Independent Performance Project 2016

7/26/2019 Independent Performance Project 2016

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Independent Performance Project

For my IPP project, I decided to give a solo recital in Valdepeas, my hometown.

Despite having already participated in many events there, including acting, singing and

playing keyboard in musicals and plays, weddings, in more than ive dierent modern

bands and a brass band, at sporting events, singing in choir, and working as background

pianist or cocktails and dinners, etc., I had never oered an entirely classical solo

recital. ! member o the town hall "ulture Department mentioned once that they would

be happy to help me organise something like that one day. #o, this !pril seemed a good

moment to do it.

$o organise the concert, I irst had to send the town hall member an email e%plaining

why I wanted to do this project. During this process I learned how diicult it can be to

communicate with authorities. !t irst they wanted to pay me, but I said that instead o

giving me the money, I preerred them to invest it in hiring a decent piano, perhaps with

a bit o help rom a small ticket charge. $hey replied that doing so would cost too much,

and did not acknowledge my suggestion o charging or the tickets, which they

originally wanted to oer or ree. &n the ''ndo (arch I went to #pain and talked in

person with the sta at the "ulture Department. $hey proposed to hold the concert in a

small hall, with a )*+ person capacity and an upright piano. I thought that might be a bit

small, as I had already heard that many people were interested in coming. owever,

they did not want to risk opening the -++ seat auditorium, as on other occasions only

about )++ people went to other events hosted there. I ended up accepting their proposal,

and reuested, as a compromise, to have two concerts instead o one in case people

could not get a ticket. $hey accepted. #o, the main date became )- tho !pril at )/++pm.

&riginally, the only way or people to go to the concert would be to collect tickets in

person rom the 0"asa de la "ultura,1 where the recital was going to take place. $icketscould be withdrawn rom the (onday ollowing all o these arrangements, so I started

to promote my concert. I conduct an amateur choir in Valdepeas, and my riend (iguel

!ngel designed a concert poster that we shared on the choir website, advising to get the

tickets soon as there were only )*+ seats. $he advertisement reached over 2+++ people,

as many people know me and started sharing it. I was perorming with my choir three

days beore my recital so I also used that as a promotional opportunity.. $he choir was

interviewed in a local newspaper, ollowed by an interview with me talking about myrecital. $hat weekend, a dierent newspaper called me or another interview.


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3%traordinarily, when the tickets were released on the 2tho !pril )+am, they sold out in

ive hours. (ost o my close riends and amily did not get tickets, so I knew that a lot

o people would still want to go.

!t that point, my business side was weak, but my girlriend4s mother, who knew the

man at the "ulture Department, told me to go with her and talk to him. 5e e%plained the

situation, and tried to convince him to open the !uditorium or me. e was very

reluctant, and she was angry 6thank god they are riends7, so eventually he said he

would do it, despite the act that they never open it on #undays.

!ter this, I made another publication to let everyone know that the tickets were no

longer needed and that the venue had been changed. 5hen I tried the piano, I ound it

ridiculously small or the venue, really bad and generally hard to play, but I did not

think I could ask or more ater they conceded to open the auditorium. 8ew posters

were printed or me, and I appeared on street screens around Valdepeas, which are

property o the $own all, advertising the concert. #ome newspapers rom dierent

cities like "iudad 9eal, where I studied or si% years, advertised it as well.

For the repertoire, I pushed mysel to play nearly my entire inal recital program. $hat

included #chumann4s !rabeske and :reisleriana and eight o Prokoiev4s Visions

Fugitives. $o inish, I thought that as everyone was #panish, and most o them non;

musicians, I programmed the #panish 9hapsody. I also included an encore by


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good job with advertising. "oincidentally, my video on Facebook that became so

popular went viral all over the world only a ew days beore the concert, which attracted

even more people. In addition to the websites o my town4s newspapers, I appeared on

international music websites like "lassic F(, (usical $oronto, "lassical (usic umor,

several orchestras4, radios rom many countries, and the most important $V channels

and newspapers in #pain. It was a perect week o advertising. 3ven the

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Independent Performance Project 2016