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How do I run a recital in Opus1.io?

Run a recital, concert, or showcase from one Opus1.io event. Students sign up for a performance slot, their song titles and backing tracks come in with the signup, and the program builds itself. Create an Event service and add the performance dates. Enroll students yourself, let invited teachers enroll theirs, or send families a self-booking link. Then confirm each performer, drag the slots into order, and choose Program.

Applies to: Owner, Manager
PLUS Feature: No
Plan: All
Last updated: November 9, 2026

Table of Contents

  1. Overview
  2. Who can do what
  3. Before you start
  4. Create the recital service
  5. Decide how families pay
  6. Set the confirmation and reminder emails
  7. Create the event and its performance questions
  8. Schedule each performance date
  9. Sign students up
  10. Confirm performers and set the running order
  11. Publish and share the program
  12. Event controls at a glance
  13. A typical spring recital
  14. FAQ
  15. Related Articles

Overview

In Opus1.io, a recital is an events-based service. The service holds everything about the performance: the dates, the students performing, the pieces they are playing, and the running order. Families and teachers enter the song title, composer, and backing track when they sign up. When you are ready, Opus1.io turns the confirmed performers into a program that you can print, download, or share with a QR code.

Why: Without this, the program is usually assembled by hand from emails and a shared spreadsheet, and the last-minute changes are where mistakes creep in. With the event in Opus1.io, the person signing up enters the details, you check them, and the program updates when the running order changes.

The same setup works for a concert, a showcase, a studio class performance, or an adjudication.

ℹ️ Note: An Opus1.io event signs up performers. It does not sell audience tickets. For audience admission, see Can I sell recital or concert tickets in Opus1.io?

Can I sell recital or concert tickets in Opus1.io?

A three-part video walkthrough, Managing School Recitals with Opus1, follows the same spring recital example as this article. Each part appears in the section it covers: setup, signups, and the program.

Who can do what

In Opus1.io, owners and managers run the recital. Teachers can only work on it after you invite them. A family can sign up only when the event is open for self-booking.

Task Owner or Manager Invited teacher Family
Create the event and schedule the dates Yes No No
Add a student to a performance Yes Their own students Their own household
Edit a performance slot Any slot Slots assigned to them No
Delete or move a slot Any slot Only slots they created No
Confirm a performer Yes No Yes, for themselves or their child
Set the running order Yes No No
Put two or more performers in one slot Yes No No
Make changes after the deadline or on a locked date Yes No No

Before you start

Add the venue if it is not your studio

If the recital is at your studio, use your usual location. If it is somewhere else, such as a church, a community hall, or a school auditorium, add that venue as a location first.

  1. Open the gear menu and choose Locations/Rooms.
  2. Choose Add location.
  3. Set Location type to Event. A location set to Event can only host events-based services, so the venue never appears as an option for weekly lessons or group classes.
  4. Enter the venue's details. Families who sign up online can see every field, including the description, so add parking and entrance details here.
  5. Turn on Can visitors see this location and Can clients see this location if families will sign up through a self-booking link.
  6. Add a room only if the venue has more than one performance space.
  7. Choose Create location.

ℹ️ Note: Adding a regular location normally changes your Opus1.io subscription. A location set to Event does not.

Decide which performance details you need

Write down every detail you will want on the program or at the sound booth before anyone signs up. Typical details are the song title, the composer, the teacher, and a backing track.

Why: Once a student is enrolled, you can no longer remove or change these questions. Opus1.io shows this message on the event: "While clients are enrolled in the event, custom attributes can not be removed." Many studios add every question they might need, just in case. An unused question costs nothing, but a missing one means chasing every family for the answer.

Create the recital service

The Opus1.io service holds the recital. One service can hold this spring's recital and next spring's, so you only build it once.

Watch Part 1: Managing School Recitals with Opus1 (Part 1/3)

  1. Open the gear menu and choose Services.
  2. Choose Add Service.
  3. Select Event, then Continue.
  4. Enter a name, such as Spring Recital.
  5. Add a short description and a longer description. Families see these when they sign up, and they also appear at the top of the program. Add a photo if you want it on those pages too.
  6. Add tags so you can find the service later, such as recital and spring.
  7. Terms and conditions appear only to families signing up through a self-booking link. Add terms here if you need a photo and video release for the performance.
  8. Choose Create service.
  9. Open the new service with Update. You will use the Events, Payment, and Templates tabs at the top.

Decide how families pay

Opus1.io charges automatically only when a family signs up through the self-booking link. If you or a teacher add the student, nothing is charged, and you bill that family separately.

How students join Payment plan needed? How the fee is collected
Families sign themselves up Yes, even for a free recital Charged at signup, once per student per date
You or teachers add every student No You charge each family yourself

To let families sign up and pay:

  1. On the Payment tab, edit the tab and choose Create payment plan.
  2. Select One time event participant payment (cash or credit).
  3. Name the plan, describe it, and set the price. Enter 0 if the recital is free.
  4. Save the plan.
  5. Choose Enable for Self Booking. Until you do, families cannot see the plan or sign up.

⚠️ Warning: Use one payment path per student. If a family has already paid through the link, do not also add that student by hand or charge them separately for the same fee, because Opus1.io will create a second charge.

For fees, refunds, duets, and how to track who has paid, see How do I charge families for a recital or event?

Set the confirmation and reminder emails

Opus1.io sends two emails from the service's Templates tab:

  • The confirmation email goes out when a student is enrolled, whether your team adds them or the family signs up.
  • The reminder email goes out before the performance. You set how many hours before in the calendar settings section of the service.

Write both in your studio's voice. Include the arrival time, the dress code, where to park, and where performers wait before they go on.

Create the event and its performance questions

  1. On the Events tab, choose Add Event.
  2. Give the event a name you can tell apart from other performances, such as Spring Recital 2027.
  3. Leave Online ID blank unless performers will join remotely. A link here replaces the teacher's usual online lesson link for this event.
  4. Turn on Does the event have an enrollment deadline? and set the date when signups close. For a recital on Saturday, March 20, a deadline of Monday, March 8 gives you 12 days to build the program. After the deadline, teachers and families cannot add slots or edit performance details, and the date shows "Enrollment is closed." Owners and managers can still make changes.
  5. Set Maximum number of session performance slots. The limit applies to each performance date separately. With 30, a Friday evening, a Saturday matinee, and a Saturday evening can each hold 30 performers. The field starts at 30.
  6. Set How much percentage of time of each scheduled date can allow enrollment? This is the share of each date that can go to performances. The rest is left for setup, speeches, and changeovers. The slider runs from 60% to 100% and starts at 85%. Most studios set it between 80% and 85%.
Add the performance questions

Choose Add Attribute for each detail you decided on in Before you start. Each attribute has a name, a type, and an Appear in program switch.

You want to collect Type Appear in program? Why
Song title Text Yes The audience needs it
Composer Text Yes Standard on a printed program
Teacher Staff Optional Some studios credit the teacher on the program
Length of the piece Duration No Opus1.io uses it to stop each date from overrunning
Backing track File/URL No For the sound booth, not the audience
Needs a microphone True/False No For the stage crew

A File/URL attribute accepts an uploaded file, such as an mp3, or a link, such as a YouTube karaoke track. For upload steps, see Adding Files To Event Attributes For Backing Tracks / Accompaniment.

A Duration attribute is what makes the percentage limit work. Opus1.io adds up the durations on each date and stops new signups once they reach the share you set. Without a duration on each slot, the slot maximum is the only limit.

Choose Submit.

Schedule each performance date

One Opus1.io event can run on several dates. A studio that has outgrown a single concert can run a matinee and an evening performance under the same recital.

  1. Open the event.
  2. Choose Add Session, or select the date on the calendar.
  3. Set the start time, end time, and location. For example, a matinee might run 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM and an evening performance 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM.
  4. Choose Submit.
  5. Repeat for each performance date.

Sign students up

You can use one path or combine them. Many studios invite teachers and also open a self-booking link.

Path Best for Trade-off
You add each student Small recitals, or when you already have the list All the data entry falls on the front desk
Teachers add their own students Teachers choose who is ready to perform Each teacher has to log in before the deadline
Families sign up through a link Large recitals, or recitals with a fee Families pick their own date, so you lose some control over the running order

Watch Part 2: Managing School Recitals with Opus1 (Part 2/3)

Add a student yourself
  1. Open the performance date.
  2. Choose Add Slot.
  3. Select the student in Name.
  4. Fill in the performance details. For a backing track, paste the link or upload the file.
  5. Select the teacher in the staff field.
  6. Save, and repeat for the next student.

The date shows how full it is, for example (4/30).

A slot you add starts as Invited. The student, or the parent who manages a child's account, sees Confirm Attendance on their schedule and can confirm, decline, or request a change. If the family has already told you they are coming, you can set the status to Confirmed yourself.

Let teachers add their own students
  1. On the event, choose Invited Staff.
  2. Select the teachers and choose Update.

⚠️ Warning: Use Invited Staff on the event, not Add Staff on a performance date. Add Staff assigns someone to work the recital, such as an usher or sound tech, and counts toward payroll. It does not let a teacher enroll students.

Each invited teacher sees Upcoming Events on their profile, with View Event next to the recital. They open a date, choose Add Slot, pick from their own students, and fill in the same details. For what teachers see, see How do my teachers enroll their students in a recital?

Let families sign up through a link
  1. On the event, choose Enable Self-Booking.
  2. Open the gear menu, choose Business, then Self-Booking Links.
  3. Edit the links and choose Add a custom link.
  4. Select Event Self-Booking.
  5. Name the link, for example spring-recital. The name becomes part of the web address, such as yourschool.opus1.io/spring-recital.
  6. Filter the link to this event.
  7. Leave Make accessible to visitors off if only current families should sign up. Turn it on only if someone without an Opus1.io account should be able to sign up.
  8. Leave the call to action off. Otherwise every family with an empty schedule is prompted to join the recital.
  9. Choose Add Link, then Update Business. The link is not saved until you choose Update Business.
Test the link before you send it

A recital link goes to every family at once, so a mistake reaches everyone. Owners and managers logged in to Opus1.io can see events that families cannot, so test the link the way a family will see it.

  1. Open the link in a private or incognito browser window, where you are not logged in.
  2. If you are asked to log in, that is expected while Make accessible to visitors is off. Log in with a test family account. If people without an account should be able to sign up, turn that setting on and test again.
  3. Check that the recital appears with the right dates, times, and open slots.
  4. Sign up a test student, then delete that slot from the performance date. If the recital has a fee, refund the test invoice.
  5. Read the confirmation email the test family receives before hundreds of families get the same one.

If the link sends families to a login page when it should not, see My self-booking link sends clients to a login page.

Once the link works, send it with Batch Email Clients / Staff or Batch SMS Clients / Staff on the event.

The family picks a date, chooses themselves or their child, picks the teacher, enters the performance details, and pays. A student who signs up this way is confirmed automatically. The teacher the family picked can edit that slot but cannot delete it.

To stop online signups for one date while teachers keep enrolling students, choose Lock Self-Enrollment on that date. To stop them for the whole event, choose Disable Self-Booking.

Confirm performers and set the running order

Watch Part 3: Managing School Recitals with Opus1 (Part 3/3)

Opus1.io shows each slot's status as an icon.

Icon Status On the program?
Yellow question mark Invited. Waiting on the family to confirm. No
Green check Confirmed Yes
Green double check Checked in Yes
Red mark Declined No
Yellow flag Change requested. The family wants something changed, such as the piece or the date. No

Follow up on invited and change-requested slots before your deadline. Those students are left off the program until they are confirmed.

To set the order, drag the slots on each date into performance order. Opus1.io saves the order and warns you when a slot has no number or when two slots share a number. Only owners and managers can set the order.

To move a student from the matinee to the evening, select their slot, choose Transfer, and pick the other date. Opus1.io blocks a transfer into a date that is already full.

Publish and share the program

Choose Program on the event to preview the running order.

A performer appears on the program when all of these are true:

  • The slot is Confirmed or Checked in.
  • The slot has an order number.
  • The slot has a student in it.
  • The slot is not on the waitlist.

The program shows the service name and description, then each date with its time and location. Only attributes with Appear in program turned on are printed.

Share it in any of these ways:

  • QR gives you a code guests can scan at the door, so you print fewer paper programs. Anyone can open it without signing in.
  • PDF downloads a copy to print or email.
  • Roster CSV downloads the full roster for the front desk and sound booth, including details that are not on the public program, such as backing tracks.

These buttons stay unavailable until at least one date is on the calendar.

Families see a Program button on their own schedule from the day before the performance. Until then the button reads Confirm Attendance, and it changes to View Details once they confirm.

Event controls at a glance

Button What it does Use it when
Edit Event Changes the name, deadline, slot limit, time percentage, and attributes Plans change before signups close
Invited Staff Lets selected teachers enroll their own students Teachers decide who performs
Enable Self-Booking / Disable Self-Booking Opens or closes the event to family signups. Teachers can still enroll students while it is off. You want to control when families can sign up
Disable Closes the event. Families cannot sign up, and teachers cannot add or update slots. The recital is full or finished
Delete Deletes the event It was created by mistake
Batch Email Clients / Staff and Batch SMS Clients / Staff Message everyone enrolled or invited. SMS appears when texting is turned on for your studio. Sending the signup link, call times, or a schedule change
Program, QR, PDF, and Roster CSV Preview, share, and export the program The running order is set

Opus1.io also has a Lock control on each date. A locked date shows "only manager can update," and teachers cannot change it until a manager chooses Unlock. Use it once a date's running order is final.

A typical spring recital

Here is how one studio sets up a two-performance spring recital in Opus1.io:

  1. Create an Event service named Spring Recital, tagged recital and spring.
  2. Add the event with a deadline of Monday, March 8 for a recital on Saturday, March 20. Allow 30 slots and leave the time slider at 85%.
  3. Add attributes for song title, composer, backing track, and needs a microphone. Turn Appear in program on for song title and composer only.
  4. Schedule a matinee from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM and an evening performance from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM.
  5. Invite the teachers who will enter their own students, and turn on self-booking for families.
  6. After the deadline, chase any invited slots that are still unconfirmed, then drag each date into order.
  7. Open Program, print the QR code for the lobby, download the PDF for the printer, and export the Roster CSV for the sound booth.

FAQ

Can a duet or a band share one performance slot?
Yes. In Opus1.io, an owner or manager opens the slot and adds the other performers. Teachers cannot add a second performer to a slot.

What happens when a performance date is full?
Opus1.io stops taking signups for that date. Families cannot add themselves to an event waitlist. A teacher who cannot go over the limit sees Add Slot To Waitlist instead of Add Slot. A manager moves students from the waitlist onto the performance list.

Can I reuse this year's recital setup next year?
Yes. Open the same Opus1.io service and add a new event on the Events tab. The service name, descriptions, payment plan, and email templates carry over, so you only set up the new dates and attributes.

How large can a backing track file be?
Opus1.io accepts uploaded files up to 200MB each. For a long track, paste a link instead of uploading the file.

Can each performance date have its own program?
No. One Opus1.io event produces one program that lists every date. If the matinee and the evening need separate programs, set them up as two events under the same service.

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