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Celebrate with us!
Join us for RSC’s 50th Anniversary Celebration
May 30, 2026
7:00–9:00 p.m.
The Rivers School
Under the tent on Lank Quadrangle
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Special musical performances
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Food & drink
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RSC memories
Save the date — more info to come!
Our story
The Rivers School Conservatory has been inspiring musical excellence for 50 years!
In 1975, Ethel Bernard, one of the pioneers of the music school movement, established a new music school on the campus of The Rivers School. For 50 years, the Rivers School Conservatory has been one of the nation’s leading community music conservatories, steadfastly committed to excellence in music education.
RSC’s History
1975
Ethel Bernard approaches The Rivers School with the idea of founding a music school in the unoccupied former headmaster’s house on the campus. The school was initially called The Music School at Rivers.
1979
The first Annual Seminar on Contemporary Music is held, promoting music composed within the last 25 years and featuring a specially commissioned work.
1988
RSC hosts its first Wassail Party (later renamed Holiday Pops). This event has become annual December tradition — a concert with food and drink to benefit RSC's scholarship fund.
2007
The current Bradley Hall is constructed on the site of an old barn, with the recital hall named for the then-director A. Ramón Rivera.
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