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HI. Adult student here. So I'm having my first Recital next month and I have no clue on thanking my teacher Etiquette. Is there a general idea of do's and don'ts? I'm thinking a nice thank you card and gift card? (If there is a flower suggestion please, please give me an alternative. I'm allergic to many flowers.) Also since it's a Christmas Recital should it be a Christmas card instead? I'm in Canada if that matters.

Thank you!
Clueless,
Becca

I bought a card and every students signed it and I asked the youngest kid to go on stage at the end of the recital and gave it to our teacher.

I like Serge’s suggestion. Any gift should be from the entire group, otherwise save it for your individual lesson.
Regardless of the season, I would stick with the ‘thank you’ card. An inserted gift card to a favorite restaurant would be a nice touch. ... again, from all..

In the 20+ years that I've given recitals (2 - 3 per year), only once did I receive flowers from a student. In college, it was the norm for students to give flowers to their teacher after the teacher's performance. I'm not sure if this is a dying tradition in general now. Hopefully other teachers will chime in. I appreciate your thoughtfulness. I would have been thrilled with a card from my students, but more importantly, that my students did their best and enjoyed the recital.

Becca, do you mean that you as an adult student are playing a piece on your teacher's student recital? With five/ten/fifteen other students? Or are you playing an entire recital yourself?

In either case, I'm not sure why you feel compelled to send a thank-you and gift to your teacher. It's a nice gesture, but I'm not sure why you feel the need. Is it about Christmas, or a thank-you for getting you through a first recital? Or both?

Hi Peter! Yes I am a student in the recital with about 44 other students. I don't think I've ever been asked why I want to thank someone! LOL It's a thank you not Christmas. I wasn't sure if it being so close to Christmas if that factored in or not. It's my first one! I have no idea. LOL I want to thank him for all his hard work for us students and for his patience and help as my teacher. I can't even imagine putting on a recital for all the students nevermind the daily work he puts into all of us. I appreciate what he's doing for us and many music teachers don't put on recitals at all. (He does two recitals plus a music festival plus plays for the public. He teaches guitar, singing and piano in case your wondering.) I'm also glad that I don't get to opt out just because I'm an adult!

Thank you guys for your replies! I like the idea of a card signed by all of us and maybe a box of chocolates or something simple. I can't afford much. Chasing Rainbows: may you get nicely thanked once again.