A. Ramon Rivera Piano Competition

09/22/2024

Happy Birthday to the 1999 first prize winner of the A.Ramon Rivera Piano Competition Ingrid Keller !

05/14/2024

Thank you for an incredible cycle of the A. Ramón Rivera and The Rivers School Conservatory Piano Competitions!

Congratulations to all our prize winners! And heartfelt thanks to all who competed - and your parents! - for all your hard work and dedication. It is a joy to hear from you and follow your progress each year.

Much gratitude as well to the amazing staff at RSC and to our devoted board members, whose help and support allows us to carry out our mission:
To foster excellence and artistry in young pianists, and advocate the importance of Bach in their development such that these musical citizens may go on to nurture and inspire others through teaching and performance.

05/01/2024

Join us this Sunday, May 5, at The Rivers School Conservatory as we honor the ARR and RSC Piano Competitions winners! You can find more information at www.riversschoolconservatory.org.

04/30/2024

On April 14th, students competed in the The Rivers School Conservatory Piano Competition in honor of A. Ramón Rivera. Congratulations to all who competed and the following winners!

Junior Division, First Prize: Cole Delgado
Senior Division, First Prize: Henry Tushman
Senior Division, Second Prize: Emily Zhou

All of us at the ARR Competition wish to extend our greatest debt and gratitude to the Rivers School Conservatory, their Interim Director, Lindsey Robb, and their phenomenal staff for all their support. The ARR competition would not be possible without them. Thank you!!

04/29/2024

Our most heartfelt congratulations to the winners of the A. Ramon Rivera Piano Competition, Senior Division!

1st Prize and the Bach Prize were awarded to Henry Tushman, and 2nd Prize went to Julia Zhou.

Congratulations to all our Senior Finalists who competed, and thank you for an afternoon of beautiful music! It is our privilege to be part of the development of these fine young artists!

04/26/2024

Pianist Randall Hodgkinson, Grand Prize winner of the International American Music Competition sponsored by Carnegie Hall and the Rockefeller Foundation, has performed with orchestras in Atlanta, Philadelphia, Buffalo, Boston, Cleveland, and abroad in Italy and Iceland. He is an artist member of the Boston Chamber Music Society, and he performs the four-hand and two-piano repertoire with his wife, Leslie Amper. Mr. Hodgkinson's festival appearances include Blue Hill (Maine), BargeMusic, Chestnut Hill Concerts (Madison, Connecticut), Seattle Chamber Music Festival, and Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, and he has performed regularly in the Emmanuel Music Chamber Series.

He's a faculty member of the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, Wellesley College, and the Longy School of Music in Cambridge.

Mr. Hodgkinson rounds out our judges panel for our Senior Finals Concert this Sunday, April 28, at The Rivers School Conservatory. We hope you will join us!

04/24/2024

Christina Dietrich has performed in the United States and Europe in many capacities throughout her career as an artist and educator. For over twelve years, Ms. Dietrich was regularly scheduled on the New York Public Library Concert series and performed in over fifty concerts for the Chopin Society of New England in the Boston area alone. Her artistic achievements led to a special invitation by the Consul General of Poland to perform at the Consulate in New York. This was crowned by a letter of recognition and thanks from then-President L**h Walesa of Poland.

In addition to maintaining a concert career and regularly presenting master classes in the art of piano performance, Ms. Dietrich is currently on the faculty and chair of the piano department at Groton Hill, faculty of the Steinert’s Piano Academy, adjunct music professor at Mount Wachusett Community College and Northern Essex Community College, as well as Artistic Director of the Steinway Society of Massachusetts and a Steinway Ambassador at M. Steinert & Sons. She has received a Steinway & Sons Top Teacher Award five times, most recently in 2024.

We are thrilled to have Ms. Dietrich as a judge for our Senior Finals Concert this Sunday, April 28, at The Rivers School Conservatory. We hope to see you there!

04/23/2024

Borromeo Music Festival !

Still looking for a festival to attend this summer? 🤔
We've got GREAT NEWS...We're extending our application deadline until spots are filled! 🎊

Apply now and get more information by visiting our website: https://www.borromeomusicfestival.org/apply/

Hope to see you this summer! ☀️

04/22/2024

The Senior Finals Concert is just a few days away, on Sunday, April 28! We are so privileged to have pianist Bruce Brubaker as one of three judges for this stage of the competition.

In live performances from the Hollywood Bowl to New York’s David Geffen Hall, from Paris to Hong Kong, and in recordings for ECM, InFiné, Arabesque, and Bedroom Community — Bruce Brubaker is a visionary virtuoso, an artistic provocateur. Profiled on NBC’s Today show, Brubaker’s playing, writing, and collaborations show a shining and sometimes surprising future for pianists and piano playing.

Following his New York debut at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall, Brubaker was awarded a solo artist grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. He was named “Young Musician of the Year” by Musical America. His London debut at the Wigmore Hall led to his first broadcast concert on the BBC, an all-Brahms recital. Brubaker has appeared at Lincoln Center’s Mostly Mozart Festival, the Hollywood Bowl, Tanglewood, London’s Wigmore Hall, Leipzig’s Gewandhaus, Antwerp’s Queen Elizabeth Hall, Finland’s Kuhmo Festival, and Geneva’s “Antigel.”

Brubaker has given presentations, masterclasses, and forums at schools and conservatories around the world and has written articles for major publications, including The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Piano Quarterly, Perspectives of New Music, Dutch Journal of Music Theory, Parse, and Chamber Music magazine.

This barely scratches the surface of all Mr. Brubaker has accomplished throughout his illustrious career. We hope you will join us for our Senior Finals Concert at The Rivers School Conservatory this SundayThe Rivers School Conservatory.

04/22/2024

Our 2012 First Prize winner !

A return engagement from prize-winning pianist Mackenzie Melemed, who will perform a solo piano recital inspired by his native ...

04/15/2024

Yesterday, we had the absolute privilege of hearing our eight Junior Finalists perform in their final concert!

1st Prize went to Adam Li, and 2nd Prize went to Masanobu Pires.

Congratulations to all our Junior Finalists who competed, and thank you for an afternoon of beautiful music! It is our privilege to be part of the development of these fine young artists!

The Senior Finals Concert will take place In two weeks, on April 28. Stay tuned for more information!

04/13/2024

Hailed a “Virtuosic Storyteller” by the Kieler Nachtrichten, Eleanor Perrone, Pianist's performances have consistently elicited rousing ovations in response to her electric energy and sonic beauty.

Ms. Perrone has performed across the country and around the world, including concerts with the Boston Pops, Orquestra Sinfônica Municipal de Campinas, and the American Academy in Rome. She is a founding member of the Zefra Trio and performs as a duo with Ashima Scripp.

Trained at The Juilliard School and Boston University, she holds a Master of Music degree from Boston University. Formerly on the piano faculty of the Longy School of Music of Bard College, Perrone also served as Associate Chair and Chair of piano in their Community Programs division from 2005-2010. She is currently on the piano faculty of The Rivers School Conservatory, teaches privately in her home studio, and joined the Performance Faculty of Boston College in Fall 2023.

Ms. Perrone will be a judge in tomorrow's Junior Finals Concert. We hope you will join us!

04/12/2024

Konstantinos Papadakis has been described by the press as “one of the greatest hopes of music” and a “spontaneous, honest artist.” The Boston Globe wrote: "Papadakis gave a stunning performance displaying great variety of attack, poetic lyricism, and wrists of carbon steel.” We are thrilled to welcome him back as a judge in this Sunday's Junior Finals Concert!

Born in Heraklion, Crete, Greece, Mr. Paoadakis possesses an unusually broad repertoire, including some 70 concertos, over 300 works for solo piano, and
numerous chamber works.

A former student of Anthony di Bonaventura, Mr. Papadakis is an alumnus of Boston University's School for the Arts where he received an Artist Diploma in Piano Performance. Currently, he holds the Motoko and Gordon Deane Principal Chair of the Atlantic Symphony Orchestra. He is on the piano faculties of the New England Conservatory Preparatory School and Continuing Education Division and Belmont Piano Academy. He also directs the Athens Piano Academy in Archanes, Greece.

04/11/2024

Lydia Reed-Guertin is one of three incredible pianists who will be judging our Junior Finals Concert this Sunday afternoon.

Lydia Reed-Guertin received her bachelor’s and master’s Degrees in Piano Performance from Boston University, where she studied with world-renowned pianist and teacher Anthony diBonaventura. Lydia has blended her passion for performing and teaching by serving on the faculties of Pine Manor College and the Concord Community Music School in New Hampshire and exclusively since 2001, maintaining a private commercial studio in Lexington, MA, preparing students for recitals, auditions, and competitions.

In addition to teaching and performing, Lydia is an Honorary Member and Past President of the New England Piano Teachers' Association and Past Vice President of Membership in the Massachusetts Music Educators' Association .

As an adjudicator, Lydia has served on panels in various competitions and evaluations throughout New England and Canada and is an active member of the College of Examiners and a certified teacher for The Royal Conservatory of Music. She firmly believes that “in our lives, musical connections within a teaching community are the key to enrichment and growth.”

04/10/2024

Join us this Sunday at 2:30pm for the Junior Division Finals Concert at The Rivers School Conservatory! Click the link to learn more about the A. Ramón Rivera Piano Competition.

A. Ramón Rivera Piano Competition 2024 Competition Dates Timeline for the A. Ramón Rivera Piano Competition (ARR) and the RSC Piano Competition in Honor of A. Ramón Rivera (RSC): March 22: Deadline to submit application and video for both ARR and RSC Competitions April 8: RSC Jr. and Sr. Winners ...

04/08/2024

Congratulations to the Junior and Senior Division Finalists of the A. Ramón Rivera Piano Competition! Join us this weekend on April 14th for the Junior Finals Concert and April 28th for the Senior Finals Concert. The Winners Concert, featuring both ARR and RSC winners, will be on May 5th. All concerts will take place at The Rivers School Conservatory's Bradley Hall, in the Rivera Recital Hall. Stay tuned for more information!

04/08/2024

The results are in for The Rivers School Conservatory Piano Competition! Congratulations to Cole Delgado, Henry Tushman, and Emily Zhou! Join us on May 5 for the Winner's Concert at RSC's Bradley Hall, in the Rivera Recital Hall.

04/08/2024

Somebody is ready ...!

Beethoven has his glasses on for today's 😎. Where are you watching from?

04/08/2024

Stay tuned for more information, including the announcement of The Rivers School Conservatory Competition Winners and the ARR finalists on April 8th!

04/05/2024

Dr.Marc Ryser...

This week we will be introducing you to our three judges for the preliminary round!

Pianist Marc Ryser has performed widely as a soloist and chamber musician in North America and Europe. After completing his undergraduate degree in Mathematics and Philosophy at Boston University, where he won the School of Music’s Richmond Piano Competition, he pursued graduate studies in theoretical linguistics at MIT, before earning his DMA from Stony Brook University. From 2006-2018 he was pianist, faculty member, and artistic advisor for Music By The Sea, an artists’ residency, mentoring program, and concert series on the Pacific coast of Vancouver Island in British Columbia. From 2003-2005, he served as senior artist and resident collaborative pianist for the Music and Sound program at the Banff Centre in Alberta. He has appeared regularly with the Boston Artists Ensemble, Music from Salem, and Apple Hill Center for Chamber Music.

He joined the New England Conservatory Preparatory School faculty in 2007, and has taught also at the The Rivers School Conservatory, Smith College,
Pomona College, Brandeis University, Drake University, and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

04/05/2024

This week we will be introducing you to our three judges for the preliminary round!

Pianist Marc Ryser has performed widely as a soloist and chamber musician in North America and Europe. After completing his undergraduate degree in Mathematics and Philosophy at Boston University, where he won the School of Music’s Richmond Piano Competition, he pursued graduate studies in theoretical linguistics at MIT, before earning his DMA from Stony Brook University. From 2006-2018 he was pianist, faculty member, and artistic advisor for Music By The Sea, an artists’ residency, mentoring program, and concert series on the Pacific coast of Vancouver Island in British Columbia. From 2003-2005, he served as senior artist and resident collaborative pianist for the Music and Sound program at the Banff Centre in Alberta. He has appeared regularly with the Boston Artists Ensemble, Music from Salem, and Apple Hill Center for Chamber Music.

He joined the New England Conservatory Preparatory School faculty in 2007, and has taught also at the The Rivers School Conservatory, Smith College,
Pomona College, Brandeis University, Drake University, and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

04/03/2024

This week we will be introducing you to our three judges for the preliminary round!

Chi-Wei Lo started studying piano at the age of three. He soon established himself as one of the prominently gifted children in the country, and has experienced success sharing his sincere love for music, winning all the major national piano competitions. After winning First Prize in the Chinese Performing Arts Festival in 2005, he performed Liszt’s Totentanz with Longwood Symphony Orchestra at Boston’s Esplanade. Lo’s creativity and style marked the year 2008 with numerous accomplishments, including First Prize in our very own A. Ramon Rivera Piano Competition, and The New England Conservatory’s Preparatory School Concerto Competition in the top category. In 2010, he won the Steinway & Sons Competition.

Aiming to engineer a personal bridge between the audience and the performer, Chi-Wei Lo recently gave several tours of interdisciplinary recitals, including Declaration of Aesthetics, Twelve Over Twelve, which includes two benefit concerts for the Kaohsiung City Cerebral Palsy Association, and The Dance of Seven Deadly Sins, which was reviewed by The The Boston Musical Intelligencer as having “invoked perhaps a little envy.”

Having earned both BM and MM from The Juilliard School, Mr. Lo is currently a doctoral candidate at the New England Conservatory, where he was named the school’s representation of “virtuosity” in 2019.

04/01/2024

This week we will be introducing you to our three judges for the preliminary round!

Isabella Li has been a faculty member of the New England Conservatory Preparatory School since 1997. Born in China, Isabella appeared as a soloist at age 7. She performed as a soloist across China, including in Xian, Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou. Isabella came to the US with a full scholarship to study Piano Performance and Pedagogue at Westminster Choir College under Jose Ramos Santana and Phyllis Lehrer. She performed as a soloist in Princeton, New Jersey, Carnegie Weill Recital Hall, McGill University, and Victoria Concert Hall.

Isabella’s love and passion for teaching piano was nurtured from her early years and she knew early on that she would devote her life to teaching. Isabella was trained at The New School for Music Study founded by Frances Clark. Isabella has developed her own methodology of teaching the young pianist with a particular focus on establishing a solid foundation of reading, technique, and musicality by using classical repertoire from the beginning of a pianist’s career.

In 2020, Isabella created Musicale, an online resource for teachers, students, and pianists to grow and become ever-better artists and pedagogues by providing them with easy access to consistently high-quality learning resources for piano literature, performance, and pedagogy in a welcoming and inclusive learning community.