Weekend festival of workshops and concerts, featuring the world premiere of Chen Yi’s newly commissioned work and a roundtable discussion with women composers.
The Rivers School Conservatory (RSC) will hold its 43rd annual Seminar on Contemporary Music for the Young on April 1-3. The three-day event includes master classes, workshops, and concerts, attracting hundreds of music students, musicians, and composers from throughout New England. The highlight of the Seminar is the commissioning of a composer for a major work and this year RSC is thrilled to welcome Dr. Chen Yi, who will premiere her new string quartet, Song of Spring, at the final concert on April 3. Chen Yi is a professor at the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory, a prolific composer, and recipient of the Ives Living Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. In addition to being a renowned composer, she also is a strong supporter of diversity in music with vast experience performing and composing as well as blending Chinese and Western music.
A special part of this year’s Seminar is a roundtable discussion with women composers on April 2. The roundtable includes Chen Yi, Erin Gee from Brandeis University, Marti Epstein from Berklee College of Music, and Julia Werntz from the New England Conservatory.
The Seminar on Contemporary Music for the Young was launched 43 years ago at RSC to bring together young performers, composers, and audiences. The Seminar will be held in Bradley Hall at The Rivers School located at 333 Winter Street in Weston, MA. The event kicks off Friday, April 1 with a free faculty concert at 7:00pm. Events on Saturday and Sunday require tickets, which can be purchased at: Seminar on Contemporary Music | The Rivers School Conservatory
All day pass Saturday, April 2 - $10
All day pass Sunday, April 3 - $10
Additional time info:
Schedule of Events: All events take place in Rivera Recital Hall
7:30, Friday, April 1 – Faculty Concert featuring works of Lera Auerbach, Chen Yi, Richard Danielpour, Nikolai Kapustin, James Lee III, Ivana Lisak, Jessie Montgomery, and Ylva Skog.
1:30, Saturday, April 2 – Concert including Yangko for Solo Violin and 2 Percussionists by Chen Yi, two premieres of Piotr Szewczyk, and Capriccio by Chen Yi, sung by The Rivers School Vocal Ensemble.
3:00, Saturday, April 2- Roundtable Discussion with Women Composers: Chen Yi will moderate a panel discussion with Marti Epstein of Berklee College of Music, Julia Werntz of New England Conservatory, and Erin Gee of Brandeis University.
4:00, Saturday, April 2 – Reception
5:00, Saturday, April 2 – Concert featuring premieres of Carolina Bragg, Stephen Halloran, Dan Shore, and two works of Chen Yi: Fisherman’s Song for violin and piano, and China West Suite for two pianos.
1:30, Sunday, April 3 – Concert featuring premieres of Sarah Tenney, Jason Yeager, and Memory for Solo Flute by Chen Yi.
3:00, Sunday, April 3 – Concert including student premieres of two jazz works by The Rivers School Select Combo I, Brazilian Suite for Marimba and Flute by Ney Rosauro, and Entr’acte for string quartet by Caroline Shaw.
5:00, Sunday, April 3 – Final Concert featuring premieres of Michael Wimberly for The Rivers School Conservatory Marimba Ensemble and a two-piano work by Whitman Brown will be performed. The concert concludes with the 2022 commissioned work, Song of Spring, by Chen Yi. A reception follows.
Read more about this year’s Seminar and Chen Yi: 43rd Annual Seminar on Contemporary Music for the Young | The Rivers School Conservatory
2022/04/01 - 2022/04/03
The Rivers School, Rivera Recital Hall
333 Winter Street, Weston, MA 02493