Spring Music Competitions Yield 8 Gold Medals
Rivers’ music ensembles successfully competed in several jazz, instrumental, and choral competitions during the past month and brought home an impressive array of awards. The Select 1A Combo won Gold at the Massachusetts Association of Jazz Educator’s Combo Festival, while all six groups from the Rivers Conservatory Program received a superior “Gold” rating at the Massachusetts Instrumental and Choral Conductors Association's Solo and Ensemble Festival. In addition, the Middle School Select Chorus came out on top at the annual Music in the Parks Festival.
On April 29, the Select 1 Combo added another achievement to a growing list by winning a Gold Medal at the MAJE State Combo Competition at Wellesley High School. Combo members include Joe Nedder ’18, trombone; Alex Gomez ’17, alto saxophone; Uli Schwendener ’17, piano; Joel Manasseh ’20, bass; and Michael Manasseh ’19, drums.
Close on their heels was the Select 1B Combo, which earned a Bronze Medal in the same competition. Combo members are Zach Zhang ’18, piano; James Brennan ’17, bass; and Henry Lewis ’20, drums.
Six instrumental and vocal ensembles from the Conservatory Program participated in the MICCA competition on Saturday, May 6, at Concord-Carlisle High School. In addition to their overall superior rating based on the state-wide MICCA grading system, three entries were invited to the MICCA "Honors Concert," representing the highest honor of the festival.
“It’s a testament to our Conservatory Program and our students’ talent and dedication that every Rivers group received a “gold” rating,” said Program Director Dan Shaud.
The Martinu Trio, featuring Simonida Spasojevic '19, flute; Yasmin Myers ’20, violin; and Emilia DeJesus ’19, piano will perform at the concert on Saturday May 13. Simonida has also been invited to perform a flute solo. The Conservatory Program Vocal Ensemble, which includes members Thabi Khumalo '17, Michaela Francesconi '18, Nazeli Hagen '17, Joe Nedder '18, Natalie Hall '19, Isabel Hardy '18, and Margo Sugarman '20, was also selected for the Honors Concert.
Also receiving Gold Medals at the MICCA competition were the Bruch Trio with Emily Shen '18, MacKenzie Larkin '18, and Apsara Balamurugan '20; a duo with Abi Warwick '19 and Olivia Xu '20; and a Middle School duo with Tayja Sallie '21 and Katherine Liu '23.
The Middle School Select Chorus participated again this year in the annual Music in the Parks Festival at Six Flags Also on May 6 and won first place in their division. They also received the highest overall score for all middle school choral ensembles at the festival. Members include Sophie Bailey '23, Schuyler Bartlett '21, Emma Braudis '22, Cecily Bua '21, Avery Caggiano '21, Isabelle Canty '22, Colin Falvey '23, Madeline Foley '22, Crystaliz Frometa '23, Cristina Gomez '23, Isabelle Hilinski '23, Corinne Leeming '23, Margaret Leeming '21, Hannah Long '21, Anna Miller '22, Anna Monaghan '22, Samirah Moody '21, Noah Naddaff-Slocum '21, Adebiyi Oyaronbi '21, Cole Pierson, '23, Shay Pipe '22, Shamila Santan, '21, Cara Schmidlein '21, Theo Teng '22, Keira Thompson, '22, and Madeline Wambach '21.
In addition, the Middle School Jazz Band also won a Bronze Medal at the MAJE Junior District Jazz Festival on May 9. Members are Oliver Boisvert '22, Oliver Carswell '22, Cameron Dailey '21, Brian Goldsmith '22, Elias Helzberg '23, Sawyer Helzberg '21, Michael Idzal '21, Griffin Jones '22, Kevin Kamanitz '21, Meghan Kerfoot '22, Aidan Keusch '21, Ian Keusch '23,
Ellis Mandel '21, William Randall '21, Grant Regan-Loomis '22, Walter Regan-Loomis '22, Cameron Stathos '21, Lucy Tonthat '22, and Cole Zaleski '21.
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