Play the Recorder Month

March is Play-the-Recorder Month
Play-the-Recorder Day was Saturday March 19, 2022

 

Recorder players from across North America celebrate March as Play-the-Recorder Month (PtRM). 2022 marks 30 years of celebrating Play-the-Recorder Month. Join the many ARS chapters, consorts and recorder orchestras who are being creative to plan ways to illustrate the versatility and beauty of this wonderful instrument.

PtRM and Play-the-Recorder Day grew out of a one-day worldwide event on April 1, 1989, during the 50^th anniversary year of the American Recorder Society.  Its success caused the ARS to declare an annual celebration starting with Play-the-Recorder Day on March 28, 1992.  This single day was later expanded to month-long activities plus a focus on one day, which is observed on the third Saturday in March. This is a great way to bring energy and excitement to the recorder community, and to gain new members. In 2022, it was held on March 19. 

 

The centerpiece of the month is the commissioned piece for Play-the-Recorder Day 2022, by Bay Area composer Erik Pearson, entitled “Fanfare: returning.” ARS members received the piece with the Winter 2021 edition of the American Recorder Magazine, and can log in and access the piece in our PtRM Music Library. 
 

This spirited composition is inspired by the joyful idea of meeting in person to play with others again. The ARS is honored to present Erik's work. A graduate of Oberlin Conservatory, he has been teaching at the San Francisco Community Music Center for nearly 20 years. As a guitarist and banjo picker he records and performs around the Bay Area. Erik’s SATB composition Leaves in the River (Autumn) was included as an ARS Members’ Library Edition (MLE #38) in 2009.
 

New for Play-the-Recorder Month 2022:

• Play-along tracks for each part of the PtRM piece are available on the "Fanfare: returning" webpage, plus a 4-part accompaniment and videos, for rehearsing on your own or with friends.

• Watch a video of Emily O'Brien performing the piece on SATB recorders at performance tempo

• Watch a practice video with Emily O'Brien playing the parts at a slower tempo with a metronome

• Following the success of last year's online event, on March 19, the ARS held a Zoom webchat with Erik Pearson, composer of the 2022 Play-the-Recorder Month piece, Fanfare: returning. This was followed by a Zoom-group play-in of the piece. It was a great way to get to know the composer and play the piece with others, with no performance stress. Watch the video here! 

  
For spreading the word and publicizing any local PtRM events, the ARS has created helpful documents (PDFs):

• PtRM timeline for planning events
• PtRM press release for newspapers, radio stations, online media, etc.
• PtRM Public Service Announcement

Here’s wishing you all Happy Play-the-Recorder Month. Let us know how you celebrated!