The arts program at Rivers provides a connected, integrated approach featuring a variety of performing and visual mediums. There are, within the program, two parallel and equally comprehensive divisions: the visual arts and the performing arts. Our arts requirement not only offers flexibility, but also ensures that students are able to tailor an arts curriculum to suit their creative interests and needs.

Our faculty members are all highly accomplished artists, musicians, and performers. They are as immersed in their own creative work as they are in teaching. The faculty work together as a team across the various disciplines to provide a balanced arts course load for each student.

Rivers students begin exploring the arts with a broad based experience in the Middle School and the early years of the Upper School. By virtue of the flexibility of the arts requirement, students can select from an extensive foundation menu (visual studies, ceramics, sculpture, music, and theater) but move quickly into areas of significant creative interest.

The actual arts requirement for graduation is six credits, or two full years, but at Rivers, many students go beyond this requirement. The Middle School program has students involved in yearlong visual arts courses that introduce students to a variety of mediums, music lessons, and electives in drama and public speaking. Once in the Upper School, students take several foundation level classes in which they often discover an area of interest and then, usually, explore that area with greater depth and passion through advanced courses.

The senior portfolios represent the culmination of a serious artist's work. A significant percentage of our students produce a portfolio, though few may be applying to art school. Those who produce portfolios may be gifted artists, but always individuals for whom the arts have become an integral part of their lives.

The opportunities for music are truly extraordinary for a school of our size. Student musicians will find a variety of vehicles for performance, including jazz chorus, jazz combos, big bands, chorus, orchestra, and chamber ensembles. Musical performance at Rivers begins in the Middle School and extends continuously into the Upper School. There is an emphasis on ensemble work, although numerous opportunities for soloists also exist. The music program is designed to develop musical maturity and ability as well as broaden each student's perspective about music.

The goal of public performance and exhibition in the arts is to build confidence as well as to give students the opportunity to share their vision and voice and compare themselves to others in a new arena. Exhibition and performance are an extension of our classroom experience. Moving beyond the campus in juried shows and contests, Rivers' student artists are granted real life experiences. And every year our students excel, from Shakespeare contests to the Scholastic Arts Awards to music recitals and competitions.

The Rivers School Conservatory
Founded in 1975 on the campus of the Rivers School, The Rivers School Conservatory is a community conservatory that serves almost 900 students of all ages. While the majority of its students come from nearby communities, The Conservatory also provides the musical component of The Rivers School curriculum. More than a third of Rivers students take some form of instruction at RSC. Through its frequent concerts, and its Annual Seminar on Contemporary Music in particular, The Rivers School Conservatory plays a significant role in the cultural life of the school and the region. Its outstanding faculty teaches beginners of all ages, and successfully prepares those who aspire to be accomplished musicians, including preparation for professional careers.

Access to RSC's myriad programs and instructors allow students from Rivers to develop and polish burgeoning talent. The Conservatory provides private lessons, theory classes, and ensemble work. Rivers students can also draw on the expertise of 72 private instrumental and vocal music teachers.

The Conservatory Program
The Rivers School Conservatory Program is a course of studies combining an intense and demanding cocurricular music program under the auspices of The Rivers School Conservatory with an equally rigorous academic and arts program in the Upper School at Rivers. This program allows students to develop a serious musical background, whether or not they go on to post-secondary conservatory studies. For further information and audition requirements, please contact either the Admissions Office or The Rivers School Conservatory.