Latest News and Announcements

For years, one of the biggest challenges facing students was getting into a recital within a reasonable amount of time after having passed a workshop.  For new RSC students it is important to remember that a student is required to pass a department workshop before being allowed to play in a recital.  This year we are instituting a new procedure:  Any workshop a student signs up for automatically has a specific recital date assigned to it.  That recital date is always the Friday recital (with a monthly Saturday or Sunday recital as well)  at the end of the following week.  Students should only sign up for a workshop if they can play the recital assigned to that workshop.   Students are not allowed to change recital dates.  Students who miss a recital will be required to successfully complete a workshop again before being placed in another recital program.  The date for the recital that a student should expect to be assigned to if they pass the workshop is printed on the workshop sign-up sheets in the office.

2010 A.R.R. Piano Competition Winners

RSC Division

First Place: Harry Li, student of David Beyer

Second Place: Emily Seidman, student of Angel Rivera

Open Division

First Place: Mackenzie Melemed

Second Place: Christopher Chan

Inge Holleck Bach Award:  Mackenzie Melemed

RSC All-State Results

Congratulations to the following RSC students who were selected for the all-state festival.

Band

Cassie Chin, trumpet, Youth Symphony

Leif Harder, flute, Youth Symphony

Eve Jakubowski, bass, Youth Symphony

Stephanie Palocz, French horn, Youth Symphony

Jackie Zhou, clarinet, Karen Heninger

Chorus

Zachary Burrage-Goodwin, bass, Youth Symphony

Orchestra

Lydia Burrage-Goodwin, violin, Youth Symphony

Enchi Chang, violin, concertmistress, Magdalena Richter

Jerway Chang, violin, co-concertmaster, Magdalena Richter

Laura Cooke, cello, Ronald Lowry

Andrew Laven, cello, Ronald Lowry

John MacGaffey, viola, Sandy Kott

Melanie Snider, violin, Magdalena Richter

Anna Teng, violin, Magdalena Richter

RSC Junior Districts Results

Congratulations to the following RSC students who were selected for junior district festivals.

Band

Matthew Bowler, horn, Dan Shaud

Grace Chin, oboe, Kyoko Hida-Battaglia

Tessa Kadar, flute, Ethel Farny

Chorus

Grace Cohen-Pratt, Junko Watanbe

Kathryn Nielsen, Junko Watanabe

Joseph Sack, Thomas Oesterling

Vanessa Torrice, Donna Ames

Natalie Totonchy, Junko Watanabe

Andrew Xia, Marc Ryser

Orchestra

Spencer Anderson, violin, Liana Zaretsky

Josh Avery, viola, Youth Sinfonia

Andrew Chen, violin, Youth Sinfonia

Caitlin Chin, piccolo, Youth Symphony

Stephanie Chin, trumpet, Youth Symphony

Robert Connelly, viola, John Emery and Gillian Rogell

Rachel Hawley, bass, Youth Symphony

James Hotchkiss, bass, Youth Symphony

Hannah Knight, viola, Liana Zaretsky

Alex Kui, viola, Liana Zaretsky

Katelyn Osborne, violin, Youth Symphony

Isabel Pongratz, bass, Youth Sinfonia

Ashwin Skelly, violin, Youth Symphony

Robyn Stix, bass, Youth Sinfonia

Rhea Teng, cello, Ronald Lowry

Noah Teplin, violin, Sandy Kott

Andrea Vogt, violin, Youth Sinfonia

Katherine Wang, cello, Kirstin Peltz

Austin Wong, bass, Jim Guttmann

Helen Zhao, violin, Youth Sinfonia

Jazz

Nathaniel Johnson, trumpet, Tony D’Aveni

Congratulations to those RSC students who were selected to the Senior District Festivals!

Band

*Kelly Alexander, oboe, Youth Symphony

*Ryan Budnick, clarinet, Youth Symphony

Anna Menkis, clarinet, Youth Symphony

Patrick Curtin, tenor saxophone, Philippe Crettien

Clare Devlin, marimba, Sarah Tenney

Matthew DiBiase, timpani, Sarah Tenney

*Daniel Glauber, marimba, Sarah Tenney

*Leif Harder, flute, Youth Symphony

*Elliot Kardon, trumpet, Tony D’Aveni

Matthew Leibowitz, trumpet, Tony D’Aveni

Max Lurie, trombone, Youth Symphony

Theodore Morin, French horn, Youth Symphony

*Stephanie Palocz, French horn, Youth Symphony

Katie Senter, bassoon, Youth Symphony

Chorus

Melissa Benjamin, Donna Ames

Peter Birren, Thomas Oesterling

Zachary Burrage-Goodwin, Youth Symphony
*David Tackeff, Thomas Oesterling

Orchestra

*Lydia Burrage-Goodwin, violin, Youth Symphony

Miranda Burrage-Goodwin, violin, Youth Symphony

Enchi Chang, violin, Magdalena Richter

Jerway Chang, violin, Magdalena Richter

*Katya Checkovich, viola, Marc Ryser ensemble

*Cassie Chin, trumpet, Youth Symphony

*Laura Cooke, cello, Ron Lowry; Marc Ryser ensemble

*Amar Desai, snare drum, Sarah Tenney

Eric Doyle, violin, Youth Symphony

Lisa Hsieh, violin, Youth Symphony

*Eve Jakubowski, bass, Youth Symphony

*Lisa Kojima, violin, Youth Symphony

*Andrew Laven, cello, Ron Lowry

*John MacGaffey, viola, Sandy Kott

*Elizabeth McTighe, cello, Susanne Friedrich

*Nina Mills, harp, Youth Symphony

Suhana Ng, violin, Sandy Kott, Marc Ryser ensemble

*Matthew Ricotta, bass, Pascale Delache-Feldman

Carolyn Shin, viola, Liana Zaretsky

*Melanie Snider, violin, Magdalena Richter

*Anna Teng, violin, Magdalena Richter

Jazz

*Alex Adach, Vibraphone, Alexei Tsganov

*Anthony Burzillo, trombone, Roger Cagnon

*Ross Hoyt, trumpet, Tony D’Aveni

* indicates recommendation for All-State

November 9, 2009

Dear Rivers School Conservatory Parents:

I am writing to let you know about a major curriculum change at RSC that we are implementing this year.  As most of you know, every child enrolled in a private lesson with us was taught using a twelve level curriculum.  Each level specified both specific repertoire and technical requirements students were expected to master each year.  In addition, our Certificate Program (a graded curriculum with additional course and performance requirements) which was also a twelve-level program is being revised as well.

Our intent is to place considerably more emphasis on developing artistry in each student.  To do so, we recognized that we needed to provide much greater flexibility for both the student and the teacher with regards to the sequence of technical requirements and repertoire.  The current twelve-level program was too rigid and led students to focus on quantity rather than quality in their musical development.

In our new curriculum:

• There are four levels (I, II, III and IV)
• A student will take, on average, three years to complete each level
• Allows students and teachers to cover the requirements within each level in any order and at any pace that makes the most educational sense for the individual student
• Still includes year-end evaluations for all students but involves a much more expansive evaluation for students who wish to present themselves as having completed a level
• Strongly emphasizes annual artistic growth while de-emphasizing the annual volume of technical and repertory requirements

Our new Certificate Program:

           
Will be renamed Young Artists’ Diploma Program

• Will be renamed Young Artists’ Diploma Program
• Will have four levels, matching the new curriculum
• Will have specific theory, ensemble and other class requirements for each department or instrument, rather than school-wide requirements

You can view our new curriculum, including Young Artists’ Diploma Program requirements, by department by clicking on the links below. They are also available for reading in printed form in the RSC office. Students and parents should ask their teacher about which new level they will be assigned to.  

I am very excited about the artistic possibilities of our new curriculum and Young Artists’ Diploma Program.  I hope you will have a conversation with your teacher about your child’s music studies and the possibilities  for them at The Rivers School Conservatory.  Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

David J Tierney

Director

Please click on name of each department to read the changes in the curriculum:

Guitar

Jazz

Percussion

Piano

Theory

Violin
Voice

Wind

We are pleased to welcome three new faculty members to our community.

Kelly Barr has been a member of the Boston Symphony Orchestra since February 1996. As a soloist, Barr has performed with the Plymouth Philharmonic, the DePaul Symphony Orchestra, and in a recital series for the Jordanian Conservatory. She has also performed at the Encore Music Festival, participated in the Musicorda Summer String Program, and been heard at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, in the Minneapolis radio series, “Live from Landmark,” and as a guest artist at the Children’s Museum in Washington, D.C. As an orchestral player, she has performed with the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra, the St. Louis Symphony, and the American Soviet Youth Orchestra. As a student at NEC, Barr was a member of the New England Conservatory Honors Piano Trio. She has received awards from the Schubert Club competition, the Western Illinois University Orchestra Competition, and the Fox Valley Symphony Orchestra Competition. Kelly will be teaching violin at RSC.

Alexei Doohovskoy is an active New England area trombonist and music educator. He has performed with the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, the Boston Lyric Opera, the Rhode Island Philharmonic, the Springfield Symphony, the Vermont Symphony, as well as with the Boston Symphony and Boston Pops.

As a chamber musician, Mr. Doohovskoy has toured the United States and Canada with the Empire Brass Quintet presenting both concerts and masterclasses. With the EBQ, he has appeared as a featured performer with the Buffalo Philharmonic, the United States Air Force Band, and the Northeast Pennsylvania Philharmonic.

Mr. Doohovskoy has made recent solo appearances with the Brown University Wind Symphony and at recitals sponsored by Rhode Island College, the All-Newton Music School, and the Bay Chamber Concert Series in Rockport, Maine.

Currently a Teaching Associate with the Music Department of Brown University, Mr. Doohovskoy also teaches lessons through the Instrumental Music School of Carlisle and Concord. His students have successfully gained acceptance to district festivals and university music programs.

He has performed on several recordings with Norman Bolter's Frequency Band, the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, the New England Conservatory Wind Ensemble, and the Boston Pops.

From 2001 to 2004, Mr. Doohovskoy was a member of the New World Symphony in Miami, FL where he worked regularly with Michael Tilson Thomas and other distinguished conductors and composers. The South Florida Sun-Sentinel described one of his solo performances as demonstrating "fluent technique and a poetic touch." He was awarded a fellowship to attend the Aspen Music Festival in 2003, and performed several concerts as Principal Trombonist of the Aspen Chamber Symphony and Aspen Festival Orchestra.

A graduate of Brown University, Mr. Doohovskoy also earned a Master of Music degree from New England Conservatory in Boston. He has benefited from the guidance and insight of many teachers and coaches, including Norman Bolter, Douglas Yeo, Per Brevig, and Douglas Wright.

Gillian Rogell has had an active career as violist and chamber musician in Boston for many years. She is the creator of the award-winning DVD, “At the Heart of Chamber Music” which was aired on WGBH TV and won two “Telly” awards. She founded The Heart of Chamber Music Institute in 1999 and directed the Institute as it collaborated with such artists as The Borromeo String Quartet, Triple Helix Piano Trio, Cape and Islands Festival, Peter Zazovsky and Lindsay Crouse, presenting workshops and masterclasses.

Ms. Rogell received her Master of Music degree with Honors from New England Conservatory, and her BA from University of Pennsylvania. She studied viola with Karen Tuttle and Scott Nickrenz, and chamber music with the legendary Eugene Lehner, the original Hungarian Quartet, and other European masters. She has taught and performed at festivals in Israel, Greece, and the Czech Republic, and in the US at Killington Music Festival,Castle Hill Festival, Eastern Music Festival, and the Foundation for Chinese Performing Arts at Walnut Hill. Gillian will be teaching viola at RSC.

On October 4 and continuing throughout the school year, The Rivers School Conservatory will be partnering with the Radius Ensemble, a nine-piece Boston group known for its refreshingly modern take on classical performance, for a series of concerts geared towards getting young people excited about classical music.

The Radius Ensemble has scheduled four performances at Rivers, with the first show at A. Ramón Rivera Recital Hall on Sunday, October 4 at 4:00 p.m. Other performances will be held on November 12 of this year, and then March 14 and May 16, 2010.

The ensemble’s unconventional approach to classical performance – wearing non-traditional concert dress, relaying anecdotes during the show, and even mingling with the audiences afterwards – is intended to make the experience more accessible, particularly for younger audiences. The Rivers events should appeal to teens through reduced-price tickets ($10 for students and $5 for Rivers students).

“The Radius Ensemble compliments the program offered at The Rivers School Conservatory,” says director David Tierney. “It will be very exciting to have in residence a professional performance ensemble that focuses on contemporary music as we are renowned for our commitment to introducing contemporary music to students through our Annual Seminar on Contemporary Music for the Young.”

Radius founder and artistic director Jennifer Montbach describes the group’s ethos as “a natural fit” with a school setting. “It’s a very relaxed atmosphere,” she says. “We hope young people will realize that classical music doesn’t have to come off as pedagogical or elitist.”

Entering its 11th season, The Radius Ensemble is composed of a diverse group of musicians. Montbach was a member of an avant-garde classical outfit called Composers in Red Sneakers; clarinetist Eran Egozy is co-founder of Harmonix Music Systems, the video-game development company that created “Guitar Hero” and “Rock Band.”

The group has garnered formidable critical acclaim. Jeremy Eichler of The Boston Globe says that the ensemble is “clearly doing something right” and “has earned the trust of its core audience.” The group has also played at the Rockport Chamber Music Festival, the Center for the Arts in Natick, and assorted area colleges.

Please click here for more information on the Radius Ensemble.