Adult piano students generally despise the idea of public performance. There are exceptions, of course, but for the most part, adults are self-conscious about their abilities. They may be so anxious about playing in front of others that they need a libation or medication to be able to do it.
I don't teach many adults, but I have been working with a few for several years. These ladies have successful professional lives in completely non-musical fields. They are good at what they do and have plenty of confidence in their abilities on the job. They have the professional respect of their colleagues. So when you put them in a situation like a piano recital, they have a sense of inferiority and embarrassment that they are not accustomed to. They think they look silly playing easy piano pieces that a child could play. They worry that they will make mistakes, and they often do. They have physical symptoms of anxiety such as shaky hands and fingers, loss of memory, and a general feeling of disorientation. In short, they feel like they are being tortured in front of an audience!
Early in my career, I had the misguided notion that it was good for adult piano students to perform in recitals along with youths. I hoped that they would feel better and better about public performance with each subsequent recital. Big mistake. My adult students felt humiliated performing in a recital with children. It didn't inspire or empower them...it belittled them. When I was a child, I remember performing in countless recitals along with adult students. That was just the way my piano teacher did things. The adults in those recitals seemed fine with it. So why were my adult students having such a negative reaction? I think it must come down to the ratio of adults to children. In the case of my childhood piano teacher, at least half of her students were college-age or older. The children did not outnumber the adults. In the case of my current studio, children make up 99% of the enrollment. The adults are rather an anomaly.
Initially, my solution to this problem was to stop asking my adult students to perform. They didn't want to do it, and I realized I shouldn't push them into it. But in recent years, I have discovered a wonderful alternative to this. As I mentioned before, I teach a couple of adults now. One of these adults has several friends who dabble in piano as well as other instruments. Most of them are physicians, but they enjoy leading a closet musical life in their spare time by learning a piece or two each year. How neat is that?! Well, these adults have a history together. They work together and feel comfortable around each other, so they decided to organize "Piano Parties" complete with hors d'oeuvres and cocktails. After an initial mingling and loosening-up period, they all make their way into the piano room and begin playing pieces for the group. They still get extremely nervous, but they are willing to do it because they know everyone is in the same boat. Everyone is vulnerable. No one is allowed to attend unless he or she intends to play a piece.
This is an ideal setting for adult piano performances. There is a feeling of camaraderie that permeates the whole affair and a bond that develops because of the shared - rather humbling - experience. The students (not the teacher) organize these gatherings on their own and host them in their homes. They type up the programs, provide the food and drinks, and send out the invitations. It truly is empowering rather than humiliating, somewhat by virtue of the fact that they are in charge of the proceedings.
Piano parties, in my mind, are the solution to the problem of providing adult amateur pianists with an informal performance outlet. Because my students organize these parties on their own, there is basically no work for me to do, other than showing up...if they want me to. :)
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