, and enjoy the river valley. This is part of a long tradition of gathering in this place that began thousands of years ago with the original indigenous inhabitants of this land.
Not only is it just fun to play outside once the weather warms up after the long winter, but there are also things we learn from playing in different locations. When we play outside:
- we have to adjust our pitch for temperatures that vary much more than indoors
- we have to cope with the wind – not only does it blow our sheet music away (if we do need to use a score, clothes pegs are necessary equipment!) but it also blows into the face of the wind players and lifts the bows of the string players, and we have to adjust and compensate for that
- random strangers walking through the park stop to listen, so we are not just playing for family and friends
- interesting sounds – ambulance sirens, bird calls – help us learn to keep playing through distractions
Developing the resilience to play in the highly variable outdoor environment gives us the confidence to be ready for the unexpected things that inevitably happen even when playing in a concert hall.
JUNE 7, 2026
This year our annual outdoor concert was on Sunday June 7, In the Chinese Garden Ting Gazebo in the Louise McKinney Riverfront Park Despite cooler weather and thunderstorm forecasts, we had a warmer and dryer interval in the afternoon when everyone could play, and we heard some very beautiful performances.
Here is the link to the concert program: CONCERT PROGRAM
JUNE 1, 2025
Another successful outdoor concert at the Chinese Garden Ting Pavilion!
June 2, 2024
We performed at the Chinese Garden Ting Gazebo in the Louise McKinney Riverfront Park for the 3rd year in a row. We have been very lucky with the weather for this outdoor event (so far!) in this beautiful setting. Here is a link to the concert program.
June 19, 2022
We gathered at the Chinese Garden Ting Gazebo in the Louise McKinney Riverfront Park to play for each other in person for the first time in 2.5 years. It was wonderful to see and hear each other in person after so many months of on line learning during the COVID 19 pandemic.
It also happened to be Father’s Day on the day of our outdoor recital, so we invited all the fathers to pose with their kids at the end of the concert.
