I had the great pleasure of visiting with two of my good friends from graduate school this past weekend and catching up on many singer-related topics. One of our many discussions included the idea of creating your own opportunities as a performer and putting on your own recitals. I brought up the concept of themed recitals and how they are a great means for creating local opportunities for yourself. To explain my reasoning behind this, I will provide my answers through the (reordered) five W’s: Who, What, Where, When, and Why.
What?
First and foremost, if you do not know what a themed recital is, or how I define it, that would be a great place to start. I define a themed recital as a performance of musical works that center around a particular topic, idea, or symbol. For example, I did a themed recital in my undergraduate years focused around animals. Each song featured a particular animal. So what other themed recital topics are there? The options are limitless! The other W’s will dive into this more specifically.
Who?
Who are themed recitals for? Who do they address, and who would want to see them? This, to me, is the greatest beauty of themed recitals; they are for everyone. It just depends on what your theme is.
Let’s say your theme was flowers or plants. This would be a great theme for many reasons. First of all, there are literally dozens of songs and song cycles out there about flowers and plants (if you were particularly motivated, you may even be able to focus on a specific plant). If this were your recital, who would it be for then? Plant enthusiasts! It could be for people who garden, farm, study plants, or simply enjoy their beauty. One of the many benefits of themed recitals is that they can draw in a new audience for classical music that never would have known how specifically this music can address them and their interests.
Where?
The answer to where you can perform themed recitals extends upon the idea of who they are for. If we stick with our flower/plant recital theme and performing for plant enthusiasts, where do you normally find such an audience? Gardens, reserves, plant shows, anywhere where there are plants or plant 
lovers! There are two great reasons to use venues such as these. One, they often are large, beautiful settings. Two, these kinds of places often have events that could benefit from an original form of entertainment, never before provided at their venue. Furthermore, you benefit from having a fresh audience, low competition, a specific service, and (relatively) free reign over the programming.
When?
These recitals could happen literally whenever you wanted, though certain themes and locations will call for certain times. Sticking with our plant theme, spring and summer recitals would probably prove more marketable for garden venues than fall or winter. Also, if you know of specific flower shows or plant events that happen in your area, that would be a great time to market your idea to its coordinators. They may be looking for a way to fill a particular time slot, add a break from their standard list of events, or maybe even love the idea so much they just make room for you (we can dream, right?). If you are also the kind of person who prefers structure, themed recitals can also help you create a deadline for a performance by basing it around an event instead of having to set a date yourself.
Why?
You can probably infer my reasoning behind the why of themed recitals through my other W’s, but I would love to lay it out clearly for you here now.
- Themed recitals provide a focus to your performance endeavors. There are endless amounts of beautiful music out there, so setting a theme can help narrow your search and allow you to discover new music.
- They provide you with the opportunity to market your work to a fresh audience, who may have never heard you, the works you present them, or your genre of music in general.
- The venues you can hold these recitals in are creative and endless, which allows you the opportunity to use recitals more than once and discover new places.
- If you plan your recitals right, you can make sure you are performing the entire year, catering your recital(s) to specific local events and organizations.
- You can explore other interests you may have by choosing themes that speak to you personally. Alternatively, you can explore topics that you know nothing about to learn more about a particular subject.
- They are really fun!
Have you ever seen or done a themed recital? What creative themes do you have or have you seen? What other benefits or considerations do you think there are for a themed recital? If you would like to discuss themed recitals further, please feel free to contact me. I am also available as a consultant to help put together a program, reach out to venues, or sort through any other step you may need to take in planning your themed recital.