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Rivers & RSC Jazz Festival The 2026 Jazz Festival will take place Saturday, November 14, 2026. This event is free and open to the public. More details to be announced soon! 2025 Jazz Festival 2025 Jazz Festival 2025 Jazz Festival 2025 Jazz Festival 1/8 About the Rivers & RSC Jazz Festival The Rivers & RSC Jazz Festival began in 2007 and is a free , full-day event filled with music performed by The Rivers School and The Rivers School Conservatory’s jazz ensembles. Over the years, the ensembles have performed tunes representing a variety of jazz styles including bebop, fusion, and contemporary. Numerous world-class jazz artists have been featured artists at the festival, among them are: Harvey Diamond, George Garzone, Bill Lowe, Donny McCaslin, New World Jazz Octet, Adam Niewood, Mario Pavone, and Bruno Råberg. 2025 Jazz Fest featured Greg Hopkins , a trumpeter and composer, premiering his piece: “Reflecting on Rivers” with the Rivers Honors Big Band. Read more >> View more photos from the 2025 Jazz Festival.

Master Classes Tim Carman jazz masterclass Leland Ko cello masterclass A. Ramón Rivera piano masterclass Tim Carman jazz masterclass 1/5 All masterclasses are free and open to the public. Upcoming masterclasses for the 2026–2027 season will be announced soon!

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Marimba Magic Musicianship About Marimba Magic Musicianship Sarah Tenney , Director The Marimba Magic Musicianship program offers musicianship training to students as they play marimbas and drums in a group. Musical concepts are learned through creative explorations on the instruments, as well as through playing pieces from written music. Students joyously make up their own music on marimbas, a skill they can transfer to the piano with an identical keyboard. Playing in a drum circle further enhances rhythmic precision and improvisational expression. Conducting, singing, movement, and composition allow full integration of musical concepts. Each level of Marimba Magic Musicianship provides further mastery of scales, chords, transposing, improvising, and composing, as well as the opportunity to play more complex ensemble pieces. Marimba Magic Musicianship ensembles perform regularly, with advanced groups performing in Boston and at national conferences. Marimba Magic Musicianship Tuition Learn more about our tuition rates Levels Creative Musical Beginnings: In this fun and playful weekly class, students join a music team to play in a drum circle and a xylophone ensemble, developing a solid foundation of musical skills. The chromatic xylophones (marimbas) have rosewood notes laid out like a piano, making this class excellent in conjunction with, or as preparation for, piano or string lessons. The students are both improvisers and composers, expressing themselves in sound. Level 2 Musicianship: Fridays 4:15-5:15 p.m. – Ages 6-7 (pre-requisite piano or marimba experience) Advanced Musicianship: Wednesdays 6:00-7:00 p.m. – Ages 8-10 (pre-requisite piano or marimba experience) In the Level 2 and Advanced Musicianship classes, students continue to develop musical skills, including scales, intervals, chords, transposing, conducting, improvising, and composing. The groups perform several times throughout the year. Questions? Contact Sarah Tenney, Director, at s.tenney@rivers.org . SIGN UP FOR A FREE TRIAL!

Describe your image 1/15 News Recent Stories: Celebrating 50 Years of Inspiring Musical Excellence Important Info Fall Semester: Sep. 14, 2026– Jan. 24, 2027 Make-Up Week: Jan. 25–31, 2027 RSC HOLIDAYS & CLOSINGS Upcoming Events June 29: Summer Suzuki begins July 3: RSC office closed (Independence Day) July 6: Summer Music Session 1 and Summer Jazz Session 2 begin VIEW THE FULL CALENDAR

Eve Budnick Vocal Coach & Voice Department Chair Eve Budnick serves as the Voice Department Chair as well as a pianist for RSC. She is the Artistic Director and Co-Founder of Opera del West, the resident opera company for the last 10 years at The Center for Arts in Natick. In this capacity, she music directs fully staged operas in March and August each year. Eve has taught Vocal Diction and Vocal Literature at Boston University, University of Connecticut, and New England Conservatory’s Continuing Ed Department. Eve received a Bachelor’s Degree in Music History from Princeton University, a Master’s in Accompaniment from Boston University, and a Graduate Diploma in Collaborative Piano from New England Conservatory. e.budnick@rivers.org

Catherine O’Kelly Classical Guitar, Suzuki Guitar Classical guitarist Catherine O’Kelly performs both as a soloist and as a member of Tedesco Duo with flutist Arielle Burke. A former Suzuki student at The Rivers School Conservatory, she is delighted to now be teaching Suzuki guitar at Rivers. Catherine earned her BA in music and philosophy from Vassar College in 2011, graduating with honors, and earned her MM in guitar performance in 2013 at The Hartt School, where she studied classical guitar with Richard Provost. Currently Catherine is pursuing her Doctor of Musical Arts degree in classical guitar performance at The Hartt School in West Hartford, CT. She earned a position with The Hartt School’s Honors Chamber Music Program, Performance 20/20, providing her a full scholarship for her doctoral studies. In addition to creating Guitar Weekend, Catherine has performed and taught at many local music festivals, including The Connecticut Guitar Festival and The Latin American Music Festival. She frequently collaborates with other local musicians and groups such as Boston’s Cantata Singers, and she serves on the board of the Boston Classical Guitar Society. c.okelly@rivers.org

Kelly Barr Violin Kelly Barr, a member of the Boston Symphony Orchestra since February 1996, earned her BM at University of Minnesota and her MM at the New England Conservatory. 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. She studies with James Buswell, Almita Vamos, Roland Vamos, and Catherine Tait. k.barr@rivers.org

Sandra Hebert Piano Department Co-Chair Pianist Sandra Hebert has performed throughout the U.S., Asia and Europe in recital as soloist, concerto soloist and collaborative pianist, and has recorded for Le Chant du Monde, CRI, ICMC, Juxtab and Arcadian Winds. She has been Visiting Artist in Residence at the Conservatory of Music in Wuhan, P.R. China and has also taught in Germany and Italy. Ms. Hebert holds degrees in Piano Performance including a DMA from Boston University where she studied with Anthony di Bonaventura and Bela Boszormenyi-Nagy. In addition to teaching at Rivers, she is currently Assistant Professor of the Practice of Music and Director of Chamber Music and Performance at Boston College. s.hebert@rivers.org

Ronald Lowry Cello, ChamberMusicLab Ronald Lowry is an active performer in many of Boston’s leading musical organizations. Called a “superb cellist” by theBoston Globe’s Richard Dyer, he is the principal cellist of the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra and the Boston Ballet Orchestra. Former principal cellist of the National Symphony of Costa Rica, the Handel and Haydn Society, and the Harvard Chamber Orchestra, Mr. Lowry performs frequently with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and with the Boston Pops. As a soloist, he has been featured with the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra and the Boston Ballet Orchestra on several occasions as well as the Concert Arts Orchestra of Boston, the National Symphony of Costa Rica, the New England Symphony Orchestra, and several other orchestras in the greater Boston area. Mr. Lowry graduated with Honor from Indiana University and the New England Conservatory. r.lowry@rivers.org

Valerie Becker Accompanist Valerie J. Becker is an active soloist and collaborative pianist in the Boston area. She received her Bachelor and Master’s degrees from Boston University where she was a student of Anthony di Bonaventura. Ms. Becker has been soloist with the Boston Pops Orchestra, rehearsal pianist for the Boston Symphony where she worked as collaborative pianist with many Boston Symphony Orchestra musicians, served on the faculty of North Carolina School of the Arts, the Boston University Tanglewood Institute, and was one of the rehearsal pianists for the Boston Symphony Orchestra for many years. She is currently on the Performing Arts Faculty at the Winsor School in Boston, a faculty accompanist at The Rivers School Conservatory, Music Director for the Congregational Church of Needham, pianist for the Kodaly Institute of Boston’s summer program and on staff as an accompanist at New England Conservatory. v.becker@rivers.org

Marta Zurad Director, Camerata Strings, Violin Ms. Zurad received her Bachelor of Music degree from New England Conservatory and her Graduate Diploma and Master of Music degree from Longy School of Music. She also attended the Academy of Music in Krakow, Poland. Her violin teachers have included Wieslaw Kwasny, Valeria Kuchment, and Eric Rosenblith. She is a member of the Lexington Symphony, and has performed with many other orchestras in the Boston area. Ms. Zurad conducts the Preparatory String Orchestra at NEC, and the Young People’s String Orchestra, the Petit Ensemble, and the Intensive Community Program Orchestra at BYSO. She is also on faculty at NEC and the Winchester Community Music School. m.zurad@rivers.org

David Tobin Piano, Music Theory David Tobin is on the piano and music theory faculty at RSC. David performs as solo recitalist, chamber musician, and accompanist and has been music director of the Charlestown Working Theater, organist and choir director, and music director for South Station, a 12-piece show band. David received a Bachelor of Arts in music from Westfield State University and a Master’s degree in piano performance from the New England Conservatory of Music. d.tobin@rivers.org

Lois Shapiro Piano, Chamber Music Pianist Lois Shapiro “conjures enchantment” and “produces and inspires musical magic,” notes The Boston Globe. A New York Concert Artists Guild Award winner and highly sought-after soloist and collaborative pianist, she has appeared throughout the U.S. and abroad in concerts ranging from 18th-century period-instrument performances to premieres. Shapiro has recorded on Afka, Bridge, Channel Classics, Centaur, MLAR, and Pierrot. Formerly an instructor of piano at Smith College, Brandeis University, New England Conservatory, and the Longy School of Music, Ms. Shapiro is currently on the faculty of Wellesley College. She gives numerous masterclasses and lectures on subjects such as the nature of musicianship, late-Beethoven piano sonatas, and Robert Schumann’s music in cultural context. As an expression of her abiding interest in bringing the musical experience to underserved populations, she was recently awarded an Alumni Ventures grant from Yale University to create and offer innovative interdisciplinary music programs in the Boston public schools. Always seeking to inspire music-lovers of all ages, Ms. Shapiro has recently created an intergenerational orchestra called FIGCO and, in collaboration with the Longy School of Music Dalcroze Department, she co-produced a series of engaging and highly popular family programs in which she performed as narrator and pianist. She received her musical training at the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University, Yale University, and the New England Conservatory. Richard Dyer has said of her playing, “She is a wonderful artist and a dangerous person to work with…What makes her dangerous is her imagination and her insight; these lead her directly into what is most interesting about the music. And her technical resources are such that she is able to do exactly what her imagination and insight intend…Shapiro has the great gift of making everything she does sound inevitable even when it is surprising.” l.shapiro@rivers.org